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What Sunscreen should I buy? {Sunscreen}

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So, yesterday, I did a very long post on the ingredients of sunscreen. So, the reason I did that post was because I wanted to do this following post in which that knowledge would be helpful. By the way, I do not claim whatever I had written yesterday is complete.
Now, what are the important factors in deciding sunscreen?
  • SPF : Yes. But, as I mentioned in this post, anything above 30 doesn’t really provide extra protection so spf 30 products are enough. And, still, if you want to aim for high, anything beyond 50 is worthless.
  • Labeling : Always buy a ‘broad-spectrum’ sunscreen. The label should be there on the product. Btw, most of the Indian products do not have such labeling conformations which is pretty sad.
  • Ingredients : You would want to ensure you are getting adequate protection so look for the ingredients I mentioned in the chart.
  • Manufacturing : Buy as latest sunscreen as possible because the composition of the sunscreen may break down if kept unused for long.
  • Brand : Always get a trusted and established brand which has proper research facilities. I would definitely add here that do not get herbal sunscreens as they do not have any of the sunscreen ingredients. They might prevent tanning but there is no saying as to they can protect skin from UV radiations. And, I would definitely put my trust in chemical products than sticking to herbal in such cases.
Anything I might have forgotten which you think should be included in this list?

Use sunscreen 365 days a year {Sunscreen}

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Ok, so this is a sincere advise to people who love to skip on sunscreen. Yes, even I do that!!! Or, rather used to do that and now I have become diligent and force myself to apply the sunscreen everyday as soon as I moisturize my face. The reason is that it helps to keep you young by counteracting the effects of sun rays on skin. And, I have kept my resolve on and off since May so I can safely say that this happens to be true. Daily usage of sunscreen does keep you younger for a longer time or rather prevent wrinkles and age spots which tend to appear as you age. I know it is difficult to find a good sunscreen but for those who haven’t tried, you can go for Neutrogena Ultra Sheer or if you have the dough to spend, I would definitely advise MVO Moisturizing Face Screen or Everyday Sheer Coverage. MVO has physical sunscreens and they definitely work!!! Better than chemical ones and you don’ have to keep on reapplying them all day!!! And, of course, you should apply adequate amount of sunscreen for proper protection. That is very very important. And, do not skip on sunscreen even for a single day.Full strength sunscreen in summers is a must but many people tend to forgo it in rainy seasons or cloudy days or even in the winters. But, on cloudy days, there might be a possibility that UV radiations increase so it is always safe to apply a full strength sunscreen. The reason is that though clouds are handy in deflecting the UV rays passing through them, they also reflect the UV rays if the sun is out and not obscured by the clouds. So, don’t be fooled by clouds and leave the sunscreen at home. And, regarding winters, yeah you can go little less on the strength that is the spf factor if you wish to. But, forgoing it not at all a good idea. The UVA rays specially remain strongest during the daylight hours all the year round.

spf 15 – filters 93.3% UVB

spf 30 – filters 96.7% UVB
spf > 30 – filters around 97% UVB
So, clearly any sunscreen having spf more than 30 is not very helpful and efficient. These are mainly marketing tactics so you can protect your skin as well with spf 30 as you will with spf 100.
I would recommend going for spf 30 in general all round the year because it provides the best protection. It is proven through research that factors higher than 30 do not in anyway provide extra protection as compared to spf 30 so it is better to stick with spf 30 and make sure to reapply it regularly. And, clothing is very important to protect from the sun’s rays. So, do take care that you are amply covered.

Reminiscing Life through Beauty Products {Beauty Products}

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Remember the post in which I shared that probably skin behaves better when we stick to just one product instead of hopping on to different, Monali shared about how her mom is also addicted to same products after all these years and she asked me about about my HG products. So, I have been thinking and thinking and still thinking!!! Yeah, since last 4 years and, especially, since the time I have started blogging, I have been really hopping on various products without sticking to one which is extremely bad. But, I will still recount some of my favorite (or may not be so favorite) products which have worked for me and I know will work for me if I return to them.
  • Face Wash : My first face wash was in the first year of my Engineering and it was the classic Garnier face wash which I truly love to bits. It never made my face dry and I had stuck to it for a very long time.
  • Soap : Yardley soaps are my favorite. I have used only one bar till today but they are the best. Sorry to say but even better than Lush. So, yeah, I will end up going back to it. I am just waiting for my stock to get finished. Speaking of which, I am yearning to share my stock of beauty products with you all and I have clicked pics. Just have to edit and put them up. But, if I go back in time, I was addicted to Pears. Ok, not at all a good choice coz it used to make my skin horribly dry but I never understood that then.
  • Moisturizer and Body Lotion : Nivea ever since I can remember. I am in love with Nivea and nothing can change my mind about the brand. And yeah, it helped me during one of the worst times of my life and you wouldn’t really believe it of Nivea coz its supposed to be so thick and sticky. I came to Vizag to give EAMCET in the really hot and rather disgusting weather of April and I had come from Simla so you can very well imagine what I would have roasted into. There were boils all over my hands and face – a really strange allergic reaction which Nivea calmed down instantly. And, that too the dry skin lotion. Since then, I had been using the body lotion for quite long.
  • Hands and Feet and pretty much everywhere else : Vaseline. Yeah, much is said about petroleum jelly today but trust me, braving the horrible winters of Simla when your skin is literally cracking is not simple and that was the only thing that worked.
  • Hair Oil : Bajaj Almond Drops worked for me. Yeah, that was even before Rogan Badam so that would be my HG though even Rogan Badam is awesome!!! And, then Keo Karpin worked well but I discontinued it coz of the smell. It started giving me headaches. Parachute and Vatika were discontinued coz they froze in the autumn of Simla leave the winters 😀
  • Shampoo : Pantene has always worked for me and it works beautifully. Yeah, I discontinued that too but I have been loyal to Pantene for quite long.And, strictly speaking, Sunsilk (the older ones) and Nyle have been disastrous for my hair. If you remember Chic shampoos, they also worked great for me but I guess they were discontinued.
Can’t pretty much remember anything else though so I don’t think it is worth remembering. Do share your products throughout your life. And, thanks to Monali that she asked me about my HG products, otherwise I would never have done such a post. It was fun 🙂