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<<7>> Hi, I'm Dr. Brannick Riggs,
<<8>> Vice President of Education at doTERRA International.
<<11>> And I have with me today
<<12>> the Scientific and Medical Education Committee
<<14>> here in Europe.
<<15>> And we're gonna have a conversation today
<<17>> about sun and this new sun care line.
<<21>> So, Ruth, as we talk about the sun,
<<23>> and there's lots of different rays that come from the sun,
<<26>> the question is kind of, what are they?
<<28>> And are all of them harmful to us?
<<30>> Well, I mean, of course not,
<<32>> because the rays that come from the sun
<<34>> go right the way from, you know, radio waves
<<37>> all the way through to your UV, gamma, X-rays, et cetera.
<<41>> The longer the wavelength,
<<43>> the shorter the frequency, the lower the energy.
<<47>> But it's the high-energy, high-frequency waves
<<50>> that you get at the UV end, gamma, X-rays, et cetera,
<<54>> where you get most of the harm.
<<56>> Now, most of those are filtered out by the atmosphere,
<<60>> but what does get through are the UVA and the UVB,
<<64>> and those are the most harmful
<<66>> of the sun rays that come through.
<<68>> And we know that they can,
<<70>> you know, cause all sorts of skin issues,
<<73>> including and up to skin cancer.
<<75>> Right, right.
<<76>> So those ultraviolet rays are really the things
<<79>> that are kind of most powerful that can affect us.
<<83>> I mean, there's UVC as well,
<<84>> but that doesn't get through in general,
<<86>> unless you're in the middle of the arctic somewhere.
<<88>> Yeah. Perfect.
<<89>> Alex, there's also this thing called blue light,
<<92>> and we are exposing ourselves to blue light
<<95>> more and more and more in modern times.
<<99>> Tell us about blue light, what it is,
<<100>> and where we're getting that exposure from.
<<103>> Yeah.
<<103>> As Ruth mentioned,
<<104>> you have this visible spectrum of light,
<<107>> and blue light is a particular range of the spectrum,
<<110>> 400-500 nanometre in wavelength.
<<114>> And this particular section of the
<<120>> light spectrum is able to penetrate the skin deeper.
<<123>> So it's more problematic in causing, you know, photodamage
<<128>> to our skin cells, to the DNA in our skin.
<<131>> So it comes from the sun,
<<134>> it can also come from devices,
<<135>> electronic devices, light bulbs, things like that,
<<138>> and so we certainly get exposure. Not simply
<<141>> you know, because we're inside, we might be outta the sun,
<<144>> but we can still get exposure
<<145>> from devices and electronics and things.
<<147>> Many of us are sitting
<<148>> in front of computer screens all day, right?
<<150>> Or even our phones sometimes have that blue light,
<<154>> and we are getting lots of exposure in those ways.
<<156>> And there's more and more research coming out, you see,
<<158>> about the damage that those wavelengths are causing.
<<162>> Yeah. Yeah.
<<163>> So Fernando, what does a natural skincare routine look like,
<<167>> including sun care?
<<169>> Okay.
<<170>> So we cannot forget that the skin
<<172>> is the biggest organ in our body.
<<175>> We need to give it love and care.
<<178>> So the care that we have every day,
<<181>> your everyday routine,
<<182>> it depends how exposed you are
<<186>> to the sun or the environment.
<<190>> So first, clean it, moisturise it,
<<193>> hydrate it, apply some serums.
<<197>> And it's important to take care of the skin
<<200>> near to your eyes, very sensitive.
<<203>> And then sun care.
<<206>> If you are too much exposed to the sun,
<<209>> even if you are going to the beach, or going to the country,
<<212>> or even when you are driving,
<<214>> you have your hand exposed and your arm exposed.
<<217>> You need to apply sunscreen
<<220>> and of course mineral sunscreen.
<<223>> And if you do that routine every day
<<226>> at morning, at night, or during the day,
<<228>> depending on your exposure,
<<230>> you will take care of your skin.
<<231>> Yeah, we've even seen photos of those
<<234>> that drive a truck or drive a vehicle for a living,
<<237>> and they have one side of their face
<<239>> that's aged significantly, another side that's less,
<<242>> and it's simply due to that exposure, right?
<<245>> And not protecting.
<<246>> Yeah, because the sun,
<<248>> even if it's important for our lives,
<<251>> it can be harmful if we don't take care of our skin,
<<255>> if we are too much exposed.
<<256>> Alexandra, help us understand the difference
<<259>> between natural, mineral-based sunscreen
<<262>> versus a chemical-based sunscreen
<<264>> and how there can be a difference
<<267>> in trying to get a more natural approach to our sun care.
<<271>> Yes, we have on the one side
<<273>> the physical mineral sunscreens,
<<275>> and they are working by deflecting the light rays
<<281>> with reflection and dispersion.
<<285>> The ingredients of these physical, mineral sunscreens
<<289>> are mostly zinc oxide or kaolin or talcum.
<<294>> It's like a paste.
<<296>> It's because it's powder based,
<<297>> and because of that, we all know them,
<<299>> that you have a white skin,
<<301>> and so they are working.
<<303>> The great thing is they work immediately
<<305>> when you apply it on the skin.
<<308>> So you can go into the sun in this moment
<<312>> when you apply it on your skin,
<<314>> and if you use more
<<317>> and you have more of these ingredients
<<319>> inside your physical mineral sun care,
<<322>> then it's more effective.
<<326>> So the effectiveness
<<327>> is how much you use from these ingredients.
<<331>> I remember as a kid
<<332>> seeing people with that white nose,
<<334>> - right? - Yes.
<<335>> They just cake the zinc oxide on the nose to protect it.
<<338>> And so you knew that, okay,
<<340>> they've got their sun sunscreen on,
<<342>> Nevermind the rest of their face.
<<343>> Right, right.
<<344>> For some reason, the nose was most important.
<<346>> So now tell us, what about chemical sunscreens?
<<348>> Tell us about that.
<<349>> Yeah, chemical sunscreens are totally different
<<353>> because they are working with absorption.
<<355>> So they are absorbing the UV rays.
<<359>> The physical mineral,
<<360>> they are also work a little bit with absorption,
<<362>> but the main difference is that the physical minerals,
<<366>> the ingredients are stable.
<<368>> They don't change.
<<369>> But if we have a chemical, they work with changing.
<<374>> That means from the UV light,
<<379>> they make infrared light and heat.
<<382>> And this is the normal physical process,
<<386>> and this process needs time.
<<388>> And because of that, we have to wait 15-20 minutes
<<392>> before we go out into the sun.
<<394>> So they don't work immediately.
<<397>> We have no white arms and not a white face.
<<401>> But yeah, we have to wait.
<<403>> The second problem is that these organic ingredients
<<407>> in the chemical sunscreens, they are not stable.
<<411>> And it could be that some of these ingredients,
<<415>> we apply it or we have it in our systemic way.
<<420>> And the second thing
<<422>> is that it can make sensitization of the skin.
<<427>> So it can cause allergic reactions.
<<431>> It's interesting that when we look at children,
<<434>> and we see a lot of children with light allergies,
<<438>> 10% of the children, we thought they have a light allergy,
<<443>> they don't have a light allergy.
<<444>> They have a contact allergy against chemical sunscreen.
<<449>> And a lot of people don't know that.
<<451>> So my opt is for using
<<456>> mineral physical sunscreen,
<<460>> because it's safe with its ingredients,
<<463>> I can use it immediately.
<<466>> So I can cream my girl,
<<468>> and she can go immediately out in the sun,
<<472>> and it's also a good
<<475>> water-resistant product.
<<480>> But nevertheless, if we are in the water
<<482>> or if we are doing sport or if we are sweating,
<<485>> we have to apply our sunscreen again.
<<488>> Yeah, so that we have a better protection of our skin.
<<491>> It's just on the organic,
<<493>> the sort of the range of sun creams
<<495>> that we have available to us on the sort of chemical side
<<498>> has been a really interesting challenge
<<500>> from a toxicological perspective.
<<502>> You know, we've only really had sun creams around
<<504>> for the last sort of 30 or 40 years actually.
<<506>> And when we first started testing them as toxicologists,
<<510>> we didn't take into account the fact
<<512>> that they react because they're exposed to the sun.
<<515>> So it's interesting, it's a whole area now
<<518>> where we have to actually do
<<519>> a whole range of tests specifically on these.
<<523>> And a lot of them, we've found out because of that,
<<527>> are not that good on the skin.
<<528>> You know, there's a real dynamic
<<530>> about which ones you can use,
<<531>> what the toxicology is behind them,
<<534>> and also the environmental toxicology behind them.
<<537>> These all get into the water,
<<538>> and they start, you know, affecting the coral reefs.
<<541>> Yeah. Yeah, that's true.
<<542>> There are some really important elements there
<<544>> that we didn't realise.
<<545>> Yeah, and we had a lot of chemical UV sun creams
<<550>> at the mark with hormone-like effects.
<<553>> They are forbidden now in the European Union,
<<555>> but yeah, so we know the science is growing,
<<560>> and with time,
<<561>> It's constantly under review I have to say.
<<562>> Yeah.
<<563>> We have constant reviews.
<<565>> Well, as Fernando mentioned,
<<566>> the skin is the largest organ of the body,
<<568>> and we know that we absorb
<<569>> about 60% of the things that we put on our skin.
<<572>> So when dealing with synthetics
<<575>> like our other sunscreens, it's a challenge.
<<578>> But with the mineral sunscreens,
<<579>> the beauty is that we absorb very little of that,
<<581>> - larger molecules, et cetera. - Yeah, of course.
<<583>> And it's so interesting that you have on the one side
<<586>> something to protect you from the sun,
<<590>> but on the other side, it's photosensitive.
<<592>> It's photosensitive,
<<593>> and because of that, things could happen in our skin.
<<597>> So Ruth, how can someone determine
<<599>> the most effective natural sunscreen
<<602>> for their skin type and level of sun exposure?
<<605>> Well, I mean, so the main elements
<<608>> that you have to take into consideration
<<609>> are what your skin type is, and that's it.
<<612>> The easiest way to look at that
<<613>> is probably just how pale or how dark skinned you are.
<<616>> That's the best indicator
<<617>> of how tolerant you are of the sun in general.
<<620>> And that determines where your genetics came from, right?
<<622>> Yeah, largely.
<<623>> Whether or not your ancestors
<<625>> were exposed to a lot of sun or very little sun.
<<627>> Yeah, yeah.
<<628>> Also your reaction to sun.
<<629>> So people sometimes, you know if you burn very easily
<<633>> or if you develop freckles or moles easily
<<635>> when you go out to the sun.
<<636>> That's an indication
<<636>> that you need to sort of put some high protection on there.
<<640>> I think the second factor that's really important
<<642>> is the intensity of the sun where you are.
<<644>> I mean, it varies where you are in the world,
<<647>> you know, how intense the sun.
<<648>> There are indicators you can look up
<<650>> and see what the intensity is.
<<651>> And if you're in an area
<<653>> where you have very high-intensity sun,
<<655>> then you should be putting more protection on.
<<658>> And then the third thing
<<659>> is how much time you are spending in the sun.
<<662>> You know, if you're a lorry driver
<<663>> where you have the side exposed all the time,
<<666>> you might wanna make sure you protect that side
<<668>> that little bit more.
<<668>> You know, so those are the sort of factors
<<670>> that you really need to take into consideration.
<<673>> And then you need to look at what they call the SPF,
<<676>> the Sun Protection Factor,
<<678>> within the sun cream itself as well.
<<683>> But I have to say,
<<684>> it's less important than people often think it is.
<<687>> Obviously the higher Sun Protection Factor,
<<689>> the higher your protection is,
<<691>> but just using any sun cream.
<<694>> And at the Sun Protection Factor of 15,
<<697>> you've already got like something like 93%
<<699>> of the protection you're gonna get from it.
<<702>> Having said that,
<<703>> I don't think any sun cream is going to give
<<705>> - you 100% protection. - Correct.
<<707>> - So, you know, you do need to wear sunglasses, wear a hat,
<<711>> protect yourself from the sun in other ways as well,
<<714>> and make sure that you keep putting it on,
<<716>> and try not to go out too often in the sun.
<<718>> Right.
<<719>> Alex, can you give us some examples
<<721>> of some natural ingredients
<<723>> that come from either plant extracts or oils
<<725>> that might be included in a good natural sun care product?
<<729>> Yeah, some of the internal compounds we can consume,
<<732>> they're almost like a internal natural sunscreen
<<735>> that are absorbing these light waves.
<<738>> So think of things like carotenoids, astaxanthin,
<<740>> lycopene, lutein, beta-carotene.
<<744>> These things are able to help to neutralise those.
<<748>> Those sound similar to some things
<<749>> that we could find in a product like Lifelong Vitality.
<<753>> Yeah, maybe a xEO Mega softgel.
<<756>> Interesting, yeah.
<<757>> Kind of a reddish colour.
<<758>> Right, yeah.
<<759>> Yeah, they're powerful compounds,
<<761>> and they're produced by plants for the same reason.
<<764>> Topically, we have some options though
<<766>> from a natural perspective
<<768>> to help us with not just the prevention of photodamage
<<773>> but also the recovery from photodamage from the sun.
<<778>> Things like copaiba oil, frankincense, myrrh.
<<784>> The non-citrus oils are beneficial that way.
<<787>> We have fatty oils as well,
<<789>> so jojoba and avocado, coconut, carrot seed.
<<795>> These types of fatty oils
<<796>> are also not just protective of the skin
<<800>> prior to damage, but if you have incurred photodamage,
<<803>> then they can help with the recovery.
<<805>> Yeah, some of that damage happens
<<806>> through the oxidative stress of the sun, right?
<<809>> So having some products that are high in antioxidants
<<813>> can be extremely helpful at protecting and making sure
<<816>> that we don't accumulate more and
<<818>> more damage, right?
<<820>> Yes, like the resveratrol in the MetaPWR Advantage.
<<824>> Plants are releasing resveratrol
<<827>> when they have stress because of UV light.
<<831>> So this is protecting the plants from it.
<<834>> Yeah, yeah.
<<835>> Fernando, how often should someone apply
<<838>> and reapply a natural sunscreen
<<841>> to protect themselves from the sun?
<<843>> And how does this compare to chemical sunscreens?
<<846>> Okay, so depending on the time of exposure,
<<850>> but you should renew your sunscreen
<<855>> every two hours.
<<856>> It depends, if you are sweaty, if you're going
<<858>> into the water, then you need to put on more.
<<861>> The thing is from the mineral sunscreen,
<<864>> when you apply, it acts immediately.
<<866>> The chemical, because it needs all the process
<<869>> to be absorbed, they need, like Alexander says,
<<872>> at least 20 minutes to take effect.
<<874>> So at the end,
<<876>> you'll have one hour, 40 minutes with the chemicals
<<879>> and two hours with minerals.
<<882>> Yeah.
<<883>> Yeah, the other thing
<<884>> that I love about the mineral sunscreen
<<886>> is that if you can see it, you know that it's there, right?
<<890>> And so as a father of children,
<<893>> sometimes you're busy, you're at the beach,
<<895>> or you're in the mountains,
<<896>> and you go, "Oh my gosh, did I put sunscreen on the kids?"
<<898>> You can look at the child with the mineral sunscreen
<<900>> and go, "Yep, I put sunscreen on them."
<<903>> With the chemical sunscreens, you can't always tell, right?
<<907>> Sometimes you have to go over and smell them,
<<910>> and that smell that you're getting is actually synthetics
<<913>> that they've put in there to make it smell a certain way.
<<915>> And then you go, "Oh yeah, I put this on them."
<<918>> The mineral sunscreen's beautiful,
<<919>> because then you can just look at them and determine that.
<<922>> So I enjoy spending time in the mountains,
<<925>> and of course, as you're higher in elevation,
<<928>> you get more and more exposure
<<929>> to that UV wavelength of light.
<<932>> And so this has become really a routine
<<935>> for me as I'm outside,
<<937>> as I'm sure it has for you all
<<939>> as you've experienced the amazing benefits
<<941>> of our mineral sun care line
<<943>> and the amazing product that it is.
<<946>> I'm sure soon it will become a staple
<<949>> in all of our Wellness Advocates here in Europe,
<<952>> finding how amazing this is for them
<<955>> in taking care of their own families
<<957>> and their friends as well.
<<958>> So thank you for lending your expertise
<<960>> to today's conversation, and we appreciate it.