Your ultimate guide on choosing Sunscreen!
All sunscreens protect from the sun but not all sunscreens are right for you.
The factors you should bear in mind before getting yours are:
- Skin Phototype
According to the Fitzpatrick skin type system that was developed in 1975, there are 6 skin phototypes:
Type 1-Ivory white in color, burns very easily, never tans
Type 2 – White, burns easily, tans minimally with difficulty
Type 3 – White, burns moderately, tans moderately
Type 4 – Beige or olive, burns minimally, tans moderately and easily
Type 5 -Moderately brown, rarely burns, tans profusely
Type 6 -Dark brown or black, never burns, tans profusely
If your phototype is 1 or 2, prefer a 50+ Sun Protection Factor.
If it ranges between 3 and 4, go for at least 30, and if its on the upper scale of 5 and 6, an SPF of 15 will suffice.
- Skin Type
Anything that touches our skin, should be in harmony with your skin idiosyncrasies. Just like any other face cream, the chosen sunscreen should respect our face needs and issues.
If your skin is:
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Acne- prone: This skin is quite delicate, as it breaks out when it contacts anything less than the right product. All skincare products should write on the packaging that are “non comedogenic”. If they leave the skin matte afterwards, that’s even better.
An anti-acne and antibacterial body sunscreen would also be a good choice if you suffer from body acne.
Oily/Combination: keywords such as oil free, matte finish/complexion are keywords you should be looking for when reading sunscreen descriptions.
Normal: You can choose whatever sunscreen fits your personal preferences (see below). Lucky you!
Dry: Assuming you have already applied a rich moisturizer before the sunscreen, we could only suggest that you choose one that will help minimize skin moisture loss. Try looking for ingredients such as White Peony/Paeonia Albiflora extract which is known for its skin barrier protection properties.
Sensitive: if your skin is sensitive or even worse, suffers from Rosacea, then you should definitely buy a sunscreen that is specially formulated for this skin condition.
- Personal preferences
When it comes to your body sunscreen or if your face skin is normal you can choose based on:
Texture: You may love oil sunscreens or prefer spray ones that won’t need extra rubbing. Or better yet, you’d prefer a mousse texture, that would be completely oil free.
Lifestyle: You love getting in and out of the sea constantly, and frankly, who has time to pat themselves dry in order to reapply sunscreen? If you empathize, try a sunscreen that can be applied effectively on wet skin and worry no more.
You may also hate wearing foundation in summer, so a tinted sunscreen is what your make up bag needs instead!
