With summer coming around, we often forget one of the most important things that come with it- sunscreen. I’m personally a victim of saying, “I don’t need sunscreen, the sun isn’t out!” or, “I don’t need sunscreen, I’m going to burn and it’ll develop into a tan!” However, sunscreen doesn’t just serve the purpose of keeping you from getting sunburnt. It also helps prevent cancer and early aging. When going through hormonal changes, our bodies experience accelerated aging, we look older faster than we want to. It’s so much easier to get SPF nowadays- many skincare products have sunscreen that you don’t even know about! Keep yourself looking young and keep your skin even by wearing sunscreen as much as possible during summer. Whether the sun is out or not, those UV rays are damaging your face more than you know! Here are some reasons we may forget about why sunscreen is so important for us:
aging
Whether you want to believe it or not, a bad sunburn and exposure to UV rays can start premature aging. As girls, the last thing we want is to look a lot older than we actually are. Not only can the sun make our skin look like leather and discolored, but the sun can break down collagen. Breaking of collagen can lead to saggy/loose skin, creating more wrinkles. By wearing sunscreen, we can protect ourselves from these UV rays and keep the collagen in our skin strong. There are ways to prevent this irreversible damage! Once your skin changes, there is not much you can do about it.
skin cancer
We all know that the UV rays from the sun can cause skin cancer, but how exactly does this happen? Recently, there has been a surge in skin cancer in women. This is from tanning and more sun exposure. We all know we love to get tan in the summer, but at what risk? According to the FDA, UV rays can damage the DNA in skin cells. From this, the cells will grow differently, developing abnormal and potentially dangerous growths. Not only this, but UV ways can weaken the immune system by “compromising the body’s natural defenses against aggressive cancer cells” (FDA). Keep your skin healthy and glowing by using sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher!
skincare with spf
A lot more products contain SPF than you know! Many companies make it easy to get protection, they put it right in their skincare. It is best to find skin care with SPF 30 or higher. Even though you still may want to use sunscreen, at least this will give you some protection. You also want to look for products with zinc and titanium dioxide. This helps to deflect the sun’s rays. Neutrogena, Eucerin, Kiehls, La Roche-Posay, Fenty Skin, and CeraVe are some popular brands that are highly rated when it comes to protecting our skin. You may even have some of these products with SPF and don’t even realize it!
We are more vulnerable to the sun than we think. As fun as tanning is and seeing yourself crisp up after a nice long beach day, the long term effects are not worth the burnt look. Trust me, your older self is going to thank you when your skin isn’t loose and you don’t have as many wrinkles as your friends. Protect your skin now before it’s too late!