Something funny-tragic happened to me a few weeks ago.
I had fallen asleep on the couch in the middle of the day, with the curtains opened a crack. The sun was streaming in, it was an abysmally hot and sultry day, and I was tired.
I woke up an hour later, feeling refreshed.
But when I looked in the mirror, I got a shock of my life! My neck and chest were an angry red!
HOW?! Who gets sunburnt while lying in the middle of their living room, having a nap? Me, that’s who :P
So I thought I’d share with you some tips on where else, aside from your face, needs daily sunscreen application – you may or may not be already doing it! :P
Apply sunscreen on your neck and chest
While I always apply sunscreen on my face daily, rain or shine, I do have a bad habit of forgetting to apply it down my neck and chest area.
I ‘take it to the tits’ for all my skincare, and it only makes sense to do the same with sunscreen!
That day when I stared at myself in the mirror in horror, taking in my reddened neck and chest area, I could not help noticing that the skin on my face was calm and not irritated. My sunscreen had protected my face well. But that was not true of the rest of my body!
Needless to say, since then, I always make sure I apply my sunscreen down my neck, to my chest area. If you usually wear clothes that cover your neck and chest area, you could get away with not applying sunscreen there, but if you don’t, please don’t forget this area.
Remember, sunscreen is your best anti-aging product, and you don’t want your neck giving away your age, do you? ;)
RELATED READING: This is the sunscreen of choice for my face – it is comfortable and protects my skin very well! READ HERE
Apply sunscreen on your arms and the back of your hands
This stems from a bit of a bad habit of mine, of forgetting to apply sunscreen on my arms. I do so when I’m by the beach, or when I know I’ll be going outdoors. But I don’t, on a daily basis.
Some time last year, I noticed that some freckles were appearing on my arms, and my skin felt dry all the time. The back of my hands also looked a little uneven in tone.
I drive a lot, and sometimes, in the middle of the day, when the sun is hottest. We can’t help the sun and UV rays that enter the car from the windscreen and windows, but we can protect ourselves.
I started making it a habit to apply sunscreen on my arms and on the back of my hands. I sometimes wear long-sleeved tops, which add an additional layer of protection, but I cannot always be sure I will.
Making it a habit to apply sunscreen on my arms and back of my hands daily ensures that I protect my skin from the damaging effects of the sun and UV rays. If I’m protecting my face, should I not protect the rest of my body too? :)
I did notice that the skin of my arms had improved in texture and tone since I became more diligent. The freckles did not become worse, and I have not noticed new ones forming. The skin tone on the back of my hands too evened out.
The only thing you do have to be more diligent about as well, is in removing the sunscreen build-up from your arms, when you shower. Sometimes, I use a facial cleansing oil down my arms, just to be sure I get all the residue off my skin, but usually, a good scrub with a body wash does the trick.
RELATED READING: This sunscreen doesn’t work well for me on the face, but I use it for my arms and it’s good for that! READ HERE
Apply sunscreen on the back of your neck
I noticed something odd when I looked in the mirror once. While my face and the front part of my neck had a similar skin tone, the back of my neck appeared to have a slightly deeper skin tone.
I have short hair, and it struck me belatedly that I was getting more sun exposure on the back of my neck than most!
This might not be much of a concern for those of you with long hair, but you may tie it up, so this tip applies to almost everyone too.
These days, I ensure that I also apply some sunscreen to the back of my neck, to protect my neck from the sun, and also to ensure my skin tone is more even all over. Yes, that last bit is purely vanity speaking LOL! :D
If you take care of the back of your neck, you will avoid having the ‘leatherneck’ effect, where the back of the neck looks dry and leathery from sun exposure.
UV rays damage our skin not only by making it look darker or more uneven in skin tone, it can also cause our skin to thicken and dry out. It isn’t aesthetically pleasing, and if you look at many people who tan a lot, you will notice this effect on their skin. It is also unhealthy because over exposure of UV rays can also cause skin cancer.
So, these are just 3 spots of my body I’ve missed in my sunscreen application, but I’ve remedied it by being more diligent. Are you as diligent or do you miss out spots too? :)
Do you apply sunscreen on these 3 parts of your body daily?
If you don’t, perhaps it’s time to start thinking of doing so! ;)
Paris B
Good Point, very important. I use sunscreen as hand cream, especially in the warmer seasons.
PS: Vitamin D might be lacking in people diligent with sunscreen :-)
And don’t forget your ears!
Hahahaha that gave me a good laugh – I find myself being ultra heat sensitive as I get older – had the misfortune of using the wrong sunscreen at an island last year and within 5 mins I was running for cover and yelping while cursing a certain “American MLM brand” – funnily, the day before I used a Korean brand and played the role of happy dugong while sitting out on the boat deck without shade – serves me right for experimenting with too many sunscreens but Korean and Japanese sunscreens are the bomb for me !
As Julia says, ears too! Also, a lot of people don’t apply enough between eye brows, on the inner corner of the eyes, on the temples and right in front of the ears…
That’s so epic! But but, I am also guilty of not extending sunscreen beyond my face, so thanks for the reminder!
Hi Paris B, what eye cream are you using?
Late to reply, but at the moment, none. Prior to this, it was the Dr. Dennis Gross REtinol & Ferulic acid eye cream.
Newbie question: how do you reapply your sunscreen on your face, especially on top of make up?
Some people use the spray on sunscreen but I’ve read that it is ineffective and unsafe as we inhale the chemicals. Some refill their cushion foundation compact with sunscreen after they have finished the foundation so that they can pat on sunscreen without ruining their makeup. I have come across on sephora website a newly introduced brand called dear dahlia with sunscreen product in similar packaging and it has good reviews.
When I have makeup on, it’s not practical to reapply without removing first. So, I don’t. But when I don’t have makeup on, and I’m outdoors for a prolonged period, I just apply on top. It’s not ideal, but we do what we can.
Excellent idea to finish off those sunscreen I dislike. Totally agree with you of the horror of having our neck reveal or worsen our age-look.
Ah, thanks for the reminder! I tend to be lazy about my chest area because I usually don’t remember to apply sunscreen until after I get dressed and I don’t want to get sunscreen on my clothes. I am also lazy about putting sunscreen on my ears.
Back of the neck is important; I can see how my husband is aging there!