If there’s one thing you need to take away when it comes to skincare, it is that prevention is key, and prevention is not difficult. You can protect your skin and prevent fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots with one simple product: sunscreen.
Sunscreen is vitally important to skincare; You need to have it in your skincare routine every single day no matter your skin type or tone. It protects your skin from damaging UV rays and decreases the risk of developing cancers.
Not only that, but sunscreen is the best form of anti-aging prevention you can take. While yes, a lot of the aging process happens based on lifestyle choices and genetics, the next biggest cause is the sun, and we’re always being exposed to light. Even indoors our skin is exposed to UVA and UVB rays.
Sunscreen is key to slowing down the aging process. Sometimes people feel like the darker you are, the less sunscreen you need, and that’s not true; you should always take care of yourself and protect your skin no matter how much melanin you have.
One of my favorite sunscreens comes from the brand Sun Bum. Sun Bum has multiple after-sun and hair care options as well as chemical and physical sunscreen lotions, sprays, sticks, and balms.
Now don’t panic! “Chemical” isn’t a scary word. It just differentiates between two different kinds of formulas, like how there is both chemical and physical exfoliation.
Mineral sunscreens physically block UV rays with titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, while chemical sunscreens (the classic type of sunscreen we’ve all come to know) use ingredients such as oxybenzone, avobenzone, octinoxate, and octisalate. Chemical sunscreens usually absorb into the skin quickly and leave a lightweight, invisible finish, which is good for darker skin tones. Mineral sunscreens, on the other hand, are gentle, making them a better choice for those with sensitive and acne-prone skin.
Mineral sunscreen is also better for oily skin types as it doesn’t clog the pores, and Sun Bum has an SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen Face Lotion and Tinted Face Lotion.
The formula I’m going to focus on today, however, is Sun Bum’s original SPF 30 sunscreen. I have the one-ounce tube, but you can also get it in the larger six-ounce variety, as a face stick, or in a spray.
One difficult thing about finding the right sunscreen is that the darker you are, the harder it is to find something that’s not going to leave a weird tint—or “white cast—on your skin. This formula is great because not only is it water-resistant, but it is also one of those sunscreens you can trust to not leave a layer of white residue behind. However, if that happens to you (whether you’re melanated or not), my favorite hack is to just blend your sunscreen into a good moisturizer rather than applying them in separate layers.
It’s also important to have a sunscreen separate from your other skincare products. Sometimes we think we can get away with only using an SPF 10 moisturizer, but that’s not protecting anyone; you should use a minimum of SPF 30. Having it separate also gives you more control to make sure you’re getting enough coverage, and you can reapply it without having to worry about your other products as well.
So, every single morning after washing your face, put on all your skincare products and always finish with sunscreen. This will keep you looking youthful and vibrant as it protects your face and prevents fine lines and wrinkles from forming. Also, it’s more cost-effective because sunscreen is a lot less expensive than any “age-reversing” miracle cream.
For questions, concerns, or article ideas, feel free to reach out to our eCosmetics Beauty Editor directly at beauty@ecosmetics.com
