Healthy Skin From Head To Toe: Part 1

Spring is finally here! And it took long enough... The warmer weather means shedding those clunky winter layers and letting your skin breathe! In this Healthy Skin series, I'll be talking about what you'll need in the coming months to protect your skin from head to toe. (This means a lot of sunscreen!)

First of all, you know that your body skin is not the same as the skin on your face. If you suffer from breakouts or have even slightly oily skin, most sunscreens just feel gross. The creams are either goopy or greasy and even the ones that say "oil-free" often don't feel so great.

One thing you need to know about sunscreen for the face, is that for a long time manufacturers thought consumers wanted to have a moisturizing sunscreen, since the sun has a slightly drying effect on certain skin types. This has caused way too many SPF moisturizers to be formulated as though everyone has super dry skin. Watch out for labels that talk too much about the cream having moisturizing qualities. What skin really needs is water, not lubrication. 

Sometimes the claim of "oil-free" can actually be a red flag.  Many base ingredients that are meant to replace oil are waxy substances that clog pores until they're totally stuffed.  If you like natural or organic brands, check in with a knowledgable Esthetician (like me! :)) to make sure the ingredients are suitable for your skin type.

People email me all the time with ingredient lists, and what surprises them when I respond is that some of the most pore-clogging ingredients are natural!  Raw materials like cocoa butter and coconut oil are known to be very pore-clogging. Shea Butter is another comedogenic (pore-clogging) ingredient.

So what's the best SPF lotion for your face?

Be sure that you use an SPF15 or higher and that it's hydrating, as well as non-clogging, which is not an easy combination to find!  Mark Lees sunscreen products are my favorite because they are the most comfortable and most hydrating sunscreen lotions I have ever come across.

If your current lotion has never made your pores feel very congested over time, and you've been using it for more than six months, you're probably ok.  Always remember; it takes 3-6 months for a pore-clogging ingredient to cause a breakout.  If your sunscreen doesn't make you break out within days of using it, or even a month, that doesn't necessarily mean it's ok.  It takes much more time than that.

Another thing to keep in mind that the only type of sunscreen that will protect against premature aging and skin cancer must be labeled as "broad-spectrum." As of 2015, rigorous testing has been required to win the right to put this claim on a label, so if a sunscreen is not formulated to be broad-spectrum, it will only protect against sunburn and will not be able to claim that it does anything to help fight fine lines and wrinkles or skin cancer.

I love the idea of antioxidants in sunscreens to give added protection, but I much prefer that my clients use an antioxidant serum applied separately beneath sunscreen. Why?  Penetration.  Two things need to happen - penetration of antioxidants in a serum formulated to get to the sections of the skin that need them the most, and only then followed by the sunscreen ingredients that need to penetrate in order to protect against UVB rays.  These work by absorbing UV radiation and converting it into heat before it can do damage.  This is why you sweat a bit after applying chemical sunscreen - all you have to do at that point is literally smooth the sweat around your face like a moisturizer, which is great because you essentially rehydrate your skin.  You can also cool yourself off and even matte yourself out if you wash your hands in very cold water beforehand.

In addition, though it may seem practical to have an all-in-one product, I also prefer being able to apply a hydrating antioxidant serum at night, too.  Yes, it's two products, but you don't want to apply SPF at night, it's not necessary. If you have extra oily skin you can apply toner and serum after washing and just let your skin moisturize itself.  If you have dry skin, you need a reparative nighttime lotion for replenishment of other skin components anyway.  Antioxidants need to penetrate the skin with special vehicles to aid penetration.  It's much better when these can get into the skin first... Then just apply sunscreen on top (or nighttime lotion) and you're golden!

Check out part 2 to learn how to apply your sunscreen in a way that provides maximum protection.