The Soleo Sunscreen has come a long way. In 1999, creator ‘Leo Fung’ began searching for a safe chemical free sunscreen for his mother which was being treated with skin cancer. The scorching Australian sun is not kind to one’s fragile skin.

Leo looked long and hard but failed in his quest to find a sunscreen that was natural and organic in the market. He decided if he can’t find one, with his expertise and knowledge in naturopathy, he can surely develop his own natural organic sunscreen. Along with the help of Distributing Company ‘Skin Elements’, Soleo Organics finally saw the light of day in the  Australian market in 2003.

At this day and age, we tend to be well educated with the importance of sun protection and the damages it does to your skin.

But when it comes to sun protection for the lips, we often turn a blind eye. Lips are actually more vulnerable to sun damage, as the skin layer protecting it is very thin and its inability to produce enough melanin (skin pigments), means that it is incapable of blocking out the damaging effects of UVA and UVB rays alone. Help is needed. Daily lip care is important to keep your lips from cracking, burning, chapping and cold sores.

We all need to be extra vigilant with protecting our skin from the sun when participating in outdoor activities. This includes wearing protective clothing, slapping on a hat and applying the right sunscreen. When shopping for a sunscreen, we are normally faced with selecting between:

1. SPF15 sunscreen

2. SPF30 sunscreen

3. SPF50 sunscreen

But what exactly does the sun protection factor (SPF) mean???

All are valid arguments, but there is still no denying the fact that the highest incidences of skin cancer actually occur in countries where the use of chemical sunscreens containing benzophenone and oxybenzone and PABA have been promoted the most. The irony is that the chemical sunscreen industry makes money by selling sunscreen lotion products which is promoted to prevent skin cancer, but the ingredients used actually contain cancer-causing chemicals.

Let’s start off by looking at how a chemical sunscreen works.

Chemical sunscreen work by absorbing ultraviolet rays before they reach the skin’s surface by converting it from light to heat energy. Chemicals such as benzophonones, oxybenzone and cinnamates are used as such UV absorbing ingredients. However, there is a real question mark on the safety of it’s use as research have shown that the use of chemical sunscreen is linked to the higher incidence of skin cancer due to its free radical generating and DNA/hormone discrupting properties.