My Heatwave & Holiday Must Haves

I’m an unofficial expert on Heatwave & Holiday Must Haves because I’m a sun worshipper. I love it and always have done. I tan really easily and don’t tend to burn, so in my late teens and early 20’s I overdid the sun bathing. Unfortunately I rarely used sun protection and what I did use was inadequate, so by my early 30’s the effects were showing. I had to educate myself to stop further damage and now I’m Little Miss SPF, I wear it everyday, even in the Winter.

The Stats

I learned the hard way that it’s super important to protect my skin in the sun and here’s just a few stats to show why you should too;

Over 16,000 cases of melanoma (the deadliest form of skin cancer) are diagnosed every year in the UK.
According to Cancer Research UK, 1 in 36 UK males and 1 in 47 UK females will be diagnosed with melanoma during their lifetime and it is now one of the biggest killing cancers in the 15-34 age group.
Around 90% of all skin cancers are caused by over-exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) making the disease almost entirely preventable.
In the UK it is estimated that the treatment of skin cancer costs the NHS more than £500m a year.

(Source: SCKIN.com)

I know that a lot of people hate using sun protection on their face because it can cause spots and acne outbreaks but not all SPF products are sticky and pore clogging, they don’t all trigger heat rash and make you itchy either. I’ve done my research over the years and have found some of the the best sun protection around, so I’m going to share this list of products with you.

If you have sun sensitive skin or prefer to be super safe and not sunbathe at all, you can read my guide to Faking a Glow but if you are hoping to tan this year, then here are my sun protection recommendations, plus a couple of my Summer hair & beauty faves.