Why sunscreen is THE fountain of youth when it comes to our skin

There is a product out there that has been proven beyond doubt to help prevent the signs of ageing on our skin above all others.

The good news is, it costs very little and can be picked up in the supermarket. What is this miracle worker? It’s plain old sunscreen.

‘A magic potion’

While pretty much everyone knows sunscreen helps prevent sunburn and decreases the likelihood of skin cancer, most aren’t aware that sunscreen bar none is the most effective over-the-counter product to protect and even enhance the appearance and health of our skin.

One of its biggest advocates is dermatologist Dr Fayne Frey who raised eyebrows, and some cheers, among colleagues when she published a book called The Skincare Hoax in which she set out to debunk beauty myths and anti-ageing fairytales dreamt up by marketeers.

She says, “Sunscreen is in a league of its own, it’s a real magic potion, a fountain of youth that prevents sunspots, wrinkles and saggy skin.”

The science behind sunscreen

Dr Frey points to research in which the extent of photoaging of skin in adults who occasionally applied sunscreen was compared with that among a group who deliberately applied it daily for over four years.

Those who applied it daily showed NO detectable increase in photoaging – that’s damage caused by unprotected exposure to UV light – and 24% less visible skin ageing compared with the group who didn’t apply sunscreen daily.

The Skincare Foundation claims around 90 per cent of all visible changes to our skin are caused by photoaging – that’s damage caused by unprotected exposure to UV light.

And the good news is we don’t have to pay a fortune to tap into this particular fountain of youth.

But you do need to choose a higher factor (30 plus) sunscreen, and one that is broad spectrum which means it’s designed to protect against both UVA (ultraviolet A radiation) and UVB (ultraviolet B radiation), the latter of the two being the one said to cause most damage.

Sunscreen safety

Whenever I talk about sunscreen on my YouTube channel I always get quite a few people commenting that they don’t like to use sunscreen regularly because of the chemicals used in them.

At this point there is no scientific evidence to show that sunscreen applied topically in the usual way has harmful effects but studies do continue into this and if you are concerned then you can alternate between products.

Mineral sunscreens sit on the surface of your skin to act as a shield (thus the white cast which can sometimes occur) while chemical ones are designed to sink into your skin and have more of a sponge-like effect, absorbing UV rays.

And sometimes, when we caught up in all the marketing hype around particular new products and ingredients, it’s important to remember the very best thing you can do is to protect your skin in the first place.

Product Picks

When I go on holiday I’m quite happy to take a supermarket own-brand unfragranced, factor 50, broad-spectrum sunscreen with me.

But for my face, and to avoid the dreaded white cast you can get from heavy-duty sunscreens, there are two I tend to switch between.

Paula’s Choice Resist Anti-Aging Moisturiser is a factor 50 chemical sunscreen and is brilliant in the sense that it is lightweight, non-greasy and sits really well under make-up. It costs around $£37. https://go.shopmy.us/p-577589

I also love the zinc-based broad spectrum spf 35 sunscreen from vegan skincare brand Versed which is lightweight and, as with Paula’s Choice, doesn’t leave a white residue. It costs around £20/$25. Use code THEHONESTCHANNEL10 for 10% off Versed products https://go.shopmy.us/p-1162438

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