When Should You Wear Sun Protection?

For most of the population, the word sunscreen is synonymous with summer beach or pool days. Although it is very important to wear sun protection on these days, it is just as important to protect your skin all other days of the year! Just driving to and from work or running errands in your car exposes your skin to damaging rays that go right through the glass of your windows and windshield. UVA rays are a consistent risk year-round, even on cloudy days. They are the aging rays and penetrate the skin more deeply than the sunburn-causing UVB rays. UVA rays are a mutagen and affect DNA of squamous and basal cells in skin’s lower layers. More than just causing fine lines, wrinkles and dark spots, these rays may also be responsible for the initial formation of skin cancers, including melanoma (source). “If you wear sunscreen every day then you’re not going to wrinkle and age prematurely,” says Chandra Prasad, MD, JCMG Laser & Vein Center.

Apply Sun Protection Every Morning

Just like you begin your day with a cup of coffee or brushing your teeth, make sun protection a daily habit every single morning as part of your routine. Colorescience award-winning Skin Perfectors offer a combination of sun protection, color correction, and skincare benefits for each skin type, ranging from those with dark spots to to redness. This single, multi-tasking step makes it so straightforward and hassle-free to apply that first layer of protection.

“Colorescience fits in beautifully with my lifestyle as a busy mom of two boys. I am not a makeup person, but I put on Even Up and some mascara, and I’m out the door,” says Kristen Jacobs, MD, Ooh La La.

“Every second that you spend in the sun the skin remembers. Use sunscreen every morning – no matter if you think you may not be going out. Use sunscreens that cover the broad spectrum of the UV rays – UVA and UVB. Sunscreen wasn’t an important consideration when I was growing up, and to look tan was to look good,” says Board Certified Dermatologist, Dr. Marguerite Germain, MD, Germain Dermatology.

Reapply Every Two Hours

We know that it’s an impossible task for anyone to apply a liquid or cream sunscreen every two hours during the day. It’s messy, inconvenient and would ruin your makeup application. That’s what makes our Sunforgettable® Brush-on Sunscreen such a lifesaver for sunscreen reapplication. You can take the self-dispensing brush anywhere and quickly apply the powder alone or over your makeup without the use of a mirror.

“If you care about how you look, if you care about your health, sunscreen must be part of your daily routine, multiple times per day. A busy woman is not going to take twenty minutes to take her makeup off, reapply her sunscreen, and put her makeup back on. She needs to be quick, so the Sunforgettable Brush-on Sunscreen is so easy because you can take ten seconds and it makes your makeup look better without missing a beat,” says Dr. Jeff Birchall, MD, Dermacare of Rancho Bernardo.

“Layering sunscreen is a concept that is unique. Nobody wants to put a thick, lotion sunscreen on top of another thick, lotion sunscreen. That’s what’s so nice with the mineral base—it’s easily reapplied. There are very few sunscreens that you can apply and say, ‘Hey, I look better!’” says Board Certified Plastic Surgeon Janet Turkle, MD.

Reapply Until It’s Dark Outside

he hours between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. are the most critical. Even if you’re just walking from your car to the office or sitting by the window at home, you’re exposing your skin to UV damage.

“A lot of people don’t realize that they are in the sun as often as they are. If you can see light, light can see you, so unless you’re truly in a room where you can turn off the lights and see nothing, you’re getting exposed to those UVA rays,” says Carly Summers, Product Specialist at Roseville Dermatology.

Apply and reapply sun protection every single day, 365 days per year. We’ve made it so simple to get your first, morning layer of protection by adding sun protection to our primers and foundations, then creating a brush-on powder for quick, easy, and mess-free reapplication. There are no more excuses to leave your skin unprotected! “I would tell my younger self to wear sunscreen every day and to reapply. I grew up playing soccer, and I’ve had multiple blistering sunburns. One of the important things that people miss is that you need to reapply sunscreen every two hours. Sunscreen is one of the most important things you can do for your skin on a daily basis to prevent fine lines, brown spots, and uneven skin tone,” says Courtney Baldwin, P.A., Westlake Dermatology.