Sunscreens Are For Winter Too

When winter comes it’s not the time to stop using our sunscreens, why? – because even during the cold winter months, we’re still exposed to the UV rays from sunlight on a daily basis, not to talk of the blue lights from our computers, phones and other gadgets. What about the dryness the winter weather and heating system bring, that’s why your choice of sunscreens during the winter months is a little bit different from that we use during summer.

So what sunscreens options are we meant to go for this winter? the answer is to choose the ones that are very hydrating e.g sunscreens with Hylauronic acid ingredient, with UVA and UVB protective agents. UVA and UVB are the two types of UV rays from the sun, These two lights can harm your skin by killing the cells in the skin that can lead to premature aging and skin cancer. So choosing a broad spectrum sunscreens will protect you from both rays. Most importantly because it’s not summer anymore does not mean we’re still not exposed to the UV rays from day’s sunshine or cloudy sky. That is why our sunscreen routine is from summer to winter(all year round to be clear). Sunscreen broadspectrum simply means that your sunscreen is effective in protecting your skin from ultraviolet radiation(UV Ray) by absorbing or blocking both UVA and UVB rays broad-spectrum sunscreens.

Now that we’ve covered the UV rays from sunshine, we also need to learn how to fight against winter and everyday environmental aggressors that can damage our skin, what are these aggressors, like previously mentioned, blue lights from our gadgets, dryness from the weather and heating system which is the reason you’re advised to ensure that your sunscreens have antioxidants like Vitamin C. Many brands are now offering sunscreens with all these benefits(hydration, protection and fight), some sunscreens come tinted if you want go through your day with minimal makeup (which means you can skip your concealers and foundations). There are suncreens with anti-aging properties too if you prefer, some makeups with SPFs and some lipbalms with sun protection character.

So what is SPF? SPF means Sun Protection Factor, which is the measure of the strenth of your sunscreens. So your sunscreen is the overall content itself while your SPF is the strength in which your content can protect your skin from the UV rays. So it’s usually advised to go for a minimal of 30 SPF strength or maximum of 50 SPF strength. I always wonder why 50 SPF strength has to be the maximum, but I found that any SPF greater than 50, only provide a small increase in UV protection. So what do you think? I think a small increase is something. Another point to note, is that a high SPF last as long as a low SPF.

When applying your suncreens, it always advised to be generous and ensure they’re water resistant just in case you have to wash your hands, swim, sweat or do some hand washing during your day. So in this case it can last for a maximum of 80 minutes and minimum of 40 minutes while in water. So, reapplication after water immersion is a good idea.

There are organic and in-organic sunscreens; the organic sunscreens absorbs UV rays and converts them to small amount of heat e.g. cinnamates, salicylates and benzophenones, while the inorganic sunscreens reflects and scatters the UV radiation and are less irritating to the skin, e.g. titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.

Finally, suncreens come in creams, sprays, sticks, oils, lotions and gels, the preference is yours. Here are your perfect sunscreens match for the winter weather: