How Do You Prepare Your Skin for the Sun?

The skin is a complex organ that is capable of protecting us… almost. It still needs us to take care of it in return. Depending on your skin’s phototype, it will not be able to resist sunlight for long. UVB rays burn skin cells, and UVA generates deep oxidative stress, which causes pigmentation spots, wrinkles, and fine lines. The golden rule for adequately protecting yourself is to use high Sun Protection Factor products. However, there are many little things you can do beforehand. At Laboratoires de Biarritz, we have a wide range of suncare products, all natural & Organic, with mineral screens to protect your skin without harming the environment. The objective: get you into good habits to limit sunburn and allergic reactions.

End the Myth of UV Tanning Booths

No, one or two trips to the UV tanning salon will not prepare your skin for the sun. UVB stimulates melanin synthesis, not UVA. However, tanning booths emit mainly UVA light. This type of radiation oxidizes melanin, hindering bone health and accelerating skin aging.

Color Your Plate, Protect Your Skin

The skin interacts with the inside of your body as much as the outside world. Do not take its “inside & out” superpower lightly. That is why paying attention to what you eat is so important. And, to prepare your skin, there is nothing better than a colorful plate. Here, Mother Nature knows best: summer is the season of vitamin-, antioxidant-, and mineral-rich fruits and vegetables that are ideal nourishment for the epidermis and limit cellular aging processes. So eat carrots, bell peppers, parsley, tomatoes, apricots, mangos, and other colorful treats to your heart’s content. You can also include things like oranges, kiwis, and strawberries, which are rich in vitamin C, and plant oils that contain generous amounts of vitamin E to help counter oxidation.

Exfoliate and Moisturize

Regularly exfoliating with a mild product year-round helps eliminate dead skin cells and improve microcirculation, which forces skin cells to renew themselves effectively.

However, in the summer it is best to avoid excessive scrubbing while the skin is already over-solicited. On the flip side, at end of the season, scrubbing will help your tan last longer. Combining scrubbing with moisturizing before, during, and after sun exposure will help prepare the tan just as much as it will help it last.

For the body, our certified Organic Body Scrub is perfect because it reinvigorates, exfoliates, tonifies, and moisturizes thanks to its formula with rock samphire, Organic glycerin, and Organic sunflower oil. And for the face, our Radiance Scrub with Sugar Kelp (Laminaria saccharina), a species of kelp with soothing virtues, refines skin tone and unveils a radiant complexion. And do not forget to nourish and moisturize: for that, nothing is better than our Organic Monoi or our After-Sun Fluid which is rich in Alga-Gorria® (powerful natural antioxidant), Organic Aloe vera, and a shea butter and essential fatty acid nourishing complex.

A Little Self-Tanning Help

Finally, if you want to bare your legs without reservation before tanning in the sun – or for those of you that never get sun exposure, a Self-Tan is an ideal alternative.

This type of product does not replace sunscreen products in any way and and will not protect you from getting sunburned, but it does create a beautiful tan skin tone and helps attenuate minor imperfections like pimples or varicose veins.

At Laboratoires de Biarritz, we offer two solutions for a made-to-measure tan. First, we have our Organic Self-Tanning Milk, which has the added benefit of moisturizing so your skin feels soft and looks sublime. Secondly, we have the Self-Tanning Drops to mix with your usual skincare products to get the best of both worlds – the continued effect of the product with an additional subtle tan glow. These two skincare products are enriched in Alga-Gorria®, a patented antioxidant that shields from free radicals and therefore from skin aging.
What more do you need?