My Relationship with the Sun Has Changed and Why Yours Should Too
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As a hair and makeup artist who has called Ibiza home for over twenty years, skin is something I think about every single day, not just when I look in the mirror, but out in the world as well.
And there is one thing that I keep coming back to: respect the sun, don’t fear it.
I don’t believe the answer is to avoid sunlight altogether, in fact, gentle exposure in the early morning and again in the evening is one of life’s unexpected pleasures. A touch of summer sun, can lift your mood, regulate your body clock and keep you anchored in the simple rhythms of nature. Plus there’s something about the gentle warmth of Mediterranean light at the start and end of a day that feels genuinely nourishing, rather than something to protect yourself from.
Even after all these years, I notice my skin needs time to settle down and repair again after each season ends. The transition from spring light to full summer intensity is real and midday in July and August no longer have the appeal that they had in my youth. The days of chasing a tan are long past, but that doesn’t mean a little solar basking now and again, when the sun is at its lowest and its most gentle is a bad thing,
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When the sun is at its strongest, you’ll usually find me in the shade, in cool natural fabrics, a wide-brimmed hat or simply taking a long, slow lunch in the shade until the heat softens. For me, working with the sun has always felt far wiser than working against it, especially when you live somewhere as balmy as Ibiza.
When it comes to skincare and natural beauty in the sun, there is no one-size-fits-all set of rules. We all have different skin, diverse histories with the sun and a whole globe-full of skin types, something that is worth remembering when the advice starts to feel overwhelming. My own approach to holistic skin care and the burning (quite literally) question of to tan or not to tan, is simple: listen to your body, build up tanning time in short bursts to begin with, grab some shade, and avoid burning at all costs. That last part is non-negotiable.
The sun isn’t the enemy. But it does ask to be taken seriously.
