It may seem ridiculous to be talking about sun protection in cold, dark January, but getting your SPF routine sorted now is one beauty resolution that will genuinely have the best long term effect on your skin. We all know that we should be wearing SPF, but integrating it into your beauty regime seamlessly can sometimes be tricky – here are our tips on finding the best products for you…
Find your number
SPF can be confusing – logically, a SPF 30 cream should provide twice as much protection as one with SPF 15, but that’s not the case. An SPF 15 product blocks about 94% of UVB rays, an SPF 30 product blocks 97% of UVB rays, and an SPF 50 product blocks about 98% of rays. Which number you choose depends on how fair your skin is, and how long you’re going to spend outside (NOT how long you’re going to spend in the sun, because clouds don’t block UV rays). Here’s a rough guide:
- Very fair skin (always burns, never tans): If you’re spending up to 2 hours outdoors, wear SPF 30. Beyond that, wear SPF 50.
- Fair skin (burns easily, slowly tans): If you’re spending up to 3 hours outdoors, wear SPF 30. Beyond that, wear SPF 50.
- Light skin (initially burns, gradually tans): If you’re spending up to 3 hours outdoors, wear SPF 15. Beyond that, wear SPF 30.
- Medium skin (tans well, minimal burns): If you’re spending up to 3 hours outdoors, wear SPF 8. Beyond that, wear SPF 15.
- Dark skin (easily tans, almost never burns): If you’re spending up to 4 hours outdoors, wear SPF 4. Beyond that, wear SPF 8.
Don’t forget that SPF only applies to UVB rays, which cause sunburn – they don’t rate a suncream on its ability to block UVA rays, which are what cause deeper skin damage. For that, you’ll need to look out for the label ‘broad spectrum’ on products.
Don’t rely on foundation
Although there are loads of beauty products available on the market with added SPF, they’re not all created equal. You can’t rely on the SPF in your foundation to give you adequate protection, because you simply don’t apply enough. Ditto moisturiser, if you use only a small amount (which most of us do). We recommend using a dedicated SPF to get the best protection – if this sounds like too much of a faff for you, use one that gives you a great base for makeup, so that it acts as a primer.
We recommend Heliocare 360° Oil-Free Gel SPF50, a lightweight gel that melts into the skin to give you an excellent, smooth base for makeup. It’s clinically proven to provide high-level protection against UVA and UVB rays, as well as being chock full of antioxidants to help improve skin.
Reapply, reapply, reapply
If you’re going to be spending a lot of time outdoor, then you’ll need to reapply your sun protection every few hours. Don’t worry about applying a heavy cream over a full face of makeup, though – the beauty industry is wising up to this problem! You can now get spray sunscreens carefully formulated for your face, as well as powders with sun protection that can be applied on top of your makeup. These products aren’t strong enough to be your main SPF, but they do provide a handy top up.
