COCONUT OIL | SHEA BUTTER | BEESWAX | ZINC OXIDE
Shade™ was conceived to take us back to a time when life was simple, and our exposure to dangerous chemicals through personal care and household products was limited. Nowadays there are too many dangerous chemicals that have found their way into mainstream sunscreens, and they in turn have found their way through your skin – into you! If you’re trying to avoid skin cancer, why use chemicals which are proven to cause it?
At an ideal SPF25, with only 4 ingredients to moisturise and protect skin from the broadest spectrum of damaging UVA and UVB rays, Shade™ has been developed to keep your skin naturally healthy whilst reflecting 96% of rays that can damage it – and threaten your health.
We highly recommend people avoid exposure during the hours of 11am and 3pm when the sun is at its strongest - Shade™ is not a sunblock and it's not waterproof, and shouldn't be used as such.
Understanding Sun Protection Factor (SPF)
SPF25 means that it will take up to 25 times longer to burn when you use this factor than you would if you were to not use anything in the same environmental conditions.
Reapplying a mineral sunscreen like Shade™ does not allow you to spend more time in the sun than the original 25 times... this is a common misconception. It only ensures you still have coverage for the remaining time within that original timeframe...it does not reset the clock back to zero...!
SPF25 prevents 96/100 photons from reaching your skin. That also means that 4 photons are still reaching the skin. This, over time, can still cause burning.
If you feel you are beginning burn, it's your body's warning that you have been exposed for too long, and the sensible approach is to cover up by wearing clothing or move out of the sun altogether.
This is a brilliant little animation which shows the difference between protection from a factor10 and a factor50 over time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cc8qRr7oMQ
We believe SPF25 is a good balance allowing some rays for Vit D production, and blocking most out, and that reliance on SPF50 can be concerning if people are complacent about its efficacy and don't reapply often enough.
What Constitutes Adequate Coverage?
Any sunscreen should be applied adequately to ensure the full SPF is achieved. The general recommendation for absorbent, chemical sunscreen lotions is approximately one shot glass full per average adult body, half a teaspoon's worth for a face. If you halve this amount and use less than required, you are actually square-rooting the SPF rendering an SPF25 for example into an SPF5; an SPF50 into SPF7!
Shade™ is thicker than the average sunscreen lotion, and so it applies quite chalky, but don't shy away from the 'white cast' as this is the zinc oxide active ingredient layer. If you apply it so thinly that this layer can't be seen, then it means you are minimising the efficacy of the product. Many people are not aware of this, and unfortunately are more concerned about how they look than how they are using their sunscreen, but this is crucial if you are going to rely heavily on your sunscreen to protect you.
Be aware there are other factors which can increase ambient UV exposure, such as certain medications, reflective surfaces such as water, snow (intensifies rays by and extra 80%!), even grass, and pavements have reflective properties, and altitude intensifies exposure also.
Many Shade™ customers find that this is the only sunscreen they can use due to allergies to other sunscreen ingredients and has been tested to EU standards on human subjects in laboratory and real conditions. It is proven to work as a safe and effective broad spectrum SPF25 sunscreen when used appropriately.
100% NON-TOXIC | SPF25 | CRUELTY FREE
'When I undertake to do something that could be considered risky, I assess the risk and seek to find the most appropriate way of lessening the risk, but above all, if I perceive the risk to be high and decide to do it anyway, then as far as I'm concerned I take full responsibility for the actions I am about to take. It's a bit like choosing to ride a bike on a road, I understand that what I am about to do is life-threatening, and no precautions I take will ever be sure to take all the risk away. Should anything serious happen to me while cycling on a road, I have to take responsibility for having been there and placed myself in danger in the first place. Yes, some other people may be involved in the accident, but I certainly would not have been hurt if I'd stayed at home on my sofa! I can't blame everyone else for something bad happening to me when I've chosen to take the risk.
The sun is the same. Excessive exposure is a known risk to our skin and ultimately our health. Staying out of it is the only way to be sure it won't burn us. Ignoring the warning signs, not checking the day's UV index in your region, not understanding SPF and the way sunscreens work and their limitations are all contributing factors to getting sun-damaged skin. By the very fact we are stepping out into the sun with sunscreen on, we are acknowledging that we are doing something we need to protect ourselves from, and therefore we are tacitly accepting responsibility for our decision.
The use of any sunscreen should be only one in a number of precautions taken to reduce the risk of damage. Others are hats, long sleeves and shade...none should be used in favour of forsaking all others. Wishing you all safe and happy toxin-free times in the sun!'
Tania, Founder & Managing Director, Not the Norm Ltd