As I mentioned in my last post, we’ve just spent a week by the ocean in beautiful, sunny South Carolina. We’ve been making this road trip since I was the same age as my oldest son.
Over the past thirty years, many traditions have developed, and we tend to visit the same restaurants, hit the same shops, and spend our days the same way, year after year. As we headed north for our very long drive home, I realized there was a marked difference in one area; our attitude to the sun. Traveling back as a teenager I can remember my sisters and I comparing our tan lines and harvesting peeling skin off of each other’s back. The entire point of a week’s holiday was to achieve the darkest possible colour (whether that colour was tan or shade of crimson).
I looked into the backseat last week and felt relieved to see that my own kids’ skin looked almost as fair as we headed north, as it had the week before when we left home. It’s not that we didn’t have a lot of sunny weather (beautiful and hot every single day) or a lot of beach and pool time (plenty of both). It’s that we’ve become (as a society, and as a family) so respectful of the power of the sun’s rays, and the importance of sun protection.
We travel with this basket wherever we go, and the kids know that they won’t be heading outside without a thorough sunscreen application.
For years Coppertone has been one of my go-to brands for sunscreen purchases. Did you know that Coppertone was the first to introduce the SPF system on its packaging in North America…40 years ago??! Coppertone has been a leader in sunscreen in so many ways; the first to protect against both UVB and UVA rays (since 1985), the first sweatproof sunscreen for sports enthusiasts, and revolutionary formats.
Coppertone was the first to introduce continuous spray back in 2005, and it was become the favourite format for my family. The kids use the Kids Continuous Spray SPF 60 which is waterproof, hypoallergenic and dries in seconds. I do love it, but worry sometimes that we may lose product to the ocean breeze as my kids blindly reapply throughout the day.
That’s why this year I’m loving the Coppertone Sunscreen Oil Free Mousse SPF 60 introduced last year (see right). It’s also hypoallergenic, but also oil free (a bonus for my teenage son), and its whipped forumula glides on light as air. The kids all approve, and I’ve taken to using it myself.
Coppertone’s been good enough to share four rules for keeping you and your family Sun Smart this summer.
1. Wear Sunscreen. Everyday. All year round.
Did you know that 80% of U rays can penetrate clouds, and that concrete, sand, water and snow reflect them back to you?
2. Choose the Right Product
A personalized sun care profile can help determine personal sun sensitivity and individual risk level to the sun. By visiting www.coppertone.ca, Coppertone can recommend a sunscreen that fits your skin type and lifestyle and give you a personalized sun care profile!
3. Apply generously. And often.
Use at least 30 mL of sunscreen to protect an average sized body. That’s a shot glass of sunscreen each!
4. Reduce exposure to the sun, especially between 11am and 4pm.
Seek the shade during those peek hours, and always wear a wide-brimmed hat.
The sun feels good, a little colour feels good…but knowing that I’ve protected my family and instilled smart sun safety feels best of all.
Coppertone supplied me with this sun smart information, and a sample kit of their newest sunscreens, but this post was not sponsored, and all opinions are my own.