Summer Blessings To All! My husband and I accompanied some friends on their motor boat yesterday - out in the Penobscot Bay, near Castine, ME. What a glorious day and the BEST way to escape the heat that has penetrated into our northern parts. Was I slathered in natural sunscreen? You bet! But with all that reflective light bouncing up from the water, I still got pink! Not a good thing. So, all this week, I'll be rejuvenating my skin from the shoulders-down by massaging my body with one of my favorite after-sun treatment oils: sea buckthorn. Derived from the orange-red berries of the sea buckthorn bush. It's prized for use on damaged skin, scar tissue, wrinkles, eczema, burns, etc. It's rich in essential fatty acids, carotenes, tocopherols and phytosterols. My favorite brand to use is: Weleda. Their Sea Buckthorn Body Oil is made from a nice blend of oils and sinks right into the skin.
If you decide to make your own sea buckthorn body oil by blending 20% sea buckthorn with 80% almond or jojoba or organic soybean oil, I'll caution you right now that it can be expensive . . . about $24.00 per 2oz. of pure sea buckthorn, and it is VERY ORANGE and WILL stain your skin, towels and clothing orange, too. If you fall in love with sea buckthorn oil, it will be worth your money to buy the pure oil, but try the Weleda brand first and see what you think.
Today, I'm going to start a new series about natural sun care and share several recipes with you to help condition and preserve the health of your skin that you can make at home. Enjoy!
Sun Sense: Tanning Potions and After-Sun Relief
In the last two blogs, "Give Yourself Some Exposure: A Little Sun Is a Good Thing - Parts 1 & 2", I addressed the health benefits of sun exposure and the importance of appropriate sun protection to prevent potential skin damage, but it's important to reiterate that if you want to preserve the beauty and integrity of your skin for years to come and help prevent skin cancer, do not spend excessive unprotected time in the sun. Practice holistic sun care: Avoid chemical sunscreens, but do find a natural one that works and offers full-spectrum protection; use common sun sense by staying out of the sun during the high-intensive hours between 10 and 2 or wearing appropriate cover-up clothing; and always slather on a good quality, moisturizing lotion or cream, from head to toe to prevent epidermal dehydration.
The natural sun protection recipes that will appear in the next several blogs have a low SPF of 10-15 or less and are formulated to nourish and condition your skin before, during, and after exposure to the sun and associated elements such as heat, drying wind, salt water, and chlorine from pools. I will also toss in a few suggestions for natural remedial action when an unfortunate sunburn does occur . . . such as the sea buckthorn oil tip at the beginning of today's blog. Good advice to remember: As with all things in life, the sun should always be taken in moderation.
Until next time . . . be active, be happy, be healthy, and be thankful for all your blessings!
NOTE: This article was written by Stephanie Tourles and adapted from her book, "Organic Body Care Recipes", Storey Publishing, 2007. The information is true and complete to the best of her knowledge. All recommendation are made without guarantee on the part of the author. She disclaims any liability in connection with the use of this information. It is for educational purposes only.
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