WEAR: Soy for Your Skin?

Credit: L’Jon

When the sun breaks through the veil of grey that typically shrouds Vancouver, it’s tempting to turn our faces skyward to soak up the rays and a dose of serotonin.

Wide-brimmed hats, long sleeves and the shady cover of trees aren’t always practical. And many sun seekers are equally wary of the sun’s damaging rays and the harmful ingredients lurking beneath the intoxicating aroma of coconut-scented sun-care products and the oft-touted “natural” on labels that seem to muddy more than make clear.

Longtime Vancouver-based skin-care company L’Jon boasts a loyal following of clients that swear by its four-step natural skin-care line, which was developed more than two decades ago. “It replenishes the natural health of the skin,” says company owner Bruce Shaver, claiming that the products help bring back the skin’s natural pH (acid-alkaline) balance.

One of the company’s other offerings is LunaSoy Sun, an organic sun-care product that “actually fractures the rays of the sun. It prevents you from burning,” according to Shaver. LunaSoy Sun is free of harmful parabens, petroleum and mineral oils.

Instead, it contains a soy polypeptide that company founder Lisa Nicholson says works in conjunction with other food-grade quality vitamins and ingredients, such as aloe vera, shea butter, and green tea, which act as a natural sun protection.