Sunscreen, we all need it, but how often do you actually use it? Living in south Florida has taught me a lot about the proper ways to take care of my skin, so it stays youthful looking and hopefully cancer free. I don’t claim to be a doctor or dermatologist; all of the information in this post is based on information I’ve learned about from my dermatologist, reading materials, and experience!
Some Basic Terminology to know!
UVA Rays: UVA rays are usually have less immediate noticeable factors on your skin, UVA rays are however the kind of rays that have the greatest effect on you, exposure to UVA rays will greatly increase your risk to get skin cancer! UVA rays are also the ones that are responsible for making your skin looked weathered and aged, my grandmother always used to scare me into wearing sunscreen saying that if you didn’t your face would end up looking like beat up leather lol. You can remember UVA rays cause Aging because of the A at the end.
UVB Rays: These rays you will notice if you have been out in the sun with out your sunscreen on, UVB rays are the type of rays that you generally get sun burns from, they hurt a lot, you can remember that UVB rays cause Burning because of the B at the end.
SPF: Sun Protection Factor, manufactures determine the SPF level by how long it takes to sunburn skin that is treated before hand with sunscreen vs. how long it take unprotected skin to burn.
Basic Skin Safety:
Lets start off with the basics, you should apply sunscreen all over your face and body any time you will be going out and could be exposed to the sun, even if it is just for a brief period of time, essentially this means that everyday you should be wearing some sort of sunscreen. This doesn’t mean that you have to load yourself up with the highest SPF you can find when heading out the door. Personally I like to use an SPF 15 or 30 by Australian Gold, the ones with the “instant bronze” in them (*don’t use if wearing white lol), they give the perfect amount of coverage for day time and a little bronze-y glow!
What To Wear on Your Face!
You should try to apply a sunscreen under your make up, before or after your primer, eg before foundation or congealer. I have tried two that I really liked, the first being drugstore stick sunscreen Hawaiian Tropic Sensitive Skin Stick Sunscreen SPF 50 UVB/UVA with UVA Protection I believe it costs around seven or eight dollars, the formula is very nice and provides a nice base for foundation, and does not slide off during the day! The second sunscreen I have tried and loved was the Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Sunscreen Stick SPF 50 this stick was also great however it was about twenty dollars so the price was much greater!
MINERAL SUNSCREEN! This is my newest find in sunscreen products and I have to say that I am addicted, I have been trying out the Colorscience PRO Mineral wear sunscreen SPF 30, this is sort of like a face powder with good coverage and color payoff but it also has amazing SPF coverage, I have been using it just as a mineral foundation when I go out in a hurry and also as a setting powder when I am doing a heavier foundation, this product leaving a light sating finish on your skin and gives you a bronzed glow! I currently am using the shade Tan, the only bad thing about this product is the color range, the last time I checked the website there were only 5 color choices, which is not that many, they really do not have any colors for women with colored skin tones, which is a shame because this product is really nice! Hopefully they will come out with a darker skin tone range soon!
When buying Sunscreens!
~Always look for broad-spectrum or full-spectrum on the label, this means that the products will protect you from both UVA and UVB rays, it will protect you from all types of UV light which is the absolute best for you skin.
~Higher SPF’s aren’t always better, an SPF 60 might not have double the protection of an SPF 30, however with that in mind dermatologists recommend that when you’re going to be outside to use at least an SPF 30 on your skin!
~Gel sunscreens are best for hairy areas, eg scalp! If you’ve never had a burn there believe me it hurts a lot! Don’t forget to spray some sunscreen on the top of your head and hair line!
~If you have really dry skin look for cream based sunscreens, oily skins might prefer dryer versions, many companies advertise dry based formulas which are my personal favorite.
~Look to see that your sunscreen contains any if not more the one of the following ingredients!
Avobenzone
Cinoxate
Ecamsule
Menthyl anthranilate
Octyl methoxycinnamate
Octyl salicylate
Oxybenzone
Sulisobenzone
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