Sunscreen: A Way of Life

Unlike anything that I have, or probably will, talk about on this site, sunscreen can help your health. Creams, lotions, exfoliaters, masks, gels and cosmetics can all help you look better, hold wrinkles at bay, and make you feel good, but none of them can help protect your health, sunscreen can. Not to sound too much like Baz Lurman, but really, trust me about the sunscreen. If you do absolutely nothing else suggested here, weart sunscreen. Dye your hair three times a week, draw your makeup on with permanent markers and remove it with rubbing alcohol, but be sure to put on sunscreen every morning.

Many day creams and foundations have some SPF in them, however, these levels are generally fairly low. Most day creams and foundations don't have more than a 15 SPF. Unfortunately layering, although very useful in clothing, has no effect with SPF. Wearing a day cream with SPF 15 and a foundation with SPF 10 does not mean you are wearing the equivalent of SPF 25, you still only have SPF 15, they don't combine.

But, what do these tricky SPF numbers mean?

SPF stands for sun protection factor. The SPF number is the number of times the sunscreen will multiply your own natural sun defenses. So, if you would burn after 20minutes without any sunscreen and you are wearing SPF 15 your time will be multiplied by a factor of 15, so 20 minutes x 15, which means with the sunscreen you will burn after 300 minutes, or five hours.

Now, I know that makes it seem like SPF 15 is all you would ever need unless you were spending the whole day at the beach, but it all depends on your skin and how susceptible it is to sun damage, and everyone's is different. Last summer I went to the beach with a friend, it wasn't a very sunny day, but we went anyway. I put on sunscreen with SPF 45, my friend wore SPF 10, at the end of the day I was bright red and was burnt so badly I had a hard time wearing clothing for two weeks becuase it all hurt my poor red skin. My friend was slightly pink and was all better in a matter of days. So, my own personal belief is that hiher SPF is better, and really even if you don't need it, it can't hurt.

For the winter, yes you must wear sunscreen in the winter too, I love Mary Kay TimeWise Day Solution Sunscreen SPF 25. It is the lightest sunscreen I have ever used, completely nongreasy and it absorbs in seconds, perfect for applying before day cream and makeup. And, because it's SPF 25, it may well be strong enough for many people the whole year through.

For me though, I like to wear something stronger in the summer months. I use Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Face Sunscreen. It is thicker than the Mary Kay one, and it does feel more akin to the sun screen you used as a kid, but it is nongreasy, and it does absorb relatively quickly for it's consitancy. The real plus is that it won't clig yoru pores, unlike some body sunscreens, which is why you should use a special face sunscreen.

Finally, for my body, especially in the summer months, weather I am going to be spending hours outside or not, I put on Coppertone Oil Free Sunscreen. It's thicker than the face sunscreens, but it is oil free and absorbs quicker than normal sun screen. Simply apply it first thing in the morning and by the time you've finished washing your face and brushing your teech it should be absorbed.

Finally, regardless of what sun screen you choose, make sure you use one consistantly. Keep an eye out for a high enough SPF and make sure you choose one that protects agaisnt UVA and UVB.