How to Build Your Natural Sunscreen

Being pale is not a sign of wellness, contrary to what your dermatologist might say. Inspired by a member’s post about sunscreen this week, I wanted to share how you can turn your skin into a solar panel and build a beautiful tan naturally ☀️

Growing up in Albania, my friends and I would compete to see who could get the deepest tan. I used to get super dark in the spring and summer and felt amazing. Fast forward to 2020, when I was extremely sick, I could barely spend 20 minutes in UV light without getting burned. It wasn’t until I started studying circadian biology that I realized everything I was doing wrong.

Our skin is designed to protect us from the sun when we give it what it needs. Here are the four ways you can build your solar callus and use sunlight as energy:

1. Expose Your Skin to Sunrise and Sunset for 20-30 Minutes Daily:
   1. Sunrise and sunset have no UV light and plenty of red and infrared frequencies. You cannot burn during this time! This is what builds your solar callus.
   2. Exposing your skin to infrared light before UV-A or UV-B light preps your body to absorb massive amounts of UV. Infrared light after UV exposure heals the skin from excessive sun exposure.
   3. The red light frequencies absorbed during this time improve mitochondrial function by raising melatonin levels. Melatonin normalizes mitochondrial oxidative stress, protects mitochondrial DNA, and suppresses UV-induced damage.
   4. Infrared light supports optimal concentrations of filaggrin, a key protein in developing your solar callus. Filaggrin helps develop and maintain the skin barrier. Low filaggrin is tied to low urocanic acid, a naturally occurring substance in the skin that acts as a natural sunscreen. Low filaggrin makes the skin prone to water loss, increases sensitivity to solar damage, and the risk of skin conditions.
2. Expose Your Skin to UV Light for 20 Minutes Daily Throughout the Year: In response to UV exposure, the skin produces and distributes melanin. Chronic UV exposure increases melanogenesis, improving our ability to assimilate and absorb sunlight, acting as a natural sunscreen while improving redox potential. The latter is particularly helpful for those that are chronically ill. 
3. Avoid Wearing Sunglasses: Sunglasses filter natural light, preventing our brain from receiving light information from the sun. This tricks the brain and, in turn, our body into thinking it is dark, hence not providing the protection we need. This is how you burn! 
4. Eat More Seafood: There are many benefits to eating seafood, but in this case, astaxanthin and fucoxanthin are marine carotenoids found in seafood, macroalgae, and microalgae. They are powerful antioxidants that act like edible sunscreen. Both astaxanthin and fucoxanthin are exceptionally effective in counteracting all categories of photodamage directly and indirectly.

By following these steps, you can help your skin harness the power of the sun naturally and safely, leading to a beautiful and healthy tan. Additionally, this method allows us to obtain free energy that our cells can use to regenerate! Healthy cells = Healthy you.

Have a question? Join our discussion in Decentralized Healing!