INTRO TO THE SUN PROTECTION GUIDE
Welcome to the Sun Protection Guide. This is a primer on everything you need to know about Sun Protection.
The first part of this guide explains what sun damage does to your skin and how to evaluate sunscreens. The second half offers practical advice, such as what to look for when shopping for a sunscreen.
This guide has been written in such a way that you can skip around, but I highly encourage you to read the whole guide. Proper sun protection is so important to skin health and youthful aging.
Important Sections of the Sun Protection Guide – Crucial, Don’t Miss
- How Sun Damages Skin – Free Radicals
- UV Radiation
- Best Active Ingredients
- Sunscreen Essentials – What to Look for in a Sunscreen
For you super busy readers, this is the 1 Minute Version of what you must know, which includes a shopping checklist.
Why Sunscreen Is ESSENTIAL
“Wear Sunscreen”.. Ho hum. You’ve heard it a thousand times. Assuming you haven’t lived in a cave the past two decades, it should be quite obvious why. But let’s just repeat it for the record.
#1. The sun’s UV rays can kill you
#2. It ages your skin (A LOT)
The sun is responsible for a whopping 85% of the aging you see on your face as you get older —wrinkles, sagging, spots, and more. All of that is thanks to sun damage.
For those of you who think it doesn’t matter because you never burn, or you don’t care right now, trust me – you will care later when your skin falls apart. Or when the doctor gives you bad news.
Protecting your skin is the most important thing you can do for your skin. If you do nothing else, at the very minimum, protect it from the sun. Wear a sunscreen whenever you’re outside. (You need to wear it everyday, not just on sunny days.) Protection is the best investment you can make for your skin.
It’s so important that, when people ask me what anti-aging products to buy, my answer is always the same. First, get the right sunscreen (then a Vitamin C serum). If they’re on a budget, I advise them to prioritize their spending on the sunscreen and Vitamin C serum, and cut back on the fancy moisturizer. There are many perfectly decent moisturizers that you can buy at a reasonable price. THAT’s how important sunscreen is.
Sunscreen will give you the greatest payoff for your money. As I’m sure you realize, prevention is much easier than correction. No amount of science or surgery can turn back the clock. Once your skin is damaged, it never returns to its original state.
So let’s begin understanding sun damage and what we can do to prevent it.