julia ng's List: Skincare

• You must apply sunscreen liberally on all parts of your body that will see daylight!
• There is no such thing as a safe tan, whether it is from the sun or a tanning booth.
• Even on a cloudy or hazy day, the sun's rays are present and impacting the skin. Sun damage is about naked skin seeing daylight.
• No sunscreen is "waterproof."
• you have to check the active ingredient list to see if either zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, avobenzone (which may also be listed as Parsol 1789 or butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane), Mexoryl SX, or Tinosorb
• An SPF that's higher than 30 does not provide any more UV protection, it just offers more time that you can stay in the sun without burning.
• best to apply sunscreen at least 15 to 20 minutes before sun exposure
• sunburn continues to develop for 12 to 24 hours after the initial burn takes place!
• using AHA, BHA, Retin-A, Renova, Differin, or any topical pharmaceutical retinoid, it can make your skin more vulnerable to sun damage due to the surface exfoliation and changes (removing the top layer of sun-damaged skin) caused by using these products.
• an SPF 8 and an SPF 15 do not add up to an SPF 23
• you should choose one that contains only pure titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide as the active ingredient. These mineral-based active ingredients have almost no chance of causing a reaction on skin and they pose a low risk of casing stinging if the product inadvertently gets into your child's eyes
• the only safe way to do it is with self-tanning products

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• UVA protection depends on the active ingredients in the product you are using so be sure one or more of these active ingredients are included: avobenzone (sometimes listed as butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane), titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, Mexoryl (ecamsule) or, outside the U.S., Tinosorb.

  • If you don't have any of these ingredients in your sunscreen, chuck it and get a new one!
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