Sum Sum Summer Skin
Sun’s Out, Bum’s Out
and Skin Needs Protection
At the time of writing this, NYC is in the middle of an insane heat wave. I’m an AccuWeather girlie and the RealFeel is currently 102º with a predicted high of 110º. GTF outta here with that! I’m following neighborhood customs and walking down the street with an umbrella so I don’t spontaneously combust. SO, with High Summer so clearly upon us, what better time to talk to you about my all-time favorite skincare topic – SUN PROTECTION!!
Present me can hear future you groaning as you read this. “We get it, wear sunscreen, okayyyyyy 🙄” No. That’s not enough. This topic has nuance. Let’s get into it.
JUST WEAR THE DAMN SUNSCREEN
That’s a good place to start. How much? Well, most experts recommend 1/4 tsp for face and neck, and approximately 1 oz for body. However, not all faces and bodies are the same size. I found this amazing Sunscreen Calculator created by a pair of Polish doctors/scientists that will help you determine how many teaspoons (also in ml but let’s be honest, teaspoons are more helpful) to cover your face/body taking into account protective clothing coverage. It also tells you how many bottles you need to bring on vacay. Genius!!
OK FINE, WHICH SUNSCREEN?
My honest answer here is I really don’t care. Whichever one you like! We stock the studio and online store with a variety of options that we like, but if you like something else better, great. Use it. Liberally and repeatedly.
BUT AREN’T SOME SUNSCREENS TOXIC?
Nope. There’s a lot of chatter online about toxic endocrine disrupting chemical filters, but the filters available to us in the US have robust safety profiles and are allowed and used all over the world, including the countries that also have more advanced UV filters.
Various popular websites and apps grade products by their ingredient lists, but they are known for cherry picking data and adhering to the “natural is better” fallacy. I find it amusing that the “chemical” hating contingent loves things that are organic, and “chemical” filters are actually called organic. Mineral spf is inorganic. Hehehe. Organic in this context just refers to whether the filter is carbon based or not, but I think it’s funny nonetheless.
WHAT ABOUT REEF SAFE? I DON’T WANT TO DESTROY MARINE LIFE!
Good news! All sunscreen is reef safe in the real world. Where this disturbing myth came from is testing extremely high concentrations of various compounds to see the impact on coral. In these unreal conditions, both chemical and mineral filters showed the ability to bleach coral reefs. This is another disappointing example of convincing consumers that their habits and behaviors are destroying the ecosystem, rather than the true culprit – massive corporations’ carbon emissions.
OK, I APPLIED IT ONCE. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?
No, actually, I’m not. That’s a good start, but you need to reapply every two hours and always after swimming, sweating, toweling, or any other activity that could cause your sunscreen to run or wipe off. And remember, you’re applying the same amount that you first did!
Let’s say you put sunscreen on for your morning commute, then you work inside all day and leave the office when the sun is near setting. But you leave the office for an hour for lunch. Surely you don’t need to reapply? Well, if you’re going outside more than two hours after your commute, and you aren’t wearing a wide brimmed hat or shading yourself with an umbrella, then technically you should reapply. This is because many UVA filters degrade and become inactive by the two hour mark. Same reason you need to reapply at the beach even if you’ve been lounging under an umbrella for two hours.
SO WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO REAPPLY THROUGHOUT THE DAY?
You have a few options here, and unfortunately the really convenient ones aren’t very good.
Powder SPF may seem like a great hack but unfortunately it’s possibly the worst way to apply sunscreen due to the volume of powder you’d need, so scrap that.
Mists sound lovely but same thing, a couple of spritzes won’t actually get any noticeable amount of product on your face, and it certainly wouldn’t be uniform if it did.
Sticks have more promise, as you’re actually rubbing the product directly onto your skin. HOWEVER, again, you’re going to need to rub that stick around for much longer than you’d imagine to achieve even a fraction of the SPF labeled. Cosmetic Chemist Michelle Wong experimented with sticks and discovered you’d need 20+ back and forth passes per area to achieve anything significant, and you’d still need to rub it in AND it turns your face into a greasy mess.
Cushion Compacts are becoming a little more popular, but similar to the stick or powder, there isn’t enough transfer of product to ensure full and even coverage.
That leaves us with the old standby of just applying more lotion or oil on top of what’s already there. Unfortunately for makeup wearers, that is the only reliable way to reapply, so if you are in a full beat out in the sun, find a great hat.
SOOO, I GOT A LITTLE TOO MUCH SUN. NOW WHAT?
Oy vey. Listen, it happens to all of us at some point. Luckily, I have a few recommendations of how to treat your sunburn:
Magic Molecule The Solution is your first line of defense. Hypochlorous Acid is really gentle and anti inflammatory and can help soothe irritated skin.
Neova Pure Copper Mask is a cool gel that can also help promote skin healing and feel really nice on.
If it’s really bad, you’ll need the big guns. The CO2 Lift Pro Mask will dramatically reduce redness and inflammation, calm the immune response and rehydrate the skin. It is used post-surgery to keep tissue alive, so I would definitely trust it with a sun burn.
Once your skin is on the path to recovery, I’d make sure to incorporate Neova DNA Total Repair for face and Body Repairfor body. Both products contain DNA Repair Enzymes to help repair some of that photodamage you’ve just suffered.
I hope you enjoyed my SPF explainer! I’m not a sun hater, I swear. I love warm weather (not this hot tho, jesus) and I love being out in the sun, I just care about our skin and I don’t want us to get cancer.
Happy Summer!
Raquel xx
