It's the #1 thing you can and should change to protect your skin (both face and body) from sun damage that can lead to wrinkles, sun spots, and skin texture damage. That being said, people can be really resistant to this suggestion. Sometimes it's just too hard to watch their sun-kissed face lose the unhealthy, but preferable glow from the sun. I definitely understand that. As a teen and college student, I used to love when I would get some sun on my face- it was instant makeup- I didn't need blush or foundation- I just wore mascara and some lipgloss and I loved this look! And, I still do. But, I also meet more and more women every day that are allover the spectrum when it comes to skin care and sunscreen. I find both extremes to be incredibly inspirational. The leathery-skinned women instantly look 10+ years older than they are and that's always shocking in a scary way. The youthful, supple-skinned women are usually the ones that I look at and say "I hope I look like you at that age!" It's a vast difference and while genetics and other lifestyle factors certainly play a role in how the skin reacts to sun damage, the outcomes are still pretty drastic and amazing and when you consider that they are preventable, they become even more moving!
Since no one puts sunscreen on only half of their face to see how it compares to none, I obviously can't show you facial skin. But, below is a picture of a woman's chest. You can see see a clear color difference in the "tanned" skin and the "virgin" skin. The texture is clearly different and this isn't even a high-definition picture. The pigments are different- i.e. there are freckles all over the tanned skin, but you can see that the virgin skin has none. Just the age of the skin looks different. Judging from the tanned skin, I would guestimate this woman to be about 55-60 years old. But, from the other area that hasn't been exposed to sun, I would say she was 35-40.
Pretty amazing, huh?
So, most of our foundations (regardless of where purchased) contain a sunscreen of some degree- I'd say typically between 8-12 SPF). And while that's better than nothing, I recently came across this product from La Roche Posay. It's called the Anthelios 60 Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid and it ranges from about $20-30 depending where you buy it. I was given a sample of it at a community event and I just got around to trying it. It's amazing! It's so light and silky smooth. It's awesome for under your makeup or just alone. It's a great, great product and I highly recommend it. I tend to find that sunscreen sometimes gives makeup a strange finish, but with as fine as this is, it had no effect on how my makeup went on.
I can also personally recommend Neutrogena's Age Shield + Repair SPF 55 Anti-Aging Sunscreen. It's about $8 a bottle and Neutrogena is a great, affordable, high quality brand for the money. I used this before I tried the La Roche Posay and loved it. It's lightweight, not greasy, and is very affordable. I have used a few other department store brands and was more impressed with these two products!
So, whether you have $30 or $10 to spend to protect your skin for a lifetime, it's up to you. You'll be in great hands with either of these products!
I hope you will take this post seriously and understand how taking care of your skin now (even if you are starting later in your life) can make a huge difference. And, of course, it's not all about looks! You'll also be protecting yourself from skin cancers, too.
Do you have any sunscreens you recommend?
