I am a firm believer that taking action to educate and protect yourself is the most empowering form of self-care. And yes – that extends to skincare and sun safety.
As we welcome summer, it’s also an awesome opportunity to say hello to safer sunscreen. The Environmental Working Group is a fantastic resource – they’re a tried and true organization that has analyzed over 1,700 products for their annual Guide to Sunscreens. If you do your research, you’ll come to a quick conclusion:
Not all sunscreens are created equal.
And that can get confusing! One of the first things to help shed some light on sunscreen is identifying the category – physical sunscreens versus chemical sunscreens.
Physical sunscreens, or “sunblock,” contain natural minerals – titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, for example – that cover the skin’s surface to physically block or reflect the sun’s UVA and UVB rays. It’s effective, but often thick and a little messy – leaving behind a white cast that can clog pores. More on that in a moment.
Chemical sunscreens contain synthetic ingredients – like oxybenzone and octinoxate – that absorb into the skin to filter and absorb UV rays and protect deeper layers of skin. Unfortunately, this absorption often leads to skin irritation and other adverse reactions.
Personally, I’d made the decision over the past few summers to accept the white chalkiness of physical sunscreen. New technology is rapidly changing the formulas, though, and I’ve witnessed some pretty incredible progress even in the last year. I recently found several new products that not only eliminate the white cast, but also feel fantastic on my skin – a combination I wasn’t sure I’d ever find. No more white ghosts on the beach!
Tomorrow we’ll be talking about different kinds of protection and why it’s so important – UVA? UVB? UVhuh? I’ll continue to share information on Instagram too, so be sure to join me there.
And in honor of the summer solstice, I have a special Beautycounter deal happening now through June 30th: with any purchase of $100+ pre-tax and shipping, I’ll send your choice from my favorite Countersun Mineral Sunscreen line: a .5 oz Sunscreen Stick OR 3 oz Sunscreen Mist for free. (Mist available for local Chicago folks only so I can hand-deliver it!) Just use this link to shop with me as your consultant and send me a screencap of your receipt.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me at kpsummers514@gmail.com with any questions about products – I know safer skincare option can get overwhelming, and I’m here to help however I can. We all deserve better.
timetoradiate 