Who Needs Sunscreen
Hello Darlings,
When most people think about the fall and winter months they don’t think about sun burn and sun damage . Most people don’t think about sun protection at all during the colder parts of the year.. As an esthetician I have spoken to many clients about sun protection and its importance in everyone’s skin care routine. Regardless of age, color, gender or social status everyone needs sun protection, unless you are a hermit then in that case you won’t be effected by the sun .
When speaking to a client , friend , family member and even a stranger at the grocery store (trust me these things come up in the most random conversations) I am always shocked when someone tells me they only where sun screen during the summer or on vacation. After I smile and give my I care about you eyes I can’t help but to give my speech on how the sun does not only come out for the Memorial weekend and visit you on your island vacations. The sun is there every day of our lives even on the rainy days . So why are you not protecting your skin every day?
Once I ask that question I can see the wheels turning and NO one and I mean NO one has a good answer.
Of course I hear “its sticky”,” it smells”, “I always forget”, ….
But the main two reasons I hear from my brothers and sisters of color is that
1. I didn’t know brown people needed sun screen
2. It makes me look ashy and gray.
Being a dark skin woman of color I have definitely come across these two issues with sun screen.
I remember being a little girl and during the summer we would go down south for family reunions and my mom would break out the Eckerd’s store brand of body sunscreen and lather me down. At the time I wasn’t sure why she did this but all I knew was that when she did I felt gross and my chocolate skin that I was already on an emotional roller coaster of trying to teach myself how to love was now this awful gray color with streaks of florescent purple. Being young and adaptable I just took it as a part of summer.
Not until I was in esthetics school did I learned why sun protection is so important and why certain ingredients did not mesh well with my brown skin.
Here is what I have learned YES everyone needs sun screen even brown people the rate of skin cancer in the African American community is something that needs to be talked about more, I also learned that not all sunscreen formulas are not the same.
Since I had such bad acne for many years the main factor that hit home with me was when my instructor said “ skipping sunscreen can and will cancel out all the hard work you have put into getting your skin clear”. Once I heard that I was like “excuse me” whatever do you mean.
If you have acne or had acne and you are battling with hyperpigmentation sun screen needs to be your best friend all year long.
Here is why
The rays from the sun send energy messages to our melanocytes (color causing cells ) to produce color / pigment . Once these cells receive the energy message from the sun in the form of UVA and UVB rays the melanocytes think it is time to party and the only way they know how to party is to make color. And that color shows up as dark spots on your face and any part of your body that you have not protected. Especially on areas of the skin that have had trauma like acne and healed like old acne scars.
Wearing sun protection is going to block that energy message from getting to your melanocytes and they will not make more color. Which stops the hyperpigmentation from getting darker and or coming back.
Sun screen is mandatory if you are using any products that are helping you to fade or “remove” hyperpigmentation and dark spots on the skin. Because as those products help fade and “remove” and I use those terms lightly since you are really putting your melanocytes in a sleep mode (because they never really go away ) you do not want to expose those areas to the suns energy and counter product the work you did with those products . Its’s like you putting your baby down for a nap and then practicing the drums in the next room don’t be surprised when that baby starts screaming.
Mind blowing I know .
Once I learned the importance of sun protection I took my skin care routine to the next level and with more purpose . I was just getting over hiding my face due to acne and was beginning my journey of healing my skin so I didn’t want anything to feeling like I was wearing a mask. Thus started my search for a sunscreen that did not remind me of my childhood experiences in the south. I tried drug store brands , cosmetics brands from $95 a bottle to $15 . Some were ok if I was wearing a full face of make-up but none left me satisfied. Until I came across Elta MD UV Clear , it goes on smooth and does not change to color of my skin . I am happy that the sun protection is SPF 46 and also has some yummy ingredients like niacinamide. I have been using Elta MD UV clear since the beginning of this year and so far it is still my friend and has not contributed to any break outs or skin irritations. I like how it looks under makeup and on its own. It has been consistent through crispy spring mornings and scorching Atlanta summer days and now into the fall we go.