WHETHER you are ready or not, the sun is now coming out in full force - stamping its authority on our fragile skins.

WHETHER you are ready or not, the sun is now coming out in full force - stamping its authority on our fragile skins.

TV personality Lalla Hirayama has taken time off her busy schedule to help readers decide which sunscreen would best enable them to enjoy the sun without getting its harmful effects.

Hirayama is not the type of girl to stay behind lurking in the shadows.

Born in Japan she has taken South African TV screens by storm. She has been a TV presenter since she was 15 years old.

She has also left her mark on the dance scene by co-founding the Clinch Crew, a hip-hop dance act.

Today Hirayama turns her attention to sunscreen. She first tries Nivea Sun Moisturising Sun Lotion. Rubbing a generous dollop of sunscreen into her skin she comments: "I like the smell of this sunscreen and how it makes the skin feel after I've applied it."

She rubs a drop of Sun Sure Sun Protection Lotion into her other arm. "The bottle isn't attractive. I don't like the weak coconut smell it has and it's too oily."

The third sunscreen to be tried is Every Sun Aquasport Sunscreen Lotion. "I don't think this one should be part of your beauty regime. It's more for sporty people."

Lastly she tries Tropitone Splash Sunscreen Lotion. "It smells like soap but it does feel good on the skin. It's not too oily."

Bad news for Hirayama fans is that she plans to give TV only two more years.

For now, Hirayama who intends to study dermatology, prescribes Nivea Sun's Moisturising Sun Lotion. - Keitumetse Segoai