Wear SPF, ya dim wit!

Tanya Bradley
Aug 21, 2016
7 min read

If you have ever met me, I'm sure you've definitely heard me utter the words "wear SPF!"

It's my thing. Some people are really into saving the planet, others feel passionately about eating well, well mine thing is skin care--especially sun damage prevention.

Let me back up, growing up with pale skin and brown hair in California makes you stand out. Being surrounded mostly by sun kissed blondes with blue eyes makes you stick out like a sore thumb. To most young girls, this is a nightmare. And at first it was for me too. I remember sitting outside with my best friend (a fair skinned freckled ginger, maybe that's why we became friends) at the ripe age of seven on our pink towels sipping lemonade with a timer telling us when to flip over. We were determined to get tan and look like all of the other girls. We would lay out day after day in our bikinis thinking that we would magically wake up one day bronzed and glowing.

That never really happened. We both would burn and peel, sometimes revealing the slightest bit of a tan. I can't pinpoint the exact moment when I decided that being pale would be my thing. I think I just came to terms with the fact that that's the skin I was stuck with. I also noticed that it got me attention and young Tanya B lived for that shit. I became hyper aware of the sun. Any exposure would send a rush of anxiety through my body. Would I burn? I will definitely get skin cancer if I stay out in the sun for longer than 10 min, I often thought to myself. I wouldn't dare head to the beach without my trusty SPF 100 suntan lotion. Along with that, I would often drape a towel over my body while lying under an umbrella with a floppy hat and oversized sunglasses. Anal? Just a little.

I have relaxed a bit over the years, as I've taken more science classes I've realized that any SPF over 45 is more than sufficient for a day in the sun and that if I take a stroll without dousing myself in sunblock I should be fine.

Side story: when I found out I was moving to the Midwest I often joked that my paleness was the reason I was "kicked out" of California. No one really got the Twilight reference or laughed at my new school..but that's for a different post.

I'm sure to the average person my sun care prevention routine is still a bit much. I try to wear SPF 30 on my face everyday, no matter what. I am also always wearing sunglasses if I'm outside, that's partly because my sister is in optometry school and they do a nice job of hiding the bags under my eyes. I'm less good about wearing sunscreen on my body, I find that it never completely dries down and tends to clog my pores. With that being said, I don't spend too much time directly in the sun on a daily basis so it's not a big deal. If you exercise outside or spend extended periods of time outside, WEAR SPF.

Okay, so I've made a SPF guide for the average person who doesn't really care about their skin as much as I do (which you should).

Face:

SPF on your face is non negotiable. Your face is one of the first places to age and studies have shown that slapping on SPF greatly reduces your chances of premature wrinkles and sun spots, not to mention melanoma. My favorite way to protect my face during the day is to wear a moisturizer that contains SPF in it. I like to have a minimum of 30 in mine, but 15 also does the job. I will insert some facial moisturizers with SPF that I have tried out.

P.S. Many foundations will have SPF 15 in them. This is not enough. I will repeat: THIS IS NOT ENOUGH. You need a pretty significant amount of sunscreen to cover your face from UV rays. If you applied that much foundation, you would quickly look like a cake face. BB and CC creams are a favorite of mine because they protect, cover and moisturize!

Here are some of my favorites:

Clearly Brighter Anti-Sun Damage* Daily Moisturizer SPF 30. This is what I use on a daily basis. SPF 30 is perfect for every day and this one is nice and lightweight. It also helps battle previous sun damage. It also doesn't have that strong sunscreen scent that many people dislike. They also make this in an SPF 15 version.

Ultra Sheer® Liquid Daily Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 70. This is my go to product for my face if I plan on spending an entire day in the sun. It has an SPF of 70 which is ideal for prolonged sun exposure. It's also super thin and ideal for layering under makeup! Also comes in a SPF 50 version.

Your Skin But Better CC Cream with SPF 50+. My favorite CC/BB cream is the IT Cosmetics one because it gives you the coverage of a foundation with the SPF of a legit sunscreen. It is a bit pricey so I have also included a drugstore alternative.

A new invention called powder sunscreens are also super convenient and easy to use! They are portable and are meant to be applied OVER makeup! A common problem is the issue of reapplying while wearing makeup. Reapplying your liquid sunscreen over your foundation and powder will be a sure fire disaster, that's where powder sunscreen comes in! It is also great for applying protection in your part in your hair, a common missed place. These can be a bit pricey so I try to reserve mine for special occasions where I know I'll be outside for a while and need to reapply while wearing makeup (like a wedding out a date). You can find powder sunscreens at Sephora but I actually got mine from Whole Foods.

Body:

Like I previously admitted, I rarely wear SPF on my body on a daily basis. I'm just not outside enough to justify that. BUT, if you work in an office with a window or have a long drive to work, you really need to consider putting sunscreen on your arms and décolletage. Did you know that 53% of skin cancer in America occurs on the left side of the body? (skincancer.org) That is because when a person drives in a car their left side is much more exposed to the sun via the window than their right side. I'm sure it's the opposite in countries like Australia that drive on the right side of the road.

When I plan on spending an extended amount of time in the sun, I am religious about my sunscreen routine. I do a process I like to call a "cocktail protection" like the "cocktail tan" that entails someone going into a tanning bed and then immediately getting a spray tan afterwards (yes I had to text my friend who works at a tanning salon to get the name). I like to apply a cream sunscreen because it is much more effective at providing a good layer of defense than the spray. I then like to use the ever so popular spray sunscreen after just in case I missed a spot. I then give myself a good spray every hour from then on unless I get wet, then I start the process over again.

I know that sounds like a lot, and it kind of is. If you plan on using only a spray sunscreen, you have to be really diligent about it. Try to not spray it in the wind and if you happen to be in a windy environment, stand so the wind is blowing towards you, that way more sunscreen is likely to stick.

I haven't found an amazing body sunscreen, they pretty much all seem to be the same to me. The most important thing is that you use a SPF of at least 45 and REAPPLY. REAPPLY. REAPPLY.

I quite like the Sun Bum brand simply because of its pleasant smell.

Common SPF fuck ups:

1. Not reapplying. So many people will come to me complaining that they got burned even though they wore sunscreen. When I ask them if they reapplied throughout the day the shameful look on their face often answers that question for me.

2. Not covering up as much as possible. I get it, you're on the beach and it's hot out. But if you have the means of sitting in the shade or wearing a hat or a t shirt-- do it! Cotton gives you about an SPF of 12 which can be the extra layer needed to prevent a really painful and damaging sunburn.

3. Forgetting key areas. Like I mentioned before, a lot of people will get sunburns on their scalp, ears, and tops of their feet. Anything exposed to the sun needs to be protected. A hat prevents the need for sunscreen in your hair.

4. Old lady hands at 30. The backs of your hands are often the first place to age. Lots of companies are making hand creams with SPF in them to tackle this problem. I like to keep one in my purse at all times to reapply throughout the day.

5. Using expired sunscreen. Unfortunately, sunscreen doesn't last longer than a year and having it sit out on the beach with you only expedites the process (oh, the irony). You need to repurchase your sunscreen after a year or it won't be able to protect you to its fullest abilities.

If you've made it this far, congrats! This will be one of my more hefty posts. Mostly because there is a lot of information that needed to be put out there but also because it is something I'm very passionate about.

If you have any questions about products or sun protection in general, please do not hesitate to contact me. I love to give people advice about this kind of stuff!

Thanks for reading,