So, you are about to embark upon an adventure of a lifetime; you and the love of your life are going to say I do in a stunning, tropical beach destination somewhere abroad… It is no surprise that you would want everything to be absolutely perfect. The chances are that you are in very good hands (especially if you have booked with Honeymoon Dreams) and that everything will run smoothly, but one thing you really want to avoid is having your wedding dress rub against itchy, sore skin and having a bright red face that makes you want to hide away in your bedroom for the duration of your beach destination wedding.
It may seem like something that is easy to avoid, but in a hot beach wedding destination such as the Caribbean or Mauritius, even if you think you aren’t burning, the chances are you will still burn and damage your skin’s DNA, increasing your chances of acquiring skin cancer, not to mention succumbing to the rest of the sunshine’s ageing affects, such as wrinkling, sagging, leathering, and discolouration. But fear not! Below are the correct ways to help protect yourself from the sun’s UV rays to ensure your skin isn’t causing you to want to postpone your wedding photo-shoot.
Everyone has areas of their body that they are more likely to burn than others, and once they are burnt, the damage done to the DNA in your skin is permanent. These tend to be areas that are particularly angled towards the sun, for example, when sitting in the sun, your shoulders, nose and the tops of your ears. You should always protect your body from top to bottom with sun cream but these particularly exposed areas must be taken especially good care of. So, while outside in the daytime on your beach destination wedding, make sure you keep reapplying a high factor sun cream on these vulnerable areas as well as any other exposed areas to avoid continuous burning and increasing your risk of skin cancer.
It is a complete myth that slathering on a factor 4 carrot oil is the secret to a great tan. Using these kinds of oils will lead to the damaging of your skin and will mean you are even more likely to burn. Using a proper sun cream will not stop you tanning, it simply makes you tan slower, but more importantly, safer. It will also allow you to enjoy being in the sun more as it allows the sun to warm your skin, as oppose to making you sizzle away.
With clothes, some people only like to wear expensive brands even though the clothes with a big brand badge are often no better quality than those made with a less popular badge. In the case of sun cream, however, you will benefit from being a brand snob. It is a better idea to use trusted, well known brands that are maybe a little more expensive compared to those at the bottom of the shelf. Cheap creams don’t tend to protect your skin from UVA rays which contribute to the signs of ageing. You can see a sun cream’s UVA protection rating on the back of the bottle. It is recommended that you use a 4+ star rating as well as a high SPF for maximised sun cream protection. Don’t forget to stock up with plenty of bottles of reliable sun cream brands before you go away, and if you run out of sun cream during your beach destination wedding, make sure you don’t buy cheap foreign brands that you can not trust, as they may not give you the sun protection you need. Get yourself down to a proper pharmacist so you have plenty of choice and always check the back of the bottle.
From 11am-4pm the sun is at its highest and strongest and is therefore going to do the most damage to your skin. Obviously, this can’t always be avoided, and it would be a shame to miss out on all the sunshine on your beach destination wedding. If the sun can’t be completely avoided, then there are still little precautions you can take to minimize damage made to your DNA cells by UV rays. For example, wearing a sun hat, UVR protective sunglasses to stop your eyes getting damaged, spending time in the shade, or covering your skin when it gets super-hot. Don’t forget even with these extra precautions you still need to wear sun cream! The sand and sea still reflect the sun’s rays, so even when you are in the shade you still need to reapply your sun cream at least every two hours.
It would appear that clouds block the sunlight which would therefore protect you from the sun’s rays, however clouds in fact scatter these sun rays and it is still easy to burn even on a hazy day. Make sure you do not let your guard down because the sun appears to be hiding behind a cloud!
There is no need to hide inside your hotel for the duration of your beach destination wedding; the sun is a great source of vitamin D and sunlight is good for you in healthy amounts. Just make sure you remember that you don’t need to lie down on a deck chair all day with a minimum amount of sun cream with a low SPF to get a healthy looking tan for your wedding day!
