Fun-In-The-Sun tips from Sunscreen Giveaway Winners!

I got some great tips and chose ten winners. I’m definitely going to use these next summer, or heck — I might start using some of ’em later this week when Miami’s less overcast!

Lots of you agree with me and adore aloe vera gel. Imla says, “Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera Gelly not only protects my face, keeping it soft and moisturized during the summer, I get that same protection for my wash-n-go hair. Love this stuff!”

One of the readers who started leaving comments on the follow-up post also gave us an excellent tip — Lisa Y. says, “My favorite fun-in-the-sun beauty tip is water (and a little bit of aloe vera) in a bottle that shoots a very fine mist. You can spray it right over your make up on hot days and it keeps U cool and your skin looks radiant!!”

Ooh, I love anything refreshing in a spray bottle for those hot and humid days outdoors. AJ had a great tip to that cool and refreshing end — she says “Hey Bella, I would love to try that Ambi too. My summer skin remedy is to keep bug spray every where I go. Nothing irritates my skin more than summer mosquitoes. I still use the Avon Skin-So-Soft, or OFF Deep Woods if I don’t mind smelling like DEET that day. Also, it’s pretty hot in my apartment, so I keep my sprays (perfumes, hair oils) in the fridge. It gives me a little refresher in the morning when I’m getting ready for the day (and usually the most flustered and hot).”

I’m gonna try THAT this week for sure. I’ve got a bunch of those little Bath and Body Works type sprays, and refrigerated, they’d feel great I bet. It’s also a great idea to stash this spray-on stuff in your cooler when going to the beach, too.

Oil of Olay is a popular brand of sun protection for bellas like Ednita — she says “Hi Afrobella! So far, my tried and trusted daily Spf moisturizer is Olay complete for sensitive skin. I prefer this because there is no fragrance and it seems to last all day. And my skin stays well moisturized during the hot and humid months. I’ve been eyeing AMBI though, so it would be cool to try. Also, for my hair, I just try to keep it moisturized with oil and covered with either a scarf or wide brimmed sun hat if I know I’m going outdoors. Have a Great Week!” You too, Ednita! You’ll be trying the Ambi soon enough, so please write back and let me know what you think.

Styleosophy adds, “I have curly, short hair. Since I wash, gel and go, it’s easy to add a little sunblock (or better yet a hat) during the warmer months. I use Phytomist by Bath and Body Works. You just spray it on. Works with damp or dry hair. For my face I use Oil of Olay Regenerist, with UV. Then for my body I just pick up CVS brand sunscreen. If you are applying enough sunscreen on your whole body every day, you should be running out just about every month.It’s inexpensive, unscented, and glides on pretty well. Because it’s unscented, and I love perfume I can scent it myself and still get the moisturizing benefits.” Great tip, I’ve been wondering about that Phytomist stuff. I’ll have to check it out!

Afrobutterfly sticks to Aveeno. “I’ve been thinking about trying ambi for some time, but in the meanwhile i use aveeno sunblock on my body and black opal daily fade cream with spa 15 moisturizer. It doesn’t do any fading, but it’s a pretty nice moisturizer. And for my hair, well i’m wearing box braids now, and the best hair tip for that is to wash it every week like you do with your normal hair and to use a leave in conditioner. I use the generic infusium 23 leave in every night. And to oil my scalp i use Wild Growth Oil, it absorbs easily and is made of natural oils.” I used to use Wild Growth Oil as well. Didn’t care much for the smell. Afrobutterfly also uses another favorite bella sun protection trend — various hair oils for sun protection and moisture.

Angela likes to use a little carrot oil mixed with a little olive oil if her hair’s been in the sun for a little too long. Latoya Peterson loves the Bath and Body Works Manoi Oil. “Nice scent, and works great on relaxed, overly dry hair (though it is really supposed to be for the body.)” Hmm. Sounds interesting, and that gives me even more of an excuse to hang out at Bath and Body Works! Love that. Thanks, Latoya!
hpy2bnpy got me fiending for the new Miss Jessie’s hotness — she says “Bella! Hair – On Saturday mornings after my shower but before I go out to run my errands I rub a dollop of Miss Jessie’s Rapid Recovery Treatment into my twa or what’s left of my tired twist out. The product gets absorbed into my hair all day long then when I rinse it out my hair is softer than I’ve ever seen it, without any oliy or greasy residue. Skin – Trader Joe’s Purify Grapefruit Chamomile Sea Salt Scrub is a high quality exfoliator with a fresh, happy, clean citrusy scent at a price that is less than half that of other scrubs.” Oh, I’d KILL for a Trader Joe’s in Miami! Add that to the list of stores that need to be here but aren’t. Yet. I absolutely adore that place, but I only get to go when I’m out of state. Sad but true.

Melinda‘s sun tip wasn’t so much about protection as it was about fun. But she made me long to spend the summer in NYC — “Hey Bella. My fun in the sun tip is not really a tip…but a way of living…. Living in Harlem, NY…a fun in the sun day would be to grab a blanket with my boo, walk through Central Park (we are both teachers) find a perfect spot, and just chill. We might have a bottle White or Rose, some Spinach Dip, some brownies… And with the sun’s glare, I’ll have my Chinatown designer shades…and that’s about it. So I guess my fun in the sun tip would be to make sure that you make the time to enjoy the sun. I’m one of those black people who really doesn’t put much emphasis on protecting my skin from the sun. Could be ignorance on my part; but worrying about skin cancer or premature aging or crows feet is the last thing on my mind when I’m out there enjoying the gift that is the sun. It is possible that I feel this way because I’m brown to dark skinned. And…yes I know that black people can get skin cancer…. For the most part, I’ll moisturize my skin with Oil of Olay ( a little dab), and dust my face off with some neutral powder to prevent that Pork Chop shine. (smile)” Oh, I know all about the Pork Chop shine, Melinda! I usually stick to Iman’s Undercover Agent to prevent that look.

Congratulations to all of you, you’re my big winners! Thanks so much for the great tips. I’ll be e mailing you for mailing information later today. And if you didn’t win THIS giveaway, stay tuned for the next one…. can you say hair color? Woo hoo!!

And that’s all I have time for on this Monday morning that’s slipping through my fingers. I promise to fix up this post later and add photos and links — I see some of you winners have blogs of your own so I promise to show you all some link love when I get back from the o-face.

And for the rest of ya, fret not — you’ll have a fresh Afrobella of the Week to read by tonight. I just hate half-assing those posts, so if they take me longer and I can’t get ’em done by first thing Monday, oh well. Don’t let your Monday get you down, bellas! I’m trying not to….