The 70’s iconic slogan, “a mind is a terrible thing to waste,” still holds true but sometimes what you don’t know can really hurt you- especially when it comes to skin care in the sun.
That’s why Melbourne-based Absolutely Natural spends so much time on education regarding their natural suncare, skincare and spa line of products. “We’re on the road several months every year at resorts across the globe including Hawaii, Las Vegas, Mexico, Florida, the Caribbean and Spain training sales personnel that represent our products,” Charley Richards, founder and owner of the 20-year-old company said. “Most people don’t have a clue about how to enjoy the sun safely, what products to use or even how to apply them.” That lack of knowledge can translate to bad sunburns, ruined vacations, long term skin problems or even fatal cancers.
Absolutely Natural has developed a simple, effective way to help people handle the UV exposure they get at the beach, pool, lake and everyday just walking or driving. “It’s called the 3-P’s,” Richards explained. “That stands for Protect, Promote and Prolong and while everybody has the same needs in the sun; different skin types will need different products to address those concerns.”
Absolutely Natural’s program teaches that sun sensitive areas of your body require different products. “Anywhere the bone is close to the skin is sun sensitive. That includes your nose, forehead, décolletage area for women, backs of the knees and tops of the feet. You need higher protectant value sunscreens like an SPF 15 or 30 for those areas and that is the Protect part of the 3-P’s,” Richards said. “The rest of your body is not as sensitive and can use a moderate sunscreen such as an SPF 8 to Promote even tanning.”
The most important “P” according to Absolutely Natural is the Prolong and that is what you do after sun exposure. “It is vital to help heal the skin after sun exposure and that happens in the evening with good quality, natural aloe products that speed the tanning process, condition the skin and hydrate the basal cell area.” The company has developed aloes that have been sold at the best resorts in the world since 1992 and tens of thousands of people have benefited.
A study done recently in Australia proved that most people do not know how to properly apply suncare and that is another potential problem. “You usually see people quickly rubbing product into their skin and that is 100% wrong,” Richards says. “The top layer of your skin is called the epidermis and it is only about as thick as a sheet of paper. If you rub your sun care too quickly into the skin, it can penetrate into the dermis and leave you with a lot less protection than you think you have and susceptible to a sunburn.”
Instead of rubbing product quickly into the skin proper application involves “dabbing” and “laying”, according to company protocol. In simple terms, you dab on your Protector (sun sensitive areas) and lay on the Promoter and smoothly apply to the skin. After waiting 60 seconds, you can massage the product the rest of the way into the skin. That way you have the full benefit of the SPF without rubbing away your protection.
Absolutely Natural is located in the NASA Commerce Park. For more information visit their web site at Absolutely-Natural.com
