My name is Philomena.
I have chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and an underactive thyroid. With these illnesses, I also have vitiligo and have lost all of the brown pigments all over my body.
Having vitiligo means my skin is seriously sensitive to the sun, making my daily life very difficult to enjoy. I have to wear a high SPF 50+ sun protection cream all year round, but no matter what sun protection I use, my skin will burn after 5 minutes in the sun.
Vitiligo is very hard to live with and it has stopped me from enjoying everyday life. I used to love the outdoors: walking, gardening, walking the dog and going to the beach. Now I carry a sun protection umbrella all year round and people stare at me.
My specialist doctor told me about your clothing, so I purchased the Luxe Sun Wrap and I am very excited to wear it. We are going for six weeks to see our son, his wife and six children who live in New Zealand.
This is our first time visiting them, and I am hoping the wrap will mean I can join in with all the family activities and enjoy the sun. My son and his family do not know I have to avoid the sun, and I am really scared as I don't want to ruin the holiday. Wish me luck.
Thank you Philomena for helping raise awareness for skin conditions by sharing your story with us and our Solbari Community. Good luck on your holiday!
The Solbari Team
Your skin is your largest organ and has a long memory. Sun exposure and ultraviolet (UV) damage is cumulative throughout your life. Research shows that sun damage contributes to more than 90% of wrinkles, brown spots, premature skin aging as well as precancerous and cancerous skin lesions.
Limiting sun exposure is very important. As the UV rays cause the most damage to the skin.
It often takes many years and sometimes decades for the effects to become visible.
But the good news is that taking care of your skin from now onwards may be able to help you to reduce the probability of skin cancers and minimise skin aging.