The Sunscreen Post

The inspiration for this post was Katy-Rose over at Modly Chic (a blog I have loved for - a long time), and a post she recently did on sunscreen.

I've been using sunscreen for..... over 3 decades. Closer to 3.5 decades I reckon. My mum went bonkers on it when I was in Grade 6 or 7. Before we moved out of Southern Hell to Northern What-the-Hell.  At the time, no-one wore sunscreen. NO-ONE!!! Baby oil and coconut oil were huge - anything with an SPF was scarcer than hen's teeth. But my mum found it. And enforced its use.

While I thought then she was off her rocker (I wanted coconut oil, loved the smell. Mum, not so much. The smell of coconut turns her green about the gills). I resisted strenuously. And lost. I hated having to be even more uncool than I already was, but now I am so very grateful she enforced sunscreen. As a result of her militant attitude I have very minimal sun damage, my eyesight is great (I wear sunglasses 365 days, have done since I was 17), and my skin is in great condition (that may be partly genetic, but also lifestyle).

What Mum knew, and I didn't was that there was (and is) a whopping hole in the ozone over Tasmania - no UV blocking. So those who were not using an SPF were exposed to UVB rays (these are the scary ones) at full force. We started, way back then, with SPF4. Now, I use SPF 50+ (blocks 98% of UVB rays).

I no longer live in Tasmania, but I still use sunscreen every day. I go out early with the dogs (about 90 minutes) and get my daily hit of sun exposure for Vitamin D (I have had deficiencies before and am at constant risk - thank you genetics!), come back in, clean my face and sunscreen everything that will be exposed to the sun. In the summer, I wear a hat with a big brim to protect my face; I tend to rely on that to protect my face, rather than reapplying. My body, I reapply every 3 to 4 hours; anything that is exposed to the sun gets sunscreened. My hands get redone after every wash. Even now, in winter...

No matter how much sunscreen I use, any part of me exposed to the sun will tan. I go black in places; not dark brown - black. Other parts, just dark brown. Still others, golden. No-sun-ever bits, lily-white.

I am not fussy about the sunscreen I use - just so long as it is the highest SPF I can lay hands on (50+). Currently, I am using an Aldi (supermarket in-house brand) one. As a child, I used whatever Mum could get. As an adult, I started out with Banana Boat, but that broke me out after a while. I switched to Hamilton's - same deal. Cancer Council sunscreen gave me a rash. Invisible Zinc was the best thing ever in its original formulation; then they changed it, and it became impossible to get to absorb. About 15 years ago, I bought a Coles cheapy (4 kids, all needing sunscreen) - a litre doesn't go far in those circumstances, and one day I used that on my face; I had run out of my IZ. And I was sold.

Aside from being a high SPF, my requirements for sunscreen are pretty simple; don't break me out. Don't be oily looking/feeling. Don't be drying. No heavy fragrances. No 'heavy' face feel. And do not mess up my makeup when I wear it - this was a BIG problem back in the 80's and 90's - sunscreen and foundation did not go well together.

I have never in my life relied on the SPF in makeup to protect my skin; most are low (15+ if you are lucky) and almost none are broad spectrum. Broad spectrum sunscreens offer protection from both UVA and UVB rays (while UVB is the truly deadly one, UVA isn't great for you).

I cannot, for the life of me, understand how people in Australia do not use a proper sunscreen - a broad spectrum one. And wear sunsafe hats and sunglasses. There are far more attractive options about these days, and with the education programs, no excuses for not wearing a broad spectrum high SPF sunscreen.