Let the SUN shine on your skin.

                                                   

Your body needs vitamin D and the sun is a great natural way to get that vitamin D. Sun therapy was used in ancient Greek times. The sun was thought of as a natural healing property for the body. Today, we seem to bath in sunblock not realizing we are putting ourselves at risk for Vitamin D deficiency among other health risk. Many people believe that to much sun can be dangerous, but the sun is needed and provides a key vitamin for our bones. In America, 24% of our citizens have Vitamin D Deficiency. It is commonly thought that by using sunblock, we are preventing cancer and anti-aging effects, but knowing the right balance of sun exposure, however, can have healing benefits for you too.  Not only is sunlight a key component in bone health, but it can also boost your immune system, strengthen your teeth, and oddly enough it can help prevent depression. Have you ever notice when you go out into the sun, you automatically smile. The sun light is the, "illumination of nature". 

The UV light from the sun can not be seen by the naked eye. This makes it hard to justify how much sun you are getting and when to say, "enough is enough". In addition to that, there are 3 different types of UV light, ultraviolet A, ultraviolet B, and ultraviolet C. UVB (ultraviolet B) are the rays that help your body with the production of vitamin D. Just remember you only need 15 minutes of sun on your unprotected skin a day to get the proper amount of vitamin D. Once you get that 15 minutes, put on some protection, either with clothes or a natural moisturizer like shea butter for example. The best time for your skin to get the UVB rays need is when the sun is 50° from the horizon. Who knows when the sun is 50° from the horizon? I don't, but you can find this out using Google Earth. Or you could use the UV Index. The UV Index gives values to the UVA and UVB rays ranging from 0 to 17. 

Use the shadow rule when exposing your skin to the sun. If your shadow is taller than you, then the UV levels are going to be low. If your shadow is shorter than you, then the UV levels are high.

Now that you know how much sun your skin should be exposed to, here are some ways to protect your skin from to much exposure. One way is by covering unprotected areas of the skin with clothes or getting into the shade of a tree or an umbrella. Another natural way of protection, is using a natural moisturizer like shea butter. The use of Shea Butter has great healing and prevention properties. The best bonus of using shea butter, is it can help with prevention and it can heal sun burnt skin. +Bloomfield Bath uses shea butter in all of it's products and it can be purchased in it's rawest form. Shea butter is extremely rich in Vitamins A,D,E,F, and K and is great for soothing skin irritations, like sunburns, making it a remarkable moisturizer. Bloomfield Bath offers two types of Shea Butter. We have the Shea Butter from the Karite Tree and Shea Nilotica, from a sub-species of the Karite Tree.  Shea Nilotica is produced in Uganda and Sudan. It is softer, has a high absorption rate, and has a softer smell than the Shea Butter of Ghana. Learn how much sun your body can handle and let us appreciate the sun and all of the amazing benefits it gives us.  

Organic Shea Nilotica

     

Organic Shea Butter (unrefined)

Cocoa Shea Butter

Bloomfield Bath