Vault

Max value reached

Adding this item would put you over your total vault limit of $250. please review your cart to stay under the limit.

Six Spots To Beat The Burn

27 November, 2017 - 09:57pm by - Head Pixie | 18 Comments

By BR Kellie

Living in a country where the sun is fierce and sunburn can turn deadly over time we know how important it is to apply sunblock before we head out into the sun. We slap it on our face, our arms, chest, back of the neck, shoulders, and leftovers get rubbed onto the backs of our hands. But are we sunblocking everywhere we should? It's easy to miss a few spots, but missing them could lead to a world of pain, and regret. So what areas of our body should we pay extra care to apply sunscreen to? 

Have you ever had the sides of your armpits burn after heading out in a tank top for the day or hitting the beach or pool in a swimsuit? It's really painful. Especially when you have to wear a top for the sake of decency, and every bit of fabric rubbing on skin sends you into agonies. Avoiding this owwie is easy, just be sure to spread that sunscreen around and under the areas of your side arm/chest where it's exposed to sun. And be sure to dip that 'screen down a little lower too in case your top or swimsuit moves, exposing un-blocked flesh.

You know what hurts? Sunburnt lips. Two decades ago I had the extreme pain of discovering this for myself. Not only did they burn, they blistered. Super ickly. Super unpretty. Now applying actual sunscreen to your lips isn't the most appealing idea as I've yet to meet a sunscreen that tastes good - thankfully you don't have to. All you need is to grab a lip balm with a goodly amount of SPF in it, like Blistex, and remember to reapply it throughout the day.

Speaking of tips. Your ears are another spot that need to be sunblocked - especially if you're not wearing a wide-brimmed hat. So when you're doing your daily facial application of sunscreen, make sure you pay your ears some attention - even that delightful back of the ear crevasse area where kids have been known to grow potatoes.

You know what's annoying about tank tops and bra straps and swimsuit straps? They have a tendency to move. Which is why when you're applying sunscreen it's not enough to just apply it to the areas where you think the sun will reach, it's important to go under those areas too - basically if there's a chance your skin will be bared, then be sure to smear! 

How often have you sunblocked your thighs, the backs of your knees and down your legs, but forgot to do the tops of your feet? There's nothing pretty about bright red jandal-shaped marks on feet. And once you've got them you won't want to be popping your tootsies into normal shoes, because the pain is real. Next time you're heading out in jandals or sandals remember to get foot loose and fancy free with your sunscreen and take it all the way down to tips of your toes.

Finally, we need to talk about your scalp. (And does anyone else hate that word as much as me? It gives me that nails on chalk board shivery feeling). If you're rocking a solid part in your hair the sun's going to hit your scalp. If you haven't brought your sunscreen up into the hairline because you don't want it to ruin your 'do', the sun will hit your scalp. Burnt scalps are less than ideal... luckily there's such a thing as powdered sunscreen, which can be applied to your scalp to keep it safe from the sun. 

So do tell... have you been stung by the sun before? What areas have you forgotten to put sunblock on when you really needed to? And remember, in a country like ours which has such a high rate of skin cancer, sharing really is caring.

Comments

Please sign in or register to add a comment.

16th December, 2017

I try to be careful but I find because I love being outside and gardening I get burnt on top of my arms and back as although I use sunscreen it needs topping up and I usually get busy and forget.I have really thick hair so luckily have never had scalp burn although my poor partner has to worry about his poor scalp all the time.

16th December, 2017

I need a mole map!

13th December, 2017

I don’t wear sunscreen everyday but know how important it is to wear everyday because of the harsh sun rays. The only issue is to hard finding a non greasy one. I have started getting very fine hair on top of the head and the doctor has said it is because of the sun and best to wear hat at all time or wear something to protect your face and head.

6th December, 2017

These are great tips Kellie and are much needed for this Summer. A few times I have had burns on the tops of my ears which is a place I would always forget to apply sunscreen, I need to invest in a lip balm with spf in it which is so clever! I always keep a tube of aloe vera gel in the fridge in case of sun burn. I literally cover my kids in head to toe of sunscreen, the banana boat spray on sunscreen makes it so much easier :)

5th December, 2017

Ears and tops of shoulders are my burn areas

3rd December, 2017

Even though I have tanned skin people think I don’t need to use sunscreen but it’s important to. I still get burnt in areas that I have sunscreen on.

3rd December, 2017

I wear sunblock everyday. I'm so paranoid. I also wear widebrimmed hats from Nov 1st through to March whenever I go outside. I like to channel a daily Downton Abbey/Melbourne Cup look! It's MelaNoThanks for me.

30th November, 2017

The side of my face, next to my eyes. No, having long hair sadly does not protect this area!

30th November, 2017

Oh wow I have never heard of powdered sunblock, that sounds amazing!

30th November, 2017

Oh yes my scalp always seems to wear the brunt of the sun im slowly getting better thou and putting suncream on my part and trying to wear more hats, but last summer was so windy the hats just didnt work. Powdered suncream maybe a nice try :)

29th November, 2017

Got a little bit sunburnt today :/ thought it wasn't going to be a sunny day but it was. Otherwise I'm fairly good at being sunsmart.

29th November, 2017

I've never actually applied sunscreen to my scalp. I think though a number of hairstyles I've worn haven't really showed my scalp.

29th November, 2017

I burn easy! Will certainly need to take care out there and my 1 year old too

29th November, 2017

I wear sunscreen everyday, I am so worried about the NZ sun damaging my skin. It's really hard to find a non oily sunscreen!

28th November, 2017

Remember that some material lets the UV through! so while you may be rocking that gorgeous light weight floaty top, tomorrow you could be paying for it in pain! Also I have seen instances where white spots or pattern on a swimsuit = burn marks. Especially these days where some cheap clothing doesn't have the substance required to protect us in the sun.

Head Pixie
3rd December, 2017

Giddy aunt - with ripped and holey clothing being so on trend right now I feel full body sunscreen might be for the best. :)

Head Pixie
3rd December, 2017

MelaNoThanks!!!! LOVE IT!

WELCOME TO NZ'S BIGGEST BEAUTY GUIDE!

READ AND WRITE REVIEWS ON YOUR FAVOURITE (or not so favourite!) PRODUCTS!

Sign up to receive our newsletter and stay up to date with all of the latest happenings here at Beauty Review!

You'll be the first to know about Trial Teams, Vault restocks and Giveaways.

We promise never to spam you - only to share the best in NZ beauty!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE MAILING LIST!