Your Top Anti-Aging Weapon… Sunscreen, EVERY day! April 14, 2008
Posted by Miss K in Uncategorized.Tags: titanium dioxide, anti-aging, Sunscreen, UVA, UVB, helioplex, chemical sunscreen, physical sunsceen, zinc oxide, cumulative sun exposure, sun exposure, collagen breakdown, skin cancer, premature aging, photoaging
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Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, and cancer rates have more than tripled since the 1970’s in women under forty! Indoor tanning remains infinitely popular despite the looming threat of cancer risk that this activity brings- it raises one’s risk of melanoma by 75%.
Many of us do wear sunscreen when we go to the beach, or on a vacation. But we don’t consider the daily impact of the sun. There are UVA and UVB rays, and windows don’t protect us from UV light. Sitting near a window, driving in a car, walking to and from a building, standing outside. The sun doesn’t discriminate and all of these short time periods add up into cumulative sun exposure.
Just imagine if I didn’t wear sunscreen for all of my trips in the car, standing outside for my son’s soccer practices and games, daily errands in and out of stores, banks and post offices… my weekly sun exposure would easily add up to about 15 hours! That’s one long day at the beach without sunscreen. And imagine the damage that would wreak on my skin. Other than being a cause of skin cancer, sun damage and photo aging causes rough texture, spots and mottling, lines and wrinkles, loss of firmness, sagging, yellowing and a general “leathery” appearance.
What’s your most powerful, most inexpensive anti-aging weapon? SUNSCREEN!!!
Wear it every single day. No excuses. Not just on your face, but on your neck, your chest and your arms- wherever you are getting sun exposure. Even if you’re inside for most of the day. Believe me. In ten years, you’ll be happy you did!
Think that your clothes have you covered? Think again. That white t-shirt you’ve got on provides only an SPF of 3! Darker clothes provide higher SPF. Hats are fabulous.
Protect your eyes as well, with sunglasses that have lenses with UVA/UVB protective lenses. Cheapie sunglasses typically don’t offer this protection. Your eyes are also vulnerable to damaging UV rays.
I take the sun seriously. I truly see it as my enemy and I don’t like to be left exposed to the elements. I always wear sunglasses, I have a large floppy black hat that protects my face, shoulders and chest from the sun, and I also will sit with an umbrella- YES, an umbrella! When I attend outdoor events!
Here I am last Saturday at my son’s soccer game (mind you, I had just also been to an earlier soccer game for my step-son, so this was my 3rd hour of sitting in the hot, direct sun. I am wearing SPF 70 Neutrogena Sunscreen, too!) Not only does my wacky Monet parasol keep the sun off of me, but it keeps me cool. Everyone else around me is sitting in their chairs baking in the sun using this as an opportunity to work on their tans. I do live in a very beachy-golf-tennis community where people perpetually exist with a bronze bake, and my paleness is a beacon of oddness. But I also go to a dermatologist that has a giant waiting room full of people waiting to be treated for skin cancer. And I know that in ten years, my sun avoidance and sunscreen use WILL pay off! So to everyone who thinks I am a nutcase for holding an umbrella when there’s no rain, I hope you all wake up soon! It’s just not worth it to fry in the sun!
Why not get a cute umbrella? There’s so many fun ones you can get these days. Rain or shine, you need one!
Sunscreens? What do I use?
Right now I am using a moisturizer with SPF 15 on my face and then I apply my minerals once this absorbs.
I’ve fallen in love with these two sunscreens, which absorb quickly and make it so easy to apply sunblock daily!!! Whether in the cream form or the mist, I give these both an A+. And they contain Helioplex, for complete broad spectrum protection.
And don’t forget your hat!!!
xoxo
Miss K
**Applauds Miss K** SOOO true, and so well said! Too many women don’t use sunscreen on a daily basis.
You look so adorable in your little dress and umbrella! I use a parasol quite often. People often give you the old “hey dummy, it’s not raining” look, but I’d rather funny looks than skin cancer.
And if your hair is color treated, if you’re not using an umbrella or parasol, WEAR A HAT. The sun will destroy your color, especially if you dye it darker.
yeah - i’m all about sun avoidance AND sunscreen! My daily moisturizer is also SPF 15, then I often use a higher SPF product on top of that - anywhere from 30-70. Then the minerals. And long sleeves and pants…and a hat if I’m outdoors.
Someone just mocked me yesterday for being so covered up, pale and sunblocked. Said something about drs even saying that anything over spf 15 is “dangerous.”
I’m not buying that for myself. We sat on the deck and sipped and snacked for about 45 minutes at 7:30 AT NIGHT and I got pink, through my SPF 70. This is one instance where I will gladly do the chemical dance, use high protection sun stuff, and at least not burn.
And a burn, although a good source of damage in a short time, isn’t even the worst of the damage from the sun!
I’m aware that basking in the sun during the most intense hours of the day is pretty bad for your skin, but just like plants need sunlight to grow and produce their food, we also need sunlight to metabolize the vitamins and produce new ones that contribute to our whole well being. Exposing our skin to the sun of the early morning works wonders for our bodies. Fortified vitamin D milk and vitamin pills alone don’t fly.
It bothers me how all these sunscreen companies have turned the sun into this awful, bad a** thing. Personally, I think sunscreen provides a false sense of security. Just because we apply a 100 SPF sunscreen doesn’t mean we can lay on the beach from noon til’ three and think we are not damaging our skin. What about the chemical reactions going on between strong sunlight, the chemicals in your sunscreen (including titanium dioxide) and the cells in your skin? It will be very interesting to see, ten years down the road, all the new and obscure deceases that will pop up and it won’t occur to anybody to link it to the use of sunscreen, when it could be the indirect or direct culprit.
I think big hats, sunglasses, umbrellas and long sleeve shirts (natural linen works great and looks exotic!) are great ways to protect our skin, enjoy the outdoors and still get some sunlight. Even when you think you look like a sore thumb, enjoy yourself and don’t worry what others think!
I am very thankful my mother never had sunblock creams, but always fed me with fresh carrots, sweet potatoes and coconuts- some of nature’s natural sunscreens. Today I’m forty five years old, a Caribbean surfer girl with fair skin and no “sun spots”. Common sense can do wonders!
I’m glad to see i’m not alone!! When people comment on how young I look for my age, their next question is usually about what kind of anti-aging products I use.
I always say the same thing. Sunscreen! I use the same as Miss K for my exposed body parts (the neutragena w/ helioplex). I carry a tube in my purse and apply when I am out and about in my car. (dont forget the backs of your hands!!)
For my face, I use Eucerin protective lotion spf 30 under my glissade.
Awesome post Miss K. I think this is the number one thing to do to stay looking supple!
And I love that pic of you. You look so chic and feminine!
I bet you were the chicest mom out there in the field. Cute picture, Kristen! Love that umbrella.
I use a sunscreen daily too. I switch off between Devita’s spf30 sunscreen cream and Kimberly Sayer’s spf25 lotion. Neither of them make my oily skin oilier.
Another bit of information for dog lovers… If you’re going to take your dog out in the hot sun for play, dab on a little sunscreen in their ears where the sun hits (if they have ears that stick up) and a little on their nose and any bare areas of skin. Dogs can get skin cancer too!
How well does that mist work? I was looking at it in the store but wondered if it gave the same protection as the thick and creamy sunscreens I am used to! The mist looks like it would be really easy to reapply on those rare occasions where I’m actually outside all day. Also, it would be very sanitary to share — my team at work goes to a baseball game each summer as our annual team-building experience, and there’s a super pale guy on the team who burns easily and is always asking to borrow my sunscreen! (Since we tailgate too and are outside from like 10am to 5pm, I definitely need to reapply at least once so I always bring sunscreen with me!) Our outing this year is in May so I’m on the lookout for a good sunscreen
Lower SPF’s are fine on a daily basis since I live in a cubicle, lol, but I need something more if I’m outside for a while!
Bridget mentioned that someone told her something about:
drs even saying that anything over spf 15 is “dangerous”.
I did read an article or two that said that going beyond a certain SPF number (maybe 15or 30??) wasn’t necessary. They don’t really provide any more protection. Those higher number SPFs aren’t dangerous, but they aren’t necesary once you go over (15-30). Like I said– I don’t remember the exact number.
Hey, I bought that same sunscreen last week. I love it! And you can’t beat the spf 70! Who knows if it’s necessary at 70, but hey…can’t hurt, I’m sure
Such a cute pic, K!
Since I never remember to put sunscreen on the back of my hands and the sun beats down on my hands through the windshield of my car, I have taken to wearing driving gloves. That’s right, I am single-handedly bringing back that forgotten accessory. I’ve found that my riding gloves do just fine!
::makes sad face::
I wear sunscreen constantly, but I still tan through it. No joke. SPF 15=tan for me.
I’ve tried higher sunscreen levels(up to the neutrogena 70 with helioplex) and it just doesn’t work. Even with applications every half hour.
Anybody know of anyone else this happens to? I’d like to think I’m not the only person with crazy melanin….
Kristen - you are soooooo right about the sun being our enemy. Tanning is BAD BAD BAD. Years ago, I worked for quite a long time for a dermatologist, and he always urged people to wear sunscreen. Basal Cell Carcinomas, or skin cancers, are generally fairly limited and benign, but very occasionally it’s not…. and we had a patient from Cuba who had spent him entire childhood in the sun, and the damage that Basal Cell Carcinoma did to him was absolutely amazing. He used to say to all of us young chickyboos working in the office “don’t go out in the sun, the sun is bad for you.” Last year, someone or something tested sunscreens. The “best” sunscreen rated was Badger (as in Badger Balm) SPF 30 sunblock for face and body. There was such a rush in this area to get this stuff that everyone ran out…. so THIS year, go and get your SPF early. It should really be used year-round, but summer is CRITICAL. We don’t want wrinkles now, do we?!!!!
Thanks for so many great comments ladies! I am so glad to hear that you’re using your sunscreen. I also go to the dermatologist yearly to get checked for any changes to my freckles and moles. There’s plenty I cannot see on my back, so you can never, ever be too safe!!! Definitely keep a close eye on any mole or freckle that shows up suddenly or starts to look different. And also pay close attention to your scalp!
Even on overcast days, UV rays still penetrate the cloud cover. We don’t feel the burning heat sensation, but the UV rays are still there. This is the difference between UVA and UVB rays. Even on overcast days, it is still crucial to wear sunscreen!
And I am definitely all about sun abstinence more so than relying on sunscreen to “protect me”. There are plenty of days that my son will want to go to the beach, but we will always go when the sun is low in th sky. We’ll have plenty of sunscreen, And we’ll have a big beach umbrella to sit under when we’re not in the water. There’s no way to avoid all sun exposure, but there are plenty of ways to limit it and keep it at a minimum.
Always remember to apply enough sunscreen - they are saying that 1 oz. is enough for your whole body! And to reapply as directed, or after being in the water. So much to remember.
I always buy the highest SPF- I don’t have any research or articles for or against it. I just know that I am very pale, and the sun is very powerful here. I use the same stuff on the kids- sunscreen them too!
xoxo
K
My Dr. said the hot ingredient to look for in a sunscreen right now is zinc oxide — it’s definitely tested to be full spectrum Titanium dioxide is good, but not as effective as ZO.
I always wear a sunblock when I’m out in the sun. And a hat. And long sleeves. And I’ve been known to carry a parasol. I wear SPF 30+ — beyond 30, the protection doesn’t increase substantially and may give a false sense of invincibility…. I reapply. I still toast. I work outdoors and stand in full sunlight for about 8 hours a day and despite a hat and reapplying sunscreen, I am getting brown spots on my face, that brown mask of hormonal birth control (which I never had before I started working outdoors), and my arms are turning reddish. We won’t have adequate shelter until June.
In the meantime, I reapply as often as possible, try to stay in the shade, and take a lot of anti-oxidants. And I use vit C serum and Nocturne to help repair a little damage each day….
I’ve worn sunscreen every day for the past 20 years — and I think it shows — my skin looks a lot younger than my peers. I agree that being out in the sun is necessary — my mood is so much better since I started working outside….but you have to balance time in the sun with caution — don’t become a moleperson — but be sensible; stay out of the sun during peak hours if possible, wear sunscreen and protective clothing…. and then enjoy your life!
if only more people realized how damaging uv rays can be! both my grand parents have had skin cancer multiple times because they think their 30 minutes outside in their garden w/o any protection each day isn’t going to hurt them.
i use ‘uv naturals adult sunscreen (spf 30+)’. it’s completely natural, no chemicals… so i feel safe using it everyday. i use to go for the highest spf i could find but in research realized that anymore than that doesn’t do anything but introduce/add more chemicals to your skin and even an spf of 60 will add only a few more minutes of protection than a 30. i don’t need chemicals in sunscreen that can cause cancer as well.
kristen, you look adorable in that pic. i use a parasol as well & it works wonders. not only does it help protect your skin (although you can still burn in the shade… the more protection the better) and keep you cooler. we all know how hot it can get in the sun, esp with black hair!
I almost bought UV Naturals last summer. But instead my esthetician gave me Soleo Organics spf30, which I use for my body. It’s too greasy for the face area unless you have really dry skin.
It is true that beyond SPF30, you aren’t necessarily getting *that* much more protection. I think the breakdown is something like spf15 blocks 95% of UVA/UVB (IF your product is broad specturm - some are not), SPF30 takes care of 97%, and so on. So you DO get more avobenzone and other chemical sunscreens in a higher SPF product than in the same product with lower SPF. For some people, that’s not a good trade off. For me it is, since I BURN RED through sunblock with minimal outside exposure. I freckle through sunblock, too. And being pale, red haired, green eyed, Celtic descent, I’m just not going to even “try” to spend “healthy” time in the sun. There really isn’t any such thing for me.
So yeah - I lube up in high SPF, cover up AND stay inside. Guess I’m a mole person
I’m ok with that. Gotta be.
i hear ya’…i burn just as easily. even 15 minutes in the sun with my sunscreen gives me that oh so lovely racoon look with my freckles. not such a great look for me. i’ll take my calcium w/vit d supplements over minimal outside exposure any day. it’s not the same thing but better than the alternative.
loida ~ is soleo organics similar to uv naturals? uv naturals is rather thick at first… but i’ve found that you need to apply it like a moisturizer, just a dime size will take care of your whole face/neck. and once it’s absorbed my skin feels so soft! i also love that it has a three year shelf life too. do you think soleo is better then uv naturals?
I think we need to remember what SPF means:
“A sunscreen with an SPF of X allows you to stay out in the sun X times longer without burning.”
So if you would naturally burn/tan after only 10 minutes, then a SPF of 30 would allow you 300 minutes (5hrs) in the sun and 60 SPF would allow you 10 hours! I kind of doubt either is true for a person who normally burns in ten minutes!
I sure like the idea of using a parasol (”stops sun” in Spanish) and staying in the shade, but I really need to use a daily screen for preventing accumulation form short periods of sun exposure.
I wish I could use a parasol AND long sleeves in my job. But it’s not possible. I just have to accept some sun damage to follow my dream… but I DO reapply — I think reapplying when you’re out there is key. SPF 60 is not really that much more *time* of protection than SPF 30 (although it helps). And physical coverage (clothing with an SPF rating, a roof, a parasol) — is the most effective.
If I had my druthers, I’d work in shade and be able to wear a broad-brimmed hat and long-sleeves. And I’d still reapply every 2-3 hours…
Nadja, I tried some UV Naturals on my hand/arm at a health food store last summer and what I remember is that it was more, like you said, like a heavy cream versus oily, like pure shea butter. I don’t think one is more better than the other. They’re probably very similar. When I run out of my Soleo, I’ll probably buy the UV Naturals next time just to have tried both brands. I don’t know what the shelf life is for the Soleo (I got it last summer), but I like that 3 yr shelf life you mentioned.
Sunscreen is a girls best friend. I’m so pale, I can’t go out in the sun without it. Never thought of an umbrella though. I really like the blue one…
Ladies, the Neutrogena comes in a 30ish and a 50ish SPF as well, in case anyone is interested. I always buy the highest SPF for use on my body because most of my use of this sunscreen comes when I am outside in the torrid, sweaty heat here and I know the chances of it coming off are pretty high. Whether I’m out walking some laps in my MBT’s, or at a soccer game, or at the beach, it’s jungle weather here and it’s sweaty. So I always go for the highest SPF because I need all I can get. The sun here is extremely hot and powerful compared to what I am used to in New York. The extra latitude closer to the equator makes a HUGE difference!!!
I want to add that you can also get sun gloves.
I use coolibar beige gloves (they are cool for summer, w/ grip dots and also come in white) I use them every time I walk the dog and also wear a wide brim UPF rated hat. I also have a pair of gloves in the car for protection when driving since my hands usually get the sun through the windshield. The grip dots make them easier to use with steering wheels than other gloves without grip dots.
As a random note, for those of you are concerned about specific ingredients I noticed that the Neutrogenia Dry Touch sunscreens had slightly different active and inactive ingredients for each SPF level. I was wondering why the SPF 55 formula was the only one that was not labeled noncomedogenic, while the higher and lower SPF’s were noncomedogenic, so I looked at the ingredients and noticed they were different! So you might want to check the ingredients for each SPF
PS: Kristen, in my local Wal-Mart they had the Neutrogenia in an SPF above 70 — 85 I think? That’s probably the highest SPF I’ve ever seen! I bought the 70 though, since the 55 was not noncomedogenic and the 45 and lower did not have Helioplex. And I really doubted the 85 would be that much better…
Sorry to spam your blog with comments, but here’s the perfect accessory for your SPF 80 sunscreen:
http://www.jinx.com/men/shirts/geek/the_sun_is_trying_to_kill_me.html
Eek! A women’s version too!
http://www.jinx.com/women/shirts/geek/the_sun_is_trying_to_kill_me.html
I always wear my sunscreen, and have always said that it’s the best wrinkle cream. Living in Florida everyone comes down to tan etc.. then leave. You can always tell the locals because they are usually pale, since we see the sun everyday it’s no big deal to be out in it. We also carry a lot of umbrellas! My daughter has an advantage though she has never burned, and has used sunscreen at very early age. We know alot more now than we did when I was a kid.