The sun is the giver of life on this earth — from plants to humans, they all survive under the sun’s warmth. But there is also the other side of this gift. Back in ancient Egypt, people realized that the sun’s heat and rays damage the skin. That is why they devised methods to protect the skin by applying jasmine and rice bran extract. That is probably the first ever recorded data of a sunscreen used for the skin. And today, the world of skincare is filled with hundreds and thousands of them. But do we diligently use them?
Many women buy sunscreen and carry it in their bags… but often skip applying it. This blog is for them, and all others — describing the importance of sunscreen.
Why Wear Sunscreen Every Day?
1. Protection from UV Rays
The sun’s light has many kinds of rays. The most damaging of those are the Ultraviolet rays. Until a few decades ago, the ozone layer around the earth’s atmosphere filtered these rays. But the global warming has resulted in a hole in this ozone layer, resulting in unfiltered streaming of UV rays that are known to cause sunburn, sunspots, and permanent tanning on human skin. Sunscreen with high SPF protects your skin from this damage.
2. Lowering Skin Cancer Risk
Prolonged exposure to UV rays may increase the risk of skin cancer. Applying sunscreen can cut this risk by half, especially in a country like the United States, where skin cancer is the most common form of cancer.
3. Helping Get Even Skin Tone
Regular application and protection from sunscreen ensure that your skin doesn’t tan under the sun or catch any hyperpigmentation. The dark spots, pigment spots, and other damaging burns are also avoided, helping you achieve smooth and even-toned skin.
4. Preventing Premature Aging
Skin that is exposed to the sun for a long time in youth is highly susceptible to sunspots or age spots in its later years. In fact, these age spots often appear prematurely and are considered signs of aging. Sun’s UV rays also cause photoaging, characterized by the breakdown of collagen, sagging, lines, wrinkles, discoloration, and a leathery look of the skin. If you begin applying sunscreen now, you may cut down your chances of these signs of aging in your 50s by almost 25%.
5. Protecting from Sunburns
Sunburns are very painful. For those who skip the sunscreen and venture out in summers — red, rusty, and peeling skin is pretty common. Also, heatstroke and heat exhaustion are also very common in these people. Therefore it is advised to wear adequate sunscreen with high SPF and drink plenty of water in the heat.
6. Teaching the Kids
This one is very important. The traditions you set for your kids will ensure how diligently they live their lives. For eg., we brush our teeth every day and therefore our kids do that too, and so on. If we wear sunscreen every day, without fail, our kids will learn this as a habit marked in stone, and protect their skin all life. And with the global warming rising, the hole in the ozone may only grow bigger with the passing years.
7. Setting A Minimal Skincare Routine
If you thought sunscreen will add to your already complicated skincare routine, then you are wrong. Nowadays brands understand busy life schedules and the need to save money, so they make 2-in-1s and all-in-ones. Sunscreen is most commonly paired with moisturizer, offering you the chance to shorten your morning routine and reduce the products on your vanity. Sunscreen with a variety of SPFs is available, in both cream and lotion form, for various skin types — from dry to oily to acne-prone. Sunscreen properties are also nowadays incorporated into foundations and lip balms, so your makeup can also protect you!
Can We Skip Sunscreen in Winters?
No. Don’t even skip sunscreen on a cloudy day. Because UV rays are invisible, you don’t see them. They still come to you through the clouds on a rainy or snowy day. In fact, snow is known to reflect 80% of UV rays, adding to your sun exposure by creating a greenhouse kind of effect. Therefore even when the clouds surround your city in autumn, or snow blankets your roads in winter, do not step out of the house without sunscreen.
Think of it as brushing your teeth, a habit you never give up, in any season.
Only, while going for beach vacations, up your sunscreen application and add a sunblock lotion for the rest of your body. Protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays, and you will realize how healthy and safe your skin feels, both in the long as well as the short-run!
