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.
