Boring? Yes. Necessary? Absolutely. Please humor me and give it a quick read! If you do, I promise I will not mention Skin Cancer!
There are TONS of misconceptions about anti-aging and sunscreens out there. Let's try to debunk some of the myths, shall we?
UVA vs UVB
There are several ultra violet wavelengths but the two we are concerned with are UVA & UVB.
UVB rays are responsible for BURNING (think uvB) and only affect the outermost layer of your skin. These are the ones responsible for sunburns and tans. Only about 5% of these rays make it to our skin. They are blocked by clouds, glass, clothes - just about everything. In reality...these rays aren't that big of a deal but they are the ones that we seem to be SO obsessed with!
The real danger lies in the UVA
UVA rays are responsible for a whole mess of nastyness including AGING (think uvA). These rays penetrate deep into our skin but don't give us any immediate warning signs. However, years down the road you will be blessed with wrinkles, dark spots, sagging skin, dull/sallow looking skin and possibly the cursed C word that I promised I wouldn't say!
These rays penetrate glass, clothes, clouds, even sunscreen and 95% of the suns rays are UVA! These are the ones you have to watch out for!
MYTHS
"My Makeup/Moisturizer has SPF in it so I don't need a separate one"
Yes, you do. We want our makeup & moisturizer IN our skin but we want our sunscreen ON our skin. Apply your sunscreen - compress it into your skin by patting it until it disappears. Wait a couple minutes and then apply your makeup. Of course there is always a quality mineral makeup powder you can use. (Which I'm a HUGE fan of) but you must apply a full coverage and reapply throughout the day.
"Sunscreen makes me breakout"
I can't tell you how often I hear this one. Some sunscreens can cause breakouts...but 9 out of 10X it's because they are of a lesser quality. Look around, experiment, ask the counters in the mall for samples - find one that doesn't make you break out.
I NEED my vitamin D! I have to be in the sun!
If you want your vitamin D with a side of fine lines and sun spots - go right ahead. Better yet, have an 8 oz glass of milk or maybe a vegetable or two. If you must get your Vit. D from the sun - cover up your face and hands - your arms and legs can soak up all the D you need without contributing to the aging process.
I use spf 60 which is WAY better than spf 30!
Nope - Spf doesn't work that way. Double the spf doesn't give you double the protection. The difference between 30 and 60 spf is about 1.7%. Spf 3o is the most you need.
- I see the most sun damage on the face, decollete(chest), neck, top of hands, and top of head.
- A shot glass or golf ball size is enough for the exposed part of your body in the summer (chest, neck, arms and legs). We normally apply 1/4 of that which if we were applying spf 30 would bring it down to an spf 3.
- Extend your index and middle finger together. Cover all of that area and that's enough sunscreen for your face, neck and decollete.
- Use a BROAD SPECTRUM sunscreen that says it blocks both UVA and UVB rays
- Good ole Zinc Oxide is the safest ingredient in the cosmetic industry and the best sunscreen out there. It's molecular size is too large to fully penetrate the skin so it doesn't need to be reapplied nearly as often but can occasionally leave you looking a little paste-y. Find a 'cosmetically elegant' zinc oxide to avoid this.
- Spray sunscreens are great but not if they are swept away in the wind. Spray close enough and long enough to create a film on your skin.
- Sunscreen is a filter - not a 100% pass to play in the sun. A good antioxidant serum will help to neutralize the rays that make it pass the sunscreen. The best is L-Ascorbic Acid (a Vitamin C derivative)
- Cover up - wide brimmed hats, long sleeves, a shade tree
- Tint your car windows
- ALWAYS wear sunglasses
Any questions, let me know. Also let me know if I can recommend any products for you!
Absolutely -
ReplyDeleteI've been prudent about wearing sunscreen for several years.
When playing tennis in high school, the girls would razz me for putting sunscreen on before playing outside..
Also, I've never touched a tanning bed. Visa had an advertisement that ran a couple of years ago that showed a girl getting into a tanning booth - basically saying you can "hurry" things or "cheat" things if you want. Need a tan? Get in a bed. Need money quick? Use Visa.
Also, I burn easily so I've had to pay attention to sunscreen for a long, long time.
I not only pay attention to my skin because of wrinkles and such, but because of skin cancer. My mom had a small issue some years back, and fortunately the area was removed.
The most important areas to protect: face, neck, and hands.
I love it! You are so fair that you get it but so many people are more olive complected and think because they don't burn, they are in the clear. These are the people I'm treating now in their 40's who look like leather hand bags!
ReplyDeleteI also get gals in that say that the FDA approves tanning beds because there's a sticker right on the side that says its safe - I always tell them that just means the bed is structurally safe and not going to crush you ... not that the BULBS are safe! So much misinformation
Keep up the good work & let's hang out soon!