When you were born and raised in a country with warm and humid weather it’s easy to override the negative effects extreme heat can have on the body and just believe the body will naturally adapt to anything.
Last week, temperatures climbed to 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) in Romania, where I am currently, and for the first time ever the sun felt dangerous and unbearable. Excruciating headaches, dizziness and a state of confusion felt and still feels weird to be connected to intense sun/heat but they were all consequences of me choosing to roam recklessly (without an umbrella and for long periods) in the sun.
Growing up we always associated the sun with being a threat to our complexions, and were always warned constantly how it could lower your beauty points by making you darker. These comments, which are rooted in anti-blackness, were actually the reasons I stayed away from applying sunscreen daily until my late twenties. I always felt that its application would have meant rejection of parts of me despite the damage and pigmentation the sun was causing.
Hardly much is spoken about what happens when the body gets hotter. Intense heat causes the blood vessels to open up. As a result, it lowers one’s blood pressure, further placing additional strain on the heart to work faster to push blood throughout the body. Sweating as a result of the heat causes the body to then lose excess fluids all of which is necessary for it to function effectively. A combination of this coupled with consistent pressure from the body working overtime to push blood, is not hard to see why nausea, dizziness, headaches among other things are commonly associated with excess heat/sun exposure.
Reflecting, these are a few things I wish I had done, hadn’t judged and practised more of:
The umbrella
The umbrella is such a genius tool. I always thought it was useless and counterproductive to use with the sun. The sun was so sharp that it always felt like it would penetrate through. I realise any form of protection is good and not just from overheating but preventing pigmentation, which is easier to happen with black and brown skin. Staying out of direct sunlight especially between 1 pm and 3 pm when it’s the strongest is equally important.
Hot showers
A shower with water feeling like it was burning my skin always felt like the only way to clean up, despite coming in from a hot day. However, hot water irritates the skin and dries it out. Coupled with harsh and heavily fragranced bath products, this can cause further damage. I remember only wanting to use Irish Spring growing up, despite it causing my skin to burn. Cold showers are more beneficial despite the initial shock at the beginning, as they calm the body down and help restore it to its normal temperature.
Sunscreen
Sunscreen is your friend not the enemy. It ensures the skin doesn’t age prematurely due to sun damage and that acne spots don’t worsen. There is no shame in wanting to age gracefully and it isn’t anti-black to protect your skin. A common misconception among those who have oily skin is that adding more creams and products makes the face more oily or increases oil production, it doesn’t.
With the rising temperatures due to climate change, now more than ever it is important to interrogate our misconceptions about the sun and its impact on our health and skin.
