Holiday Heroes

If you’re going on holiday this month, then hopefully I can help you choose some essential travel companions.

Wherever you go in the world, it’s essential to be respectful of the sun. Here in the uk we tend to be vitamin D deficient, so it’s important that we get sun exposure as it helps our bodies to produce vitamin D which is essential for healthy bones.

Prolonged sun exposure is where we have to be careful: hats, sunglasses and light coloured linen are all ways to protect our skin and remain cooler in the intense heat. Plus, staying hydrated is essential by drinking lots of water. When it comes to buying your Sun Protection Factor, choose wisely as not all sunscreens are equal. Some brands tend to have a lot of aggressive chemicals, that can not only cause skin irritations but are not marine friendly. So try Green People or REN for decent sun screens for all the family. For the face and delicate areas use SKN-RG Pure Shield , £25, www.skn-rg.com, with an spf 30 and the latest blue light defence technology, it’s a holiday essential especially in the nifty stick format that has a zinc oxide based formula that also has adaptive pigments, so it looks natural on the skin. Ideal as a primer for makeup too.

If the thought of you slipping into a pair of shorts fills you with dread due to visible veins on the legs, then help is at hand. There are quite a few companies that have water-proof body makeup, to help disguise everything from spider veins to tattoos! DermaColor Body Camouflage , £19.50, www.kryolan.com, comes in an extensive choice of colours, perfect for the whole body and is also smudge resistant.

Holidays can be spoilt by those pesky mosquitoes! If, like me, you don’t like to use the super strong chemical based repellents then why not try an oil like citronella or Tea Tree ?  Tisserand Organic Tea Tree Essential Oil, £3.95, www.tisserand.com can be used in many different ways; try adding 6-8 drops of the oil into a vaporiser to deter insects. You can also add 5 drops of tea tree oil to 2 tablespoons of carrier oil (like sweet almond oil) and apply to exposed areas of skin twice a day.

Super Ingredient - Astaxanthin  An extremely powerful antioxidant that is 550 times stronger than vitamin E & 10 times more powerful than beta-Carotene. It’s naturally found in Crab, Shrimp , Salmon, Lobster and micro algae. This carotenoid mixes well with fats and water so can travel throughout the body and can help protect the skin from photo-ageing.

Green People Green Beauty with Astaxanthin, £34, www.greenpeople.co.uk , is a vegan friendly supplement that comes in a capsule form. This formula also contains Wheatgrass, Chlorella, Barleygrass, Spirulina and Seagreens to help build, repair and maintain tissue as well as boosting the immune system. So by applying your topical sunscreen regularly and trying this supplement it could be an ideal way to promote external and internal protection from UVA and UVB.