I love to rave about things that I think are underrated or underutilized, or aren't getting the credit they deserve. To my friends, to a yoga move, to a musician, to a product, here's to the underdogs. Here's to the fabulous things that slip under the radar; to the things that we may take for granted--To things we brush off. SUNSCREEN is one of those things.
For me, as a young girl, it always put me in a bad mood when my mother slapped on 5times what I thought was the necessary amount of sunscreen. It had a certain smell. I didn't want to be pale or have a blue or purple cast to my skin. I didn't want to feel sticky. As I got a bit older I loved the look of getting golden in the summertime. Although, I never really intentionally tan, I do love the feel of the sun rays on my skin.
With the age of social media, I love seeing those posts about grannies speed walking on the track after they are past 100 years old, or those women (i.e. Angela Bassett, Tracee Ellis Ross, Christie Brinkley to name a few) that awe the masses with their ability to look young forever.
To be honest a lot of what goes into how well (or poorly) we age comes from genetics, but there is a lot we can do take our future into our own hands. Those that are blessed with more melanin in their skin (the expression "Black don't crack" is so true, I mean, just LOOK at Gabrielle Union's photo from the 90's and then her in 2019. This also applies to Halle Berry, Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, this list is endless). Those of us that are not so blessed HAVE TO wear even more sunscreen and even more consistency to combat the UVA and UVB rays that we have less natural barriers against. It's not optional. This is not to say that those with more melanin shouldn't wear sunscreen, it's a to highlight just how important being active with skincare is.
Aging slowly or rapidly also has a lot to do with how much natural oils are skin produces, and how often it "regenerates" itself after exfoliation.
The following is what I've learned about the best practices in incorporating a solid sun care regime into your daily routine. I'll also include some of my favorite products
1. There are chemical and physical sunscreens.
I actually prefer physical sunscreens to chemical sunscreens because I'm outside all of the time and rarely wear makeup. I have a sensation of feeling adequately protected when I wear something with Zinc, Drunk Elephant's Umbra Sheer Physical Daily Defense SPF 30 for example. Some drawbacks to physical sunscreens is that they are known to be thicker and may leave a white/blue/purple cast.
Chemical sunscreens on the other hand absorb the suns rays, and release that energy away from your skin, while physical sunscreens act as a barrier that don't let those rays enter your skin in the first place. Chemical sunscreens can be great for everyday use because their usually thinner and lighter so therefore easier or maybe more comfortable to wear. However the heat that they create when they transform the sun's rays can potentially be harmful to your skin and exacerbate hyper pigmentation. Hyper-pigmentation is one of the reasons we should be wearing sunscreen in order to prevent it or let it heal, so if the chemical sunscreen makes it worse, i There are also formulas that have both physical and chemical protectants!
2. If you have strong active ingredients in your other skin care products, it's even more reason to wear sunscreen correctly and consistency. These ingredients included retinoids, AHA's, BHA's, we're talking "glycolic acid", "lactic acid", "salicylic acid" and more chemical exfoliants. It's important to wear sunscreen L-Ascorbic acid or Vitamin C and even Vitamin E with sunscreen, and it's been said to make your sunscreen work even better- WIN!-WIN!
3. You have to reapply every two hours. (or what the directions say). This is pretty straightforward. We don't expect orally-taken medicine or makeup to last all day--we can't do the same for sunscreen. It simply wears off--so reapply! They have made this really easy, with the introduction of sprays and powders.
4. Quantity: 1/3 to 1/2 Teaspoon for your face.
This is what dermatologists and doctors alike say we all need to be using depending on the size of our face. Don't forget that you need to apply to your neck and hands as well.
5. Try to stay away from Oxybenzone! Save our oceans! Protect your body from toxicity! This is the ingredient that is strongly linked to permanently damaging the world's coral reefs when we go snorkeling over them wearing this sunscreen. It's really sad. So all the more reason to ditch buying products with this ingredient. Sadly I've bought some, but I will not be financially supporting formulas with Oxybenzone in the future. If this ingredient can disrupt the reefs so badly, think about the harm it can do if it's absorbed into our blood stream from our skin on a daily basis...scary!
6. Sunscreen in your makeup is usually not enough to actually protect you. See section 4. To cover your face with enough active ingredient in the sunscreen to actually protect you, you would have to wear A LOT of foundation/tined moisturizer/CC Cream with. The sunscreen in your makeup just makes up a portion of the ingredients in the makeup, so to equal the suggested amount by dermatologists, it's a lot. For makeup brands to include sunscreen in their formulas, may be helpful for layering, it is also a marketing point to get you to buy that product.
7. Don't skip your lips. or your neck. or the tops of your hands...
I always forget to apply sunscreen on my nose, and it's the first place I get freckles on my face--something I am working on! Get your neck, ears, nose, lips, everywhere!
Cult favorite Elta MD sun care products!! Very good solid choice—also comes with hyalauronic acid and niacinamide !
When it’s super sunny I like to use a ticket amount of Drunk Elephant’s Umbra Sunscreen —either tinted or plain. I love this brand and I really trust their results for their other products. I also love the idea of a Drunk Elephant!
If I go with a chemical sunscreen that’s light under makeup or just a cloudy, or indoors type of day, I go with Glossier or Supergoop chemical sunscreens because they smell great, glide onto the skin and they stay away from Oxybenzone.
And My NUMBER ONE favorite facial sunscreen is the KEYS Tinted Moisterizer Sunscreen. I love the texture, the protection, and the GLOW, and the clean ingredients.
Sources/Credits:
https://www.wellandgood.com/good-advice/how-much-sunscreen-to-use-on-face/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xExSdt00w4k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmkSAVz9Vcc&t=379s
https://www.wellandgood.com/good-looks/reef-safe-sunscreen-protect-oceans/