This blog is close to my heart. For so many reasons- No.1 I’m quite possibly the palest person on the planet and No.2 I have had four skin cancers before the age of 43. Being Australian we know so much about the sun. The hole in the ozone is pretty much right outside my house! If you have ever visited Australia and experienced our sun… it’s pretty serious. My skin gets burned in under 10-15mins if unprotected. Our country even has a sun safe campaign called Slip, slop, slap! Slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat! Aussies can talk about sun.
Now, you can use all the best lotions and potions on the planet but they will not be able to work efficiently if you do not protect your skin from the sun. The sun accelerates skin aging. Period. The damaging effects of the sun can be seen as we age and it is determined by how long you have spent in the sun in your lifetime and your skin pigmentation. All skin is susceptible to sun induced wrinkles.
So this means everyone must use sunscreen even if you have olive or darker pigmented skin. Even medications affect your susceptibility to the sun’s harmful UV rays! Please don’t be fooled by claims of all day sun protection in beauty products-there’s no such thing. There is enough proof now that the sun’s UV rays damage your collagen and elastin causing wrinkles and skin discoloration and sagging skin and that sunscreen should be the number one product you use daily in your beauty regime.
Theoretically, if you wear an SPF 20 the sun protection you “should” receive is approximately 200 minutes before reapplying. So times the SPF level by 10 and that’s how many minutes of protection you “should” receive. This is not an exact measure but to be used as a guide. If you use an SPF 30 and think 100 is better, think again the difference is minute. Use a SPF 30-45 for the best protection everyday as sun exposure of any kind is the most damaging thing you can to your skin. These numbers give you around 98% protection.
Now let’s talk sunscreens and the best in their class and approved by the top dermatologists in the world.
Drugstore
La Roche-Posay Anthelios 45 ultra-light fluid for the face
Neutrogena Clear face liquid-lotion Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 30
Medium Priced
Clinique City Block sheer oil free Daily face protector broad spectrum SPF 25
Estee Lauder Day wear Advanced Multi-protection Anti-oxidant and UV Defense SPF 50
Luxe
Lancer Skincare Sheer Fluid Sun Shield SPF 30
La Prairie Advanced Marine Biology Day cream SPF 20