Your Best Face Forward
Some things in life you can take for granted: awful friends, cheap potato chips, chunky heeled shoes. But your face is NOT one of those things. It's the first thing people see. It's how your expressions are delivered and is so tightly knit with the confidence we project to the world. Protect it well from the ravages of our environment, especially the sun.
Then there are the statistics from the Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation that upstage the mere vanity of it all. One in every three cancers diagnosed worldwide is a skin cancer, 80-90% of which are directly caused by UV radiation, (that's alarming considering how much over exposure to the sun that is)
In Canada alone, over 80,000 cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year!
So what can you do without living in the shadows for the rest of your life? Wear sunscreen, naturally. The market is saturated with them; from 15-100 SPF, finding the right one can be menacing, exhausting and expensive. Having lived under the Middle Eastern sun for the last 4 years, allow me to walk you through what works.
For pool or beach situations, the best are either Bioderma's Photoderm Max, which comes in a tinted formula that avoids you looking like you're wearing a hockey mask and Aveeno's Baby 50 SPF. If you're wondering "Baby?", well think of it logically. Babies have some of the most sensitive skin on the planet, surely that sunscreen is ideal for all skin and believe you me, it is. This formulation is also awesome if you have super sensitive skin (no fragrance!) and love to workout or play sports outdoors (sweat and water resistant for up to 80 minutes!) It is also the less greasy of the two. At under $15 CND, it might seem the better purchase of the two options, but the 100 SPF protection of Bioderma is my favourite for creating the ultimate sun barrier on my face as I lounge poolside. I also lather my tattoos in it and have had minimal ink fade over the years.
For everyday, all the time, on the go, super easy to apply, reapply, toss it in your purse: HANDS DOWN is Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer Face & Body Stick. Mimicking the look of a deodorant stick (sneaky), it's application is my favourite because I don't need to lather it on with my hands, it doesn't run if I break a sweat biking, feels incredibly hydrating for a sunscreen and really does protect well at 70 SPF.
Remember that too much of anything isn't very good for anyone and a little time in the sun doesn't need to cause anxiety if you're well prepared.
-xo
Then there are the statistics from the Canadian Skin Cancer Foundation that upstage the mere vanity of it all. One in every three cancers diagnosed worldwide is a skin cancer, 80-90% of which are directly caused by UV radiation, (that's alarming considering how much over exposure to the sun that is)
In Canada alone, over 80,000 cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year!
So what can you do without living in the shadows for the rest of your life? Wear sunscreen, naturally. The market is saturated with them; from 15-100 SPF, finding the right one can be menacing, exhausting and expensive. Having lived under the Middle Eastern sun for the last 4 years, allow me to walk you through what works.
For pool or beach situations, the best are either Bioderma's Photoderm Max, which comes in a tinted formula that avoids you looking like you're wearing a hockey mask and Aveeno's Baby 50 SPF. If you're wondering "Baby?", well think of it logically. Babies have some of the most sensitive skin on the planet, surely that sunscreen is ideal for all skin and believe you me, it is. This formulation is also awesome if you have super sensitive skin (no fragrance!) and love to workout or play sports outdoors (sweat and water resistant for up to 80 minutes!) It is also the less greasy of the two. At under $15 CND, it might seem the better purchase of the two options, but the 100 SPF protection of Bioderma is my favourite for creating the ultimate sun barrier on my face as I lounge poolside. I also lather my tattoos in it and have had minimal ink fade over the years.
For everyday, all the time, on the go, super easy to apply, reapply, toss it in your purse: HANDS DOWN is Neutrogena's Ultra Sheer Face & Body Stick. Mimicking the look of a deodorant stick (sneaky), it's application is my favourite because I don't need to lather it on with my hands, it doesn't run if I break a sweat biking, feels incredibly hydrating for a sunscreen and really does protect well at 70 SPF.
Remember that too much of anything isn't very good for anyone and a little time in the sun doesn't need to cause anxiety if you're well prepared.
-xo
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