Ever since I was little, I had always heard how important it was to wear sunscreen, stay out of the sun, and never go into tanning beds. I never paid much attention to those warnings. Although I don’t go to tanning beds and I try to wear sunscreen on my face, especially if I am going to the beach, I really don’t wear sunscreen. Recently, I’ve started feeling like I am aging before my time. I’m only 22 and I feel like my skin looks much older. I spoke to my dermatologist about my concerns and she said that one of the reasons I seem to be aging quicker than others is because of genetics and that I have incredibly fair skin. She then emphasized how important it is for me to be wearing sunscreen. I started to think about what she had said and did some research. Avoid the sun and wear sunscreen was everywhere on the internet for preventing wrinkles. One statistic really shocked me: “Exposure to ultraviolet light, UVA or UVB, from sunlight accounts for 90% of the symptoms of premature skin aging.” This is an enormous percentage. Think of how many people have wrinkles. Look at your parents. It is shocking that much of the wrinkling could have been prevented.
Because of these shocking statistics I have started to wear sunscreen. The problem with most sunscreens though, is that they do not protect against UVA rays. UVA rays, do not cause burns, but they do penetrate deep in your epidermis causing enhanced wrinkling and aging. It’s important to have a sunscreen that blocks both UVA and UVB rays.
I chose La-Roche-Posay’s moisturizing face cream and face sunscreen:
First, I thought it was important to have a moisturizer. So, I chose La-Roche’s moisturizer with 15 SPF.
- Mexoryl SX (ecamsule) helps protect against short UVA rays
- Parsol 1789 (Avobenzone) helps protect against long UVA rays
- Octocrylene helps protect against UVB rays
- Glycerin moisturizing agent
I then decided to go with the facial sunscreen due to additional protection throughout the day.
- Mexoryl™ SX 3% protects against short UVA rays and is photostable on its own
- Octocrylene 10% protects against UVB rays
- Avobenzone 2% protects against long UVA rays and is stabilized by Octocrylene
- Titanium Dioxide 5% provides enhanced overall UVA and UVB protection
The facial sunscreen clearly has a combination of extremely strong ingredients. I think these are great products. The facial sunscreen can be a little bit thick and turn out a little white on your face. You need to make sure to warm it up a bit and rub it in so that there is no whiteness. The moisturizer is absolutely fantastic. My biggest complaint is the cost, but I think if you are serious about maintaining a youthful appearance and not looking old and wrinkly, it’s worth the investment!
Cites:
http://dermatology.about.com/cs/beauty/a/wrinklecause_2.htm
Let Them Eat Cake 