Diary

Summer is not there yet but we can already start dreaming about next holidays! Have you already chosen your next destination and booked your tickets? Then it is a good time to start thinking about how to protect your child ‘skin from the sun. If UVA and UVB are as mysterious as R2D2 and C3PO for someone who has never watched Star Wars, then follow the guide! 

The dangers of sun exposure

A sun burn is obviously the first consequence due to sun exposure, and it can have a serious impact on children fragile skin. In the short term, the consequences of a sunburn are similar to a real burn: red skin, that feels hot to the touch, pain, extreme sensitivity, small fluid-filled blisters which may break, headache and insomnia. The child can also have an allergic reaction. The most common form of sun allergy is called a Polymorphous Light Eruption (PLE). It is an itchy or burning rash but can also in some more dramatic cases produces a large hives on sun-exposed skin (this super-rare condition is called solar urticaria). We also tend to forget that the other long-term sun exposure can causes heatstroke.  This might lead to loss of consciousness which babies and children are more subject to, so they need to drink a lot of fluid to be kept hydrated.

In the long run, only one sunburn before the age of 10 can double the risk of developing skin cancer when they become adults! So it is not worth putting our children at risk and it is our role as parents to protect our children and preserve their sun capital.

No sun exposure before one year old.

Before the age of one year old a child should not be exposed directly to the sun at all. His or her skin is not able to defend against the damaging ultraviolet rays (UV) which can affect his or her skin inner layer called dermis. No exposition under the sun doesn’t mean the child should not wear any protection at all. A baby should stay in the shadow, wearing light and loose clothes that cover their arms and legs. They should also be wearing sunglasses and a hat with wide edges. Ideally those measures should be maintained until the child is 3 years old. This said it is obviously quite difficult to prevent a young child from exploring the beach and tasting (at the proper but also figurative sense) the joy of the fine sand.

Our advice to protect your child from the sun

The best sun protection for your child is not to put it under the sun at all! For the older children, the winning combination of wearing a Canopea swimming suit protecting against UVs, a mineral suncream, and no exposure at the warmest hours of the day is the best protection you can offer.

•       A Canopea sun protective swimsuit : 80% of our swimming suits and tee shirts are made from Econyl®, a recycled fibre which offers an UPF 50+ protection without any chemical filters. They will protect your child very efficiently against the sun damaging effects. And because there is no reason why you should make any sacrifice on design and elegance while aiming for efficiency, you will love their retro look.

•       Mineral sun cream : Regarding the bit of skins not covered by the protecting Canopea swimming suit against UVs, you should apply suncream. The good news is that you will use less so you will save money and the planet at the same time. However, you should choose carefully because the skin of a baby absorbs 2.7 times more cream than an adult skin. Therefore, it is safer to choose a mineral suncream which is going to reflect the UVs and not absorb them. It is also better to use a suncream without spray so the child doesn’t breathe any titanium dioxide. The suncream must be protecting against UVA-UVB but also be SPF 50+ and have hypoallergenic properties without alcohol and parabens.

•       Time of exposure: we will never repeat it enough but (and this is also true for adults), it is very important not to stay under the sun between noon and 4p.m when the sun is at the highest point and the ultraviolet rays at the maximum. Don’t get fool by these white clouds too! They actually let 90% of the UVs go through. Even if the feeling of the sun on the skin is not that strong, the sun can burn you in the same way.

Pour en savoir plus sur la protection solaire, c'est par ici