Skin & hair · 3 min
Sun and shadeon a walk
A hat by the door, the shady side of the street in the middle of the day, and a little cover for the parts the hat misses.
Daylight on a walk is one of the good things in a day. The skin, though, keeps count of its hours in the sun, cloudy ones included, and it keeps the count for years. Most of the care is a few plain habits before you go out, so that the walk can be just a walk.
The steps
Four small steps,in your own time.
Keep a hat with a brim by the door, one that shades your face, ears and the back of your neck, with sunglasses beside it.
If you can choose, walk earlier or later in the day. Between late morning and mid-afternoon, take the shady side of the street or the path under the trees.
On the parts a hat cannot cover, like the face, ears, neck and the backs of your hands, put on a broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or more before you go, and again if you are out for more than two hours.
Take water, and rest in the shade before you feel you need to.
The reason
Why it helps
A hat and shade do more than anything out of a tube, and they cost nothing each day. Walking in the softer light of morning or evening gives you all the good of being outside with less of the strong midday sun. Keeping the hat by the door means the decision is already made when you step out. A grey sky lets much of the sun through, so the habit is worth keeping on cloudy days too.
A gentle variation
If you only have the middle of the day, make it a shorter walk in the shade, or a slow lap of a park with trees. If you have spent a long time indoors, start with ten minutes in the sun and build up.
WE · TRIBE
Try itwith someone.
If you walk with someone you look after, check their hat and their hands before you go, and choose a bench in the shade for the halfway point. Ask them to remind you of yours.
Try it today
Today, put a hat by the door, choose the shady side of the street, and cover what the hat cannot before you go out.
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