A Crucial Step in Your Summer Daily Skin Care Routine

In the pursuit of healthy, radiant and youthful skin, there's an often underestimated hero, that takes the centre stage – sunscreen. While skincare enthusiasts diligently follow cleansing and moisturising rituals, the significance of incorporating sunscreen into your daily routine cannot be overstated. 

Wearing sunscreen is one of the best – and, in my opinion, the easiest – ways to protect your skin's appearance and health at any age. Sunscreen isn't just for preventing sunburns. When used regularly, it also helps decrease premature ageing and the risk of skin cancer.

I have prepared this article to further explain the difference between mineral and chemical sunscreens and which one you should choose. I will also explain why sunscreen should be an integral part of your daily skincare routine, and some other facts and tips to make sure your skin gets the best care.

What Is Mineral Sunscreen?

A completely mineral sunscreen means that it only uses zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide as ingredients that provide sun protection. Mineral (also called physical) sunscreens reflect the ultraviolet (UV) rays, literally creating a physical separation between you and the sun.

To find out, if the sunscreen you have picked is mineral or chemical one, the easiest way is to check the ingredient list on the packaging. Pay attention to which “Active Ingredients” have been used; if it's either zinc oxide or titanium dioxide (or both), and nothing else, then it's safe to say you're looking at a mineral sunscreen. 

I would like to point out, that when it comes to mineral sunscreen, there's no such thing as an invisible mineral sunscreen. By nature, mineral actives (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide) are white powders, which makes them very difficult to go on clear. Because of this, you often see white casts or ghostly hues left behind from mineral sunscreens, especially on darker skin tones. To avoid such issues, sunscreens tend to have a slight tint to adjust the skin color.

To make sure you get the best protection, chemical sunscreens need to be reapplied every 2 hours, while mineral ones work as long as they stay on the skin.

What Is SPF?

Sun protection factor (SPF) represents the sunscreen's ability to protect against a specific portion of UV light called UVB. UVB rays are responsible for superficial sun damage, causing redness and occurrence of dark (hyperpigmentation) spots on your skin. 

There are two other portions of UV light: 

• UVC rays (don't pass the earth's atmosphere) 

• UVA rays (goes deep into the skin and causes collagen to degrade at a faster rate). 

A good, broad-spectrum sunscreen will protect against both – UVB and UVA rays. 

How the Sun works?

For daily use, I recommend sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30. If you spend time outdoors, it's better to choose a product with SPF 50. In all my years of working in the skincare industry, I can say that most people don't use as much sunscreen as they should, so the higher SPFs help compensate for the reduced application. 

But, being a big fan of SPF myself, I'm here to convince you to use sunscreen on a day-to-day basis throughout the whole year!

NOT SURE HOW TO DO A DAILY SKINCARE ROUTINE OR SUNCREEN?

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