With summer right around the corner, it’s time for those with lupus to get ready for the sun. Before finding products that helped protect my skin I stayed away from the sun to avoid flaring up a butterfly rash. Leaving me pale and severely vitamin D deficient. Now I can enjoy hours in the sun without having to worry about a butterfly rash flaring up. Today we are going to cover my favorite products that help me prevent a lupus rash from the sun and best practices when in the sun.
Before learning to manage my lupus rash, riding in a car without tinted windows would leave me with a painful, embarrassing, and relentless butterfly rash. Spending time outside was without a doubt off the table for me when even a car ride left me with a blistering rash. It took months of trial and error mixed with testing hundreds of products to narrow it down to my top 5. Let my painful several-month-long ordeal save you the time, money, and butterfly rashes. Or at least allow you to cross certain items off your list! Everyone has a different experience with butterfly rashes and what works for one person might not work for another but at least laying the groundwork may help you on your journey to building the best butterfly rash-proof tool kit.
Best practices
Before we jump right into the products I wanted to touch on the best practices I live by when it comes to spending time outside. Hydration, sunscreen, shade, protective clothing, and awareness. I make sure I start hydrating days before I plan on spending time in the sun and while hydrating might not prevent a lupus rash. Just do yourself a favor and make sure you are taking care of yourself before getting out in the heat. I make sure to be on top of all my known triggers before exposing myself to another trigger.
All of the ārulesā come down to being conscious of the elements and how long I’m in direct sun, making sure I am taking breaks throughout in the shade, and overall taking care of myself.
Sunscreen
My all-time favorite sunscreen is the Elta MD sunscreen but I’m trying to find non-toxic alternatives to my favorite products so I will be listing a few I’m trying out myself below. On my journey to non-toxic living, one of the hardest swaps for me has been this sunscreenā¦..Which is why I have waited so long before really giving other products a full chance. It genuinely is a good product that doesn’t have a weird smell, protects my skin well, and doesn’t break me out. I have the most trouble with sunscreens having a weird smell and breaking me out so this has been my go-to for years. But it’s not the cleanest when it comes to non-toxic options so I am currently trying out 2 new sunscreens. To find non-toxic products I use the EWG app the two sunscreens I have linked below are EWG certified. Check out our blog post on “Non-toxic living”Ā for more on why I am making the switch! I will keep yāall updated on which one I like the best. If you have any recommendations for non-toxic sunscreens leave a comment!
Non-toxic sunscreens I’m trying:
Foundation
I’ve talked about this before but the best way Iāve found to protect my skin from the sun and avoid a butterfly rash is by adding a second layer of skin per se. I use an SPF sunscreen and then go in with a full-coverage foundation. This foundation is by far the best of all drug-store and cosmetic store foundations I have found. If you’re looking for a real full-coverage, long-lasting, even, non-cakey foundation that doesn’t turn orange this is the foundation for you. This one happens to have SPF included but the main reason I still apply an SPF is because of the amount of SPF you are supposed to use for it to be effective. Most people say 1/4-1/3 of a teaspoon is best and that would result in a thick cakey layer of foundation. Since this is a full coverage you barely need any to get the job done.
The double layer of SPF works best for me! Again I’m looking for non-toxic options also for my full coverage foundation that works as well as this one but as of right now, this is my OG. Having that āsecond layerā protects my face from the sun and aids in preventing a butterfly rash.
I have also used this when working out because I was getting butterfly rashes from almost any physical activity. For some reason having that extra layer helps prevent my butterfly rash from making an appearance. And when I was experiencing random painful butterfly rashes that would not go away for days I would put this foundation on the affected area and it would soothe the rash. It almost helps cool the area down. I would just recommend trying it next time you can’t get a rash to go down because it really was a life-saving hack to know when I was experiencing vengeful butterfly rashes.
For more of my makeup and skincare favorites / hacks check out these post!
- “7 Products for a lupus butterfly rash”
- “How I take care of Lupus skin”
- “Best makeup for Lupus skin”
Protective clothing
SPF clothing has been one of the best investments and additions to my wardrobe. If I’m going to be in the sun for long periods Iāve found wearing SPF clothing has allowed me to endure the heat better and allowed me to stay outside longer. I have a wide variety of shirts in my SPF collection now this is my go-to though. For $20 bucks it’s worth trying out! Click here to check out an amazon list I made with all my favorite SPF gear I like!
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Mini fans
I noticed my butterfly rash would come out from the sun even if my face was protected if I was overheating. I have so many little fans I couldn’t even count them now. They are so useful and have helped me avoid hundreds of lupus rashes by cooling me down. I keep one in every purse I have. This one’s my favorite right now because it is rechargeable and other ones I have had eventually lose their power. I have not noticed that with this one so far!
Big hat
If you’re not able to find a shady area, keeping the sun off of you is your best bet. You can do this with a big hat or a SPF umbrella. If it’s just a short time I would choose the hat but extended periods would call for the big guns ā¦ my SPF umbrella. I’ve linked both so you can check them out. But any old hat with a wide brim works. I just really enjoyed this one so I thought I would include it.
Although preventing a lupus rash from the sun 100% of the time isn’t possible. All of these products paired with me sticking to my best practices has dramatically decreased the amount of lupus butterfly rashes I have gotten. Before having a routine in place it was a given that I would experience a butterfly rash that would stay for hours. Now I couldn’t tell you the last time I had one and I work out in my garden for 7-8 hours a day on the weekends in the sun. I would have never believed I would be able to enjoy the sun before but it is possible. These are just the things that have helped me! Leave a comment with your favorite products so I can give them a try.
I also believe my drastic lifestyle change has a part to play in me being able to endure the sun and avoid any symptoms. But even before these 5 products helped me avoid a butterfly rash!
