Top 5 Sunscreen Myths Debunked
As you can imagine, I hear lots of people’s opinions about sunscreen. More aptly, lots of excuses why people don’t want to wear it. Mostly, that is because they just haven’t found the right one yet, or they don’t see a need to add daily sunscreen to their routine. I’m here to try to persuade you a little. Why? Because I want to keep you cancer free and looking young!
#1 – I don’t want to wear sunscreen because I want to get tan. Don’t worry you will still get some tan even with the most perfect sunscreen use. The sun is just that powerful. I am a nutty, obsessive sunscreen user. While I normally get more freckles than tan, I still see the effects of the sun even with daily sunscreen use. PLUS there’s this thing called sunless tanner. It’s a great safe alternative! LINK TO OLD ARTICLE ABOUT SUNLESS TANNER.
#2 – I should always pick the highest SPF I can find. Not necessarily. SPF is the ratio of time that it takes to burn. So, if you would normally burn in 30 minutes. SPF 30 theoretically allow 30 minutes X 30 SPF or 900 minutes. That’s 15 HOURS!!! Well, despite that SPF being deceivingly high, the chemical sunscreens usually break down in 2 hours so you only get about 120 minutes no matter how high the SPF. That’s why there is a push to limit the labeling to say SPF 60+. Those high numbers give people a false sense of security. 30 is high enough, but the most important thing is the active ingredient. THINK ZINC!
#3 – Zinc sunscreen is a thick white paste. Not so much. Plus, most importantly zinc oxide is the safest and most effective sunscreen. No question. Great strides have been made in sunscreen “elegance” . Elegance is how well it goes on, smells, feels on the skin, rubs off, etc. Zinc and titanium are the preferred active ingredients, avoiding the chemical sunscreens if possible. Now zinc and titanium sunscreens come in a variety of formulations including spray, powder, cream, lotion and gel. The Colorescience line we sell even doubles for makeup.
#4 – I have sunscreen in my makeup, so I’m good. Maybe. Check those active ingredients. If the active ingredients are zinc and titanium you are probably good as long as you aren’t in the water. Also remember that sunscreens often have a maximum water resistance of 80 minutes. It never hurts to reapply.
#5- I only need to wear sunscreen at the beach, river or lake. Wrong. Ask any dermatologist, and we will recommend sunscreen to all exposed areas EVERY SINGLE DAY, ALL YEAR LONG. We encounter UV rays all the time. PLUS there’s the pesky aging and damaging blue light that we get from our screen time called HEV. The best sunscreens also block HEV. If you’re in front of a screen a lot, sunscreen on the face and neck is a MUST every day.
I could go on and on. It was actually hard to pick a top 5. Do you have questions about sunscreen use? Check out our additional posts about sunscreen below or the American Academy of Dermatology’s recently updated comprehensive review of sunscreens.
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