All you need to know about sunscreen!

Hello everyone! Do you remember my previous posts about sunscreen? If not, check it out here.

I've been hiking semi-often recently, so I wanted to be up-to-date on my sun care. In this post, I want to share with you all that I've learned from Skinacea.com.

WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF UV RAYS?

There's two types of harmful ultraviolet rays: UVA and UVB. UVA causes aging, while UVB causes burns.

HOW DO YOU PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THESE RAYS?

Use sunscreen! There's two types of sunscreens available in the market: physical and chemical sunscreens.

	Physical sunscreens	Chemical sunscreens
Function	Works by deflecting/blocking UV rays	Works by absorbing the UV rays
Active ingredients	- zinc oxide - titanium dioxide	- avobenzone - octylcrylene - oxybenzone - heloplex, - octinoxate - more
Stability	Photostable	Depends on the active ingredient Avobenzone is very unstable

WHAT'S THE PROS AND CONS OF USING PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL SUNSCREENS?

	PROS	CONS
Physical sunscreens	- photostable - isn’t absorbed into the skin	- leaves a white tint - can be more oily in texture - thick in texture - tends to be more pricey
Chemical sunscreens	- can be more matte in appearance - less expensive	- tends to be photo-unstable (degrades with time and exposure) - is absorbed into the skin - can cause free radical damage (aging)

WHAT DOES SPF AND PPD/PA MEAN?

SPF is a numerical figure that determines how well the sunscreen protects against UVB, while PPD (or PA) determines how well the sunscreen protects against UVA. PA is measured using "+" signs; the more + signs, the greater the protection.

WHAT ORDER SHOULD SUNSCREEN BE APPLIED?

Sunscreen should be applied before make-up and after moisturizer or other skin treatments! It is best applied 15-20 minutes after the last product, so that the product can be absorbed into the skin and not interfere the sunscreen's function.

Vitamin C serums, although super expensive and not essential, are a great addition to any skin care routine, as it helps enhance the function of sunscreen. Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant that's great in preventing aging by preventing free radical damages. However, it's best if the serum has time to be absorbed into the skin (as opposed to being in the sunscreen) before applying sunscreen.


I ordered some sunscreen on Drugstore.com. Here's what they look like:

 

SolBar Shield, $8 (on sale)                 Blue Lizard, $14.79 (on sale)

Skin Tips: Summer Sun Care

Hope everyone's been having a great summer! Recently, I just tumbled onto the site Total Beauty...Have you ever heard of it before? It's so interest and so useful. I want to share with you all about some summer skin care tips I discovered on the site. It makes me wanna spend so much money on skin care products now~~ hahaha

Sunscreen

• Look for mineral rather than chemical sunscreen ingredients: zinc and titanium dioxide over avobenzone and octinoxate. Why? Because avobenzone and octinoxate break down as they absorb UV rays, releasing free radicals! Free radicals may lead to aging...On the other hand, the mineral ingredients lay on top of the skin (rather than being soaked into your skin) and provide a protective layer!
• It doesn't matter if the sunscreen has antioxidants! The antioxidants don't work well if "drowned" in SPF ingredients! Rather use an antioxidant serum first and then apply a layer of sunscreen after the serum has been absorbed. The antioxidants can help prevent the breakdown of elastin, but doesn't help reverse the process of aging. Look for a serum containing Vitamin C and E and ferulic acid. Vitamin E can help extend shelf life if combined with C, and ferulic acid helps increase the UV protective properties of Vitamin C. 
• Avoid retinol in sunscreen. Retinol lessens appearances of fine lines and speeds up cell turnover rate. It is best used at night, because the sun lessens its effectiveness, so using such an expensive ingredient is wasteful during the day...

Sources: 1, 2, 3

What's your summer skin care regime like? Mine's really lacking...I barely do anything! Gotta protect my skin more now!