Now you may be thinking, “It’s December. It’s freezing outside. I don’t want to think about sunscreen. I’m so pale.” Well, maybe that last part is just me… I know you don’t think you need the protection, but you really do. Now it’s true that UVB rays aren’t as strong in the winter, however, UVA rays are the same strength year-round. And if you remember in one of my recent posts — 5 Ways You’re Using Sunscreen Wrong, UVA rays are the type that contribute the most to aging and skin cancer.
“UVA accounts for up to 95 percent of the UV radiation reaching the earth. These rays maintain the same level of strength during daylight hours throughout the year” (www.skincancer.org).
If you’re headed out to the mountains this holiday season, it’s even more important that you’re wearing sunscreen or covering yourself up. Not only are you getting the UV rays from the sun, but you’re also getting the UV rays reflected off of the snow. Snow reflects up to 80% of UV rays! So the sun is hitting you twice, and increasing your risk of skin cancer and sunburn.
So to protect you this winter (or year-round), here are my top 5 sunscreens.
Physical sunscreens (zinc oxide and titanium dioxide)
This has been my every day, holy grail sunscreen for about a year now. It’s incredibly lightweight and liquidy, making it sink into the skin quickly. As an added bonus, it evens out my skin tone really well too. If you’re on the fair side like me, I actually buy the non-tinted version of this as well and mix the two together to create a lighter shade of sunscreen. It’s a bit too dark for me on it’s own.
A great staple mineral sunscreen without a white cast. I like this formulation because, unlike most mineral sunscreens that make you look like a ghost, this one blends into the skin easily.
I’ve only had this one for a few months but it’s a great replacement if I go empty on my La Roche Posay. It’s tinted, a lighter color than LRP, and way cheaper. It’s also great for people with oily skin since it dries matte. If you have very dry skin, I would stay away from this one.
As a bonus, I included this mineral sunscreen powder because it’s very lightweight and a great option for re-application. I wouldn’t recommend this as your first line of defense — you simply wouldn’t be able to use enough powder on your face to get the needed protection. I have the light version of it and I used it constantly on my most recent trip to Europe.
Chemical Sunscreens (synthetic UV filters)
For my chemical sunscreen options, I just have one. I’ve pretty much switched fully to mineral because one, they provide instant protection (chemical sunscreens need 15–20 minutes to react with your skin) and two, they’re less irritating. Some chemical UV filters can be irritating to sensitive or acne-prone skin like octinoxate and octisalate, but this one has been a tried and true sunscreen since high school. It’s broad-spectrum, it has a high SPF, and it has no white cast. If you want to read more about the potential drawbacks of chemical sunscreens, I have another post — What You Need To Know About Your Sunscreen.
Comments