sun Archives - Loreeebee

Unfortunately, I’ve spent most of the summer trying to self-diagnose my sudden, (more than usual), sensitivity to the sun. Not a great summer-time memory to experience.

Rashes and Burns

My face in particular has suffered through several bad rashes. So bad that it appeared (looked and felt) that my skin was burned.

I’ve also experienced a prickly sensation, but no visible rash or burn, on the left side of my neck, between my jaw and my clavicle. This prickliness occurs after a mere few minutes in the sun, even with sunscreen on.

Sunscreen

I have been a huge proponent of sunscreen over the years, wearing at least 30, if not 50 SPF. I learned this the hard way, after developing brown spots on my face in the last trimester of my last pregnancy. I was told they were due to melasma, AKA pregnancy mask, a hormonal reaction. That was twenty-six years ago, and they were supposed to go away, but I have yet to find anything (topical) to remove them. Due to my uber-sensitive skin, I hesitate to try anything more drastic.

Since then, I have applied sunscreen religiously every morning, 30 SPF on cloudy/rainy days or those I don’t plan to be outdoors much. When I am planning to be outside for longer than thirty minutes, I opt for the 50 SPF.

After my first reaction, I asked the staff at my local Natural Food Pantry for a recommendation for sunscreen for sensitive skin. I purchased the So Good brand in both a cream and a stick. If your skin is sensitive, choose sunscreen that does not contain benzophenone-3, known to cause allergic reactions in some people.

I love how smoothly the So Good sunscreen applies to my skin, even though it has zinc in it (zinc is notoriously sticky to apply). I still experienced a rash and prickly neck after switching sunscreens though. I will continue to use it as I don’t believe my sunscreen was the issue causing the sensitivity to the sun. You can purchase both the 30 and 50 SPF through Amazon as well.

Face Moisturizers

My moisturizers were also suspect, even though I had not changed my routine. After the first episode, I switched to a product also recommended to me at the Natural Food Pantry to moisturize and heal my skin.

sensivity to the sun — Nature’s Aid Moisturizing Skin Gel

This moisturizing gel has worked wonders on my rashy, burned skin. I love it. You can order Nature’s Aid Moisturizing Skin Gel through Amazon if Natural Food Pantry is not convenient.

Foods That Can Cause a Sensitivity to the Sun

Research (Summahealth.org) told me there are several foods that can cause sun sensitivity, with citrus fruits at the top of the list. Other culprits include:

Celery
Parsley
Dill
Figs
Fennel

Well, it just so happens I had recently started adding celery and lemon peel to my morning smoothies, for their purported memory and anti-aging benefits, respectively. The plan is to leave the celery and lemon out for a few weeks to see if I have any more reactions.

Fingers crossed!

Is your lawn golden brown and crispy? Don’t despair, look around, you are not alone. On my street alone, most of the yards are sporting sunburned lawns. The extreme heat and lack of rain this summer have created havoc on eastern Ontario’s usual lush green landscape. My heart goes out to the farmers in the area whose crops are so severely affected.

In comparison, the condition of my lawn seems trivial…my front yard usually gets toasty in late July/early August as it has a southern exposure getting full sun pretty well all day, but this year it is well beyond “dry”.

Lawn Dormancy

On principle, I refuse to get out there every morning or evening to waste water on my lawn in these drought conditions, so every year my south-facing, front lawn looks pretty sad in July and August. Unfortunately this year the parched, yellow, straw look started in mid-May!

Please remember, lawn grass is supposed to go dormant in these extreme conditions. At this point there is nothing you can do to revitalize it as it will not respond to fertilizer and water is not enough. Fortunately, our nice green lawns will return with cooler weather and some rainy days. When this happens, and your grass starts to turn green again, you can apply fertilizer to strengthen the roots which will promote a faster recovery.

Remove Weeds on Sunburned Lawns and in Gardens

Why do the weeds in my gardens, sidewalks, and lawn continue to thrive in this hot weather, when the grass and flowers struggle? On close inspection, the only part of my lawn that looks green is weeds.

The one positive thing about sunburned lawns is that it is easy to pick out the weeds! If you have the energy in this heat, now would be a great time to remove those pesky weeds including the green “creeping” sort that line the driveways. Be sure to pull out the entire root though so they won’t come back. Then when the cooler, wetter weather does arrive you can sprinkle some grass seed where those weeds were growing.

After the weeds are all pulled from your gardens, apply a thick layer of mulch to deter them from coming back too soon. Weed seeds blowing around or carried around by birds will germinate in mulch too, but the mature weeds will be much easier to pull out when their roots are growing in mulch instead of soil.

Repairing Sunburned Lawns

MARK CULLEN, a Canadian garden expert, has the following advice on the best way to make repairs to your sunburned lawns:

Spread Mark’s Choice Lawn Soil (found at Home Hardware stores) over the area you wish to re-seed, 2 cm. thick
Rake smooth
Broadcast Golfgreen lawn seed [Canadian for our lawns: 0% weed seeds] by hand
Rake smooth to incorporate into the soil.
Step on it or roll it with a roller 1/3 full of water.
Water it every day that you do not receive any rain until established.
Do NOT let the seedlings dry out!
It is best to water first thing in the morning or in the evening.

Fall is the Best Time to Repair Sunburned Lawns

In my opinion, fall is the best time to repair drought damage to lawns. That’s because cooler nights as well as more and longer-lasting dew on the ground each morning during autumn means less chance of sod or grass seed drying out.