Sunscreen: The Unsung Hero of Skincare
I have a skincare confession to make: I used to dread putting on sunscreen. I opted to get a tan instead with the excuse that I don’t get sunburns (I’ve only ever had two in my life and one was from an antimalarial medicine I was taking). It wasn’t until I went to a dermatologist for the first time when I realized just how important sunscreen was: it prevents wrinkles, sunspots, and some of the most common types of cancers. Today even on days when I can barely wash my face: I always use sunscreen. I’ve become the mom friend who always brings extra SPF on outings. Sunscreen is the magical skincare product that I cannot live without. Unfortunately, most people are either not wearing sunscreen at all or wearing sunscreen incorrectly.
Repeated UV exposure contributes to a loss of skin elasticity, skin roughness and dryness, sunspots, and wrinkles. Ninety percent of cases of skin cancer are caused by the sun’s UV rays. Sunscreen provides a shield from UV rays and helps prevent the suns aging effects. Despite all of these benefits most Americans don’t use sunscreen. According to the CDC less than 15% of men and 30% of women regularly use sunscreen in instances that their skin is exposed to the sun.
Even when people wear sunscreen, they are often making a few skincare mistakes that undermine its many benefits. Unless you live underground and never see a window for the rest of your life you should probably wear sunscreen daily even when its cloudy outside, even during the winter, and even if you are indoors all day.
Most people are also not even wearing enough sunscreen. Experts recommend the using the two-finger rule for your face as shown below. This honestly blew my mind because until then I probably used about a pea sized amount for my entire face. The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using about an ounce or a shot glass amount of sunscreen for your entire body.
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Fun skincare ingredients have become all the rage these past couple of years. In the past year I’ve learned so much about hyaluronic acid, retinol, vitamin C serum, and a whole other list of fun ingredients. In fact in my hometown legend has it so that you have to trade your first born under the full moon in order to secure a vial of the ordinary niacinamide serum at the local Ulta: it is always out of stock. In comparison to these products, sunscreen can seem quite boring but it is essential to protecting your health and the time and effort you’ve invested into skincare. And as much as I love experimenting with new products, the one thing that will remain a constant in my skincare routine is the SPF. Sunscreen is an underused, underappreciated, and underrated skin care product and I urge you to make sure that you are using it often and generously this winter. Your new skincare mantra should be: wear lots of sunscreen and often.
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