This is something different to what I usually post on here, but I thought it would be interesting to talk about. Although it seems like an obvious thing to do in your daily skincare routine, you'd be surprised how many people skip this step! Some reasons I hear people do this is because they think they're not exposed to the sun long enough to need it, that they don't get sunburnt, or they don't like how it feels on their skin, and many other excuses. This can be very damaging for your skin, especially in the long run. I knew too many people who would spend hundreds on skincare products, but all of that just goes to waste if you skip the most important step. Anyways, here's some reasons why you should wear sunscreen on a daily basis (:
Always being in the sun without sunscreen is one of the most damaging things for your skin. With no protection it can damage collagen, elastin and skin cells. Meaning if you don't incorporate sunscreen into your daily routine you're not going to age very well. Overtime you'll see premature signs of aging like wrinkles, even if you're just in your 20-30s. There is some statistics saying that 90 percent of aging comes from the sun! So if you wanna look younger, start applying some sunscreen.
Discolouration is one of the things on your skin that can take years to get rid of, or never even go away at all. So best is to just prevent it from happening at all. Luckily sunscreen does this very well. If you struggle with acne and have some scars which just aren't fading away, this could be due to sun exposure which continuously darkens spots, so your skin can't go through proper healing. So sunscreen can help your scars fade faster, as it prevents the scar becoming darker than the rest of your skin.
This should definitely be the most important reason to wear sunscreen daily. If you're someone who likes going out a lot, this means your more susceptible to getting sunburns. Continuously getting sunburn may lead to serious issues like skin cancer. So please put sunscreen on whenever you leave the house! Yes this includes wearing sunscreen even when it's bad weather outside. Look for at least SPF 30+ sunscreen for best protection from the sun. This should also be applied to all the places where your skin is exposed (not just the face!)
UV rays can go through clouds and effect you the same way a sunny day without sunscreen would. Just remember that it's the UV rays from the sun that do the damage, not the temperature! So just apply sunscreen whenever you go outside. Also, don't forget to reapply throughout the day! Most only last for 2 hours. So a general rule is to reapply every 2 hours when you're outside.
Although it's true that people with lighter skin tones get sunburnt easier than darker tones, this isn't a reason to not wear sunscreen at all. Darker skin tones have more melanin in their skin, but this only provides minimal sun protection. (SPF of up to 13, not the 30 that you need.) Darker skin tones also absorb more than twice as many UV rays than people with lighter skin tones do. Even if sunburn isn't your biggest concern, sunscreen protects your skin from so much more and has many other benefits.
I hope you guys learnt something new or I at least persuaded someone to start using sunscreen. Thanks for reading!
Sources:
https://www.webmd.com/beauty/features/sun-protection-for-skin-of-color
https://www.drkurzman.com/blog/the-importance-of-wearing-sunscreen-everyday
https://mahoneydermatology.com/5-important-reasons-to-wear-sunscreen-daily/
