Sunscreen, a granddaughter’s tale…
My very Greek grandfather used to sit on the swing seat by his Para pool and say ‘don’t put too much of that stuff on’ when I’d slather my babies in sunscreen while we were visiting for a swim in summer.
He worshipped the sun and said sunscreen ‘wasn’t natural’ and we should ‘let the sun shine on our skin as much as possible!’ But he also had very Mediterranean skin that gave him the tall, dark and handsome look, and he could stay out all day and never burn. He also never had a laser, pulsed light or radio frequency skin treatment! And being from a different generation, had a different perspective and very little knowledge about sun damage to the skin.
I think he would roll in his grave if he saw the billion dollar industry sunscreen has become!
Choosing sunscreen to use post treatment at Lucere has been a journey. I’ve had him sitting on my shoulder the whole time. And as new science and information comes to light (excuse the pun) the sunscreen industry will no doubt change and grow into the future. But as we all know, there are always going to be companies out there chasing the dollar and pumping crazy ingredients into skin products. It makes the choosing of quality brands, a longer process than expected. I’ve spent ages on this!
I have, however, come across some great brands with integrity, who genuinely care about the health of their customers. Staying away from the controversial ingredients or the ones that are down right bad for you. Yay!
There are a million articles about sunscreen out there. I encourage you to do your own research and settle on your personal preference and choice of ingredients, but at Lucere, I’ve decided that we are going as natural as possible.
Zinc is an ingredient in the majority of natural sunscreens because it absorbs or reflects harmful UV rays away from your skin. It acts as a physical sunscreen or shield, as it sits on the surface of your skin.
Other sunscreens use a chemical reaction to sink into the skin and act more like a sponge, dissipating the sun's rays away from your skin.
The problem is that many of the chemicals and fillers used in chemical sunscreens are controversial and potentially harmful. These include skin irritants, hormone disruptors, allergens and some that are said to even cause skin cancer! Crazy! But people often choose them because they are generally cheaper, more water and sweat-resistant and don’t cast that white tint onto your face like the old school zinc sunscreens often do. With this in mind, I get it! But at the end of the day do you really want all those chemicals on and in your body?
Luckily there are very smart people figuring out ways to make sunscreens much more appealing for those of us who don’t like the white cast. Bronzing drops, tints, different textures and added antioxidant rich skincare all make physical sunscreens cool again, so it’s great to have options.
So grandad.. sunscreen is super important. At Lucere, all of our treatments cause a temporary light sensitivity on the skin so we need to be extra careful. The sun that you and I both love, really does damage and age your skin. It is evident by the number of people looking for treatments to clear their sundamage and the number of melanoma cases increasing. And, as there is no way I’m staying out of the sun, I have to find a way to safely live under it. Plus grandad, the best sunscreens today are so much better than the ones from way back. I often pay more for a good one, but that’s the time we live in and I only want the good stuff on and in my body! .. I wonder if you would come around to this thinking if you were here?!
If you are interested in what brands we have selected at Lucere to offer you, come in and test one out. We are very happy with the research we have done and the different options we have. At the end of the day it’s a matter of doing your research and not just assuming everyone’s marketing pitch is legit. Come and see and try for yourself!
Caroline x