My Sunday mornings often consist of curling up with my blanket, drinking my tea de jour,
and catching up with some of my favorite bloggers.
One of my favorite blogs is by Andrew James - the Scottish beauty blogger behind Beauty
& the Boy.
He does these fact-based reviews of popular cosmetic products.
He’s got a lot of energy, flair, and he’ll strip down a product and tell you exactly
what he thinks.
He recently did a string of posts on sunscreens.
I reached out to Andrew, and asked if I could do a little ditty on how sunscreen works so
that you guys can better understand his recommendations.
He said yes, so thanks to Beauty and The Boy, we’re going to do a quick rundown on some
of his sunscreen recommendations.
Sunlight is made of packets of energy called photons.
They can be broken down into different wavelengths, but when it comes to sunscreen, there are
two we’re interested in: UVA and UVB.
Although we can’t see them, they have big impact on our skin.
UVB wavelengths penetrate into the upper layer of skin and are mostly responsible for burning.
UVA is more abundant and because it can penetrate the deeper layers of the skin, it’s said
to mostly affect aging, though both types of rays can cause skin cancer.
Now some UV is essential for bone health -- If you want to know more about that -- you can
see my vitamin D video right here, but too much UV can be problematic.
Most of the UV that hits our skin is absorbed by melanin - the colored pigment, that also
gives our skin color.
Occasionally, UV slips past the protective melanin, and can strike DNA directly, changing
its shape and function.
Even when melanin absorbs UV, sometimes it produces a reactive oxygen atom.
It crashes through and damages all sorts of structural components in our bodies like lipids,
proteins, and DNA.
Hulk Smash!
In fact, that gorgeous beach tan sported by this Instagram model is an unhappy example
of direct DNA damage.
By the time you have a tan, the damage to the skin is already done.
To prevent damage, we wear... sunscreen!
This is why Andrew is always preaching and teaching about sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen.
Driving in your car?
Wear sunscreen.
Dark skin?
Sunscreen!
Chillin in the shade?
Too bad.
Wear sunscreen.
Alright.
You get the point.
So we know it’s important, but how does it protect us from UV rays?
Inside the bottle of this opaque cream are ingredients called UV filters.
These are molecules that help reduce the amount of UV rays that reach our skin surface.
You’ve probably heard Andrew mention some of them -- but if they don’t sound familiar
it’s because different filters are available in different countries.
In the EU, there are 27 filters available.
In the US, there are 16, of which I see about 8 used reliably.
Historically, UV filters can be divided into 2 categories.
Physical and Chemical.
Sometimes they’re also called mineral and synthetic, inorganic and organic, or heaven
or hell if you’re the type that fears the word chemical.
Please -- don’t go thinking one is better than the other because one label sounds like
it comes from rocks found in nature while the other sounds like it comes from a lab.
They’re all chemicals and they all have advantages and disadvantages.
Chemical filters are molecules like Avobenzone, Octisalate and Octocrylene, octopus, just
kidding.
Like little energy converters these filters absorb UV light and convert it to heat.
Some chemical filters can be more reactive, particularly for those with allergies or sensitive
skin.
An example of this is avobenzone, which becomes more irritating as it breaks down through
photodegradation, though manufacturers now have photostabilizers to prevent this from
happening.
Physical sunscreens are molecules like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.
They can leave a white cast on skin, so manufacturers often micronize them to fine particles to
make them more transparent.
Though you may have been told they reflect UV light from skin -- Andrew points out -- this
is actually myth.
Whaaa?
Didn’t realize you’d learn so much today, did ya?
These micronized molecules only reflect 4-5% of the UVB spectrum.
So contrary to popular belief, they protect you the same way organic filters do - through
absorption.
Despite this division in the makeup of UV filters, the reality is that many sunscreen
makers will use a whole mix of UV filters since they’re effective at different wavelengths
and they want to provide protection against the whole range of UV.
This is why all of Andrew’s Top Five Favorite sunscreens include broad-spectrum protection.
When you see this on the label, it means the sunscreen is formulated to protect from both
UVA and UVB.
That’s important because SPF only measures UVB protection.
So it’s only half of the equation.
On top of that, it’s important to remember they’re UV filters, Not UV blockers.
So small amounts of UV radiation still get onto skin.
An SPF of 15 filters out 93% of UVB rays, an SPF of 30 filters out 97%, and an SPF 50
filters out 98% . If you have an SPF of 100 you’re filtering out 99% of UV rays.
But just remember, no matter how high the SPF, you’ll never block out 100% of UV.
Slathering yourself with sunscreen forms a barrier that absorbs or reflects UV light
before it even reaches your melanin, DNA, and other molecules deeper in the skin.
If you looked at your skin with a microscope and you would see a topographical map of peaks
and valleys.
Sunscreen needs time to settle and cover all that terrain.
The more evenly it’s applied, the better the coverage you get.
This is why you’re encouraged to apply sunscreen 20 minutes before you go outside.
It’s so that it can form a film.
And of course, sunscreen doesn’t last forever.
Just like we have to reapply our lipstick or foundation because it comes off over the
course of the day - sweat, removing clothing, swimming, holding the phone to our face.
All these activities also remove sunscreen from our skin.
How often you should re-apply that can differ from person to person and the type and amount
activity in your day - but experts agree you’re probably not reapplying it enough.
Andrew’s general recommendation is applying sunscreen every 2 hours if we’re outdoors,
and he must be on the right track because the American Academy of Dermatology agrees.
Go Andrew.
Not only are we not reapplying sunscreen often enough, it turns out we may not be using enough
of it in the first place.
A study in 2002 showed a majority of people apply between a quarter to a half of the recommended
amounts.
One of my favorite things about Andrew’s reviews is that that he covers ALL the new
sunscreen formulations.
For example, he recently did a post on powdered sunscreen.
It’s great for when you have to apply sunscreen over makeup, which is difficult to do with
a cream, right?
But he also made it clear that it works best when you have a primary sunscreen underneath.
This is because loose powders are..
Well… loose..
so they come off the skin quicker than a cream.
Through him I also learned about transparent sunscreens, so I took a look at the list of
ingredients to see how they work.
Traditional sunscreen creams use some filters that are dissolved in water, and some that
are dissolved in oil.
When they get mixed together they form an emulsion, which is one of the reasons they
are creamy white.
In these new transparent products, all the UV filters are dissolved into just one or
the other, just oil, or just water.
This is called single phase because it’s not a mixture.
In one of his posts, he also mentions Clinique’s Solar Smart - which is one of a number of
sunscreens that are offering antioxidants in their formulations.
Remember when we talked about reactive oxygen atoms that act like snipers and take out important
structures in the body?
These antioxidant ingredients could neutralize free radicals and provide a secondary measure
of UV protection.
So if you haven’t seen his blog, you should totally check it out.
I’ll put a link in the description.
And MAYBE I’ll be reading one of your comments on his blog next Sunday morning.
As always, don’t forget to like, subscribe, click on notifications and have my url tattooed
on your forearm.
Thanks for watching!