16 Dec Road to healthier skin: KEY Sun Protection
This highway is a maze of roads, It’s not well signposted and often times the driver is lost. Taking the easy road necessitates that you are familiar with the facts.
From pollution to harsh sunlight, free radicals and damaged skin, we need to start thinking beyond UV. Enrolling on a lifestyle with strong sun overprotection is one of the best highways to help combat the strong Australian sun, thereby reducing premature ageing.
In the world of sun protection, the trend of recent is to opt for mineral-based sun protection. We need to reevaluate our relationship with chemical sunscreens and look at other options.
Why? Let’s look at sun basics
The sun’s rays are measured in 3 wavelengths. UVA UVB and UV C. Most Dangerous is the UVB. UVC does not make it to the earth. It’s stopped in the atmosphere.
Another way to remember is
- UVA: Ageing
- UVB: Burn
- UVC: Cancer
UVA
Penetrates deep into the skin, beyond the dermis and causes unwanted wrinkles, fine lines.
UVB
Penetrates to the surface of the skin leading to burns and with time, can cause skin cancer.
So what can we do? Protect & hydrate
Sun Protection is a must and you can follow 3 routes:
- Using a cosmeceutical broad spectrum SPF
- Wearing protective makeup
- Reapplying SPF 2 hours after 1st application when you are out in the sun, and 20 minutes before you do go out
- Wearing mineralised SPF on its own or over makeup. Touching up as needed.
Generally when one thinks of sun protection, one thinks, thick splodge sticky creams with a greyish tint. The world has moved on. We are now in the 2020s.
Entrée’ Mineral SPF. These are a mineral sunblock.
Aside from protecting your skin they also absorb oiliness, even out your skin tone and most importantly protect your skin. Added bonus they are worn over makeup or on skin natural. Dermatologists from all over love this new product genre as it means we all have a way of being protected. The SPF powders leave the skin matt and even looking. They are predominantly composed of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide ranging from 15 % to 22%.
They come attached to a brush which is used to dust the powder onto skin before and after makeup. Some come in natural transparent shades and others with mildly tinted particles in the mineral powder compositions. This then becomes an essential tool in the woman’s bag in countries that have hot summers and bad rays like Australia.
We need it in Australia desperately as the sun here is one of the worst in the world. This is a great tool especially when so many of us skip this stage in our skincare routine or take the sun threat too lightly as though we are invincible from its cunning harshness. These powder-based SPF’s are the ideal product when you want to protect yourself from the sun and enjoy the day out.
Some powdered SPF manufacturers have gone the extra mile. They add ingredients to protect against the environment and the product acts as a screen and barrier.
How?
These manufacturers use patented well researched active ingredients that form a screen on the skin, thus protecting the skin from free radical formation and oxidative stress. The sharp ingredients like some colourants or pigments protect against skin damage and photo-ageing. This damage is often caused by Blue light also known as HEV light.
Today’s living means getting in your car, driving, using public transport, cycling, running on roads inhaling car fumes, all leaving one fit but exposed to the damaging effects of pollution. This causes collagen breakdown and degeneration, dehydration, loss of firmness and elasticity in the skin leading to hyperpigmentation wrinkles and dark spots too. This makes it imperative to use pigment and sun-blocking products.
Here at the Doc clinic, we recommend investing in environment protection and sun protection. This means using products and sun care that contain antioxidants like green tea, grape seed and oak wood extracts, together with barrier-forming titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. We take the time and trial the products before we recommend to you. Investing in our choices for you allows you to have an almost 50% boost in UV free radical and 47% pollution protection too.
Give us a call, come in and chat. Let us help you on this crazy confusing road.