Important Tip: Use Sunscreen!

It is never too early to use suncreen on your face and body. Now, I’d be the first to admit that I’m not always as religious about using sunscreen on my arms and legs but for my face, its a top priority every single day.

Its a fallacy that if you refrain from going out into the sun, you don’t need sunscreen. Or, that if you stay home with all the windows and doors closed, you don’t need sunscreen. Closing your windows and doors and staying indoors doesn’t prevent the UV rays from reaching you. So yes, maybe you won’t tan, but your skin isn’t protected from UV rays either.

And for anyone who indulges in anti-aging creams and cures, its best you start now with sunscreen. That is the best anti-aging cure you can hope for because it is a fact that the sun’s rays and UV rays damage the skin and causes skin to age and in extreme cases, skin cancer. Sunscreen blocks or filters these harmful UV rays thereby reducing the skin damage and therefore acting as an anti-aging measure.

I found this very helpful article about sunscreen and what kinds of sunscreen one should look out for. This other article about sun protection too is very insightful. In gist:

• Use a sunscreen that blocks or filters UV-A and UV-B rays. These are broad spectrum sunscreens.
• Use a sunscreen that is SPF15 and above. According to reports, there is no evidence that very high SPF will actually protect your skin more but here in the tropics, SPF 50 is the norm. The Japanese have their own system of rating sunscreens with PA+++ for the highest and PA+ for low ratings.
• Reapply often especially if you are going to be out in the sun. However, for practical purposes, I can only see this reapplication for the body for most of us who work will have our faces made up and thus, reapplying sunscreen isn’t much of an option.
• When applying sunscreen do not forget areas like your neck and ears. Men or women with short hair tend to forget the back of the neck and the tips of the ears which can burn easily.

For myself, I use L’oreal UV Perfect sunscreen for my face because thus far, it has worked best for me and it blocks both UV-A and UV-B rays. Biotherm Sunfitness isn’t bad too as its non-sticky. My foundation too has SPF. For my body, I use the one by the Australian Cancer Council. Its only available for purchase in Australia.

This post was actually prompted by my discussion with a friend about using sunscreen. I was appalled that anyone would not use sunscreen because I’m a great proponent and advocate of using sunscreen if not for beauty, then for health reasons. I’ve read some articles that say that sunscreens may not be all that good for you because of the chemicals, but in general, the pros have thus far outweighed the cons.

So, slap on the sunscreen. When you are 50, your skin will thank you for it!

Edit: This tip applies equally for both men and women. If you don’t use any other skincare on your skin, use sunscreen. It does make a difference.