I'm going to try and update this blog more regularly. I've had friends asking for a lot of recommendations and advice over the last few weeks. I think this might be a way to keep all of my info in one place. Since summer has just started to peak its head around the corner, I wanna talk about sunscreen.
We all know you should be wearing sunscreen daily, on all of our exposed skin, blah blah blah. I'll say it right now, I hate sunscreen. It's horrible. I hate the greasy texture and weird smell, I hate how it burns if it comes near my eyes, I hate how it causes me breakouts and irritated patches. My confession is that I would only put it on my face if I was at the pool, beach, or in the tanning bed. Yeah, yeah. Sue me. But like all good stories, the hero goes on a personal growth trajectory and now I've finally come around to using an SPF daily.
My issues is that silicones clog my pores and give me breakouts, and I think I'm allergic/sensitive to chemical sunscreen ingredients. THIS IS KEY! All makeup and skincare issues come down to finding the right formulation for your unique skin. I had tried over the years, but never been able to find a product I liked, so I would give up. DON'T GIVE UP! There are so many products available in 2017; you CAN find something that will work for you (If you ever need help, just leave a comment on one of my posts!).
Skip this if you don't want to learn some sciency stuff. There are two kinds of sunscreen: chemical and physical. Chemical uses ingredients like octinoxate and avobenzone, while physical (sometimes also called mineral) uses zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. Chemical ingredients absorb UV rays and convert them, so they don't damage your skin. There's becoming some debate as to whether these ingredients are actually harmful. Stay tuned for scientific studies about that. Physical ingredients actually form a protective barrier and bounce the rays off of your skin so they can't penetrate the skin. Think old timey lifeguards smearing their noses with thick, white zinc oxide paste. Until recently, there weren't good formulas with zinc and titanium oxide. Manufacturing technology today has brought us some new and beautifully textured products using physical sunscreens.
Moral of the story? I realized I needed to suck it up and find an SPF because I started using a prescription retinol product from curology (I'll do a review on this product soon). After scouring the internet, reading ingredient lists and customer reviews, I've been able to find a daily tinted SPF that doesn't breakout my skin. It's the Complexion Rescue by Bare Minerals. It comes in a bunch of different shades, is a light creamy texture, doesn't break me out, lasts about 8ish hours on my skin, and it's chock full of healthy skin ingredients. If you're looking for some other sensitive skin options, a lot of people recommend the Elta MD sunscreen and the CoTZ brand. Skinceuticals also makes one that is supposed to be nice, but I think it has silicones in it.
Anyways, rather long-winded, but that's kinda who I am as a person. Summary statement: never give up, never surrender!
Beauty and Skincare Musings/Grumblings From a Scientist/Makeup Artist
