The Importance of Sun Protection+Review

The Importance of Sun Protection+Review 

Most people my age don’t have a solid skincare routine- that’s fine. A lot of girls go to bed wearing makeup- that’s pretty bad, but Dolly Parton does it, so I guess it can be justified. But sun protection- that’s where I draw the line. 

I wasn’t always big on sun protection. I didn’t do it everyday until last year. Before it was hard to remember and I really struggled to find the right one. It either looked greasy, white or would ball up halfway throughout the day. Eventually, I gave up! I had found great moisturizers, serums, and the like, so it must just be my skin. 

NOPE. 

I was wrong. Eventually, I took skincare thread twitter’s advice and picked up the Neutrogena Clear Face sunscreen. It worked! Thanks, Twitter! 

I was wearing sunscreen every day, doing my thing. Until one day, when everything changed. 

I was waiting for a prescription in Giant (as you do), until I noticed a Neutrogena cardboard display shelf with cherry red, foot high “NEW PRODUCT” sign. As your local skincare junkie, I had to check it out. It was Neutrogena's new sunscreen, from the hydro-boost line. I love the hydro-boost serum, so I decided to do a little more research. An Allure award winner? I had to cop. (NOTE: The winner was for spf 50, and I got spf 30. Idk if it even makes a difference in terms of the formula, but I thought it would be a good thing to add) It comes out slightly blueish (goes on clear, no worries) and while it says its a "water gel lotion" it doesn't feel much like a gel? I feel as though this is definitely better in terms of moisturizing than the Clear Face, which is known for people with oily skin.

It’s a great formula, especially when used with the hydro-boost serum. 

Now, I’m telling you why you need to wear sunscreen. I thought it was extra, and I’d be fine. But with more research and real-life experience, I can tell you it’s CRUCIAL. 

My dear mama grew up in a time where spf wasn’t even thought about. She and her girlfriends would tan with baby oil and those foil-reflector-thingies (and yes, baby oil on the FACE. FOR TANNING.) It did catch up to her though. She went to the dermatologist and they found multiple places with skin cancer- not melanoma- which had to be burned off. It was scary for her and myself— seeing the direct result of not wearing any spf. To quote the queen herself, “If I had worn sunscreen I’d be looking less like a prune and more like a plum.” 

Aging is a huge slice of the pie, besides skin cancer. The picture below shows an unidentified trucker, with 28 years of sun damage to one side of his face. The striking photo just goes to show how damaging the sun’s light can be. UV rays can go through clouds, water, and windows, so there’s basically no situation in which to not wear sunscreen. While ALL skin is beautiful, young or old, I think we’d all like to avoid an avoidable wrinkle in our 30’s, would we not? 

(Photo from Metro UK)

It’s worse for youngin’s now. With the atmosphere getting thinner and getting holes, UV rays are only getting stronger with little protection. In this new era of skincare, we can get lost in fun creams and cute Korean skin masks and forget the important stuff of skincare, and why we use skincare in the first place. To protect our skin from the combo of time and the elements. 

Take care of yourself. Take care of your skin! Our biggest organ, it does a whole lot of work for us, so why not treat it every once in a while and give it the daily protection it deserves?