All About Sunscreen + Review 1: Clarins

Here's to kicking off a new series on sunscreens! Hopefully this will be helpful, and I'm going to do some reviews as I go, too.

Recently, I think sun protection has become much more prominent in skincare and cosmetics, and I think it's a really important part of taking care of your skin. Many moisturizers and makeup these days come with added sun protection, but it's nice to know what levels of sun protection mean, and the different kinds. Chemical sunscreens like Avobenzone or Oxybenzone are really common in skincare products and work by absorbing UV rays. Physical sunscreens like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide (sunblock) physically block them, kind of by making harmful rays bounce off and not reach your skin.

Most of the protection that comes added in with moisturizers these days are SPF 15, sometimes more. What I learned from an esthetician (yay! I want to train to be one) is that usually moisturizers with SPF added aren't doing both jobs well. Usually, moisturizers with SPF aren't moisturizing your face as well as moisturizers without SPF, so it's important to use moisturizer and SPF separately. That way, you know your skin is getting the healthy moisture it needs and is being protected. Fuz just had this amazing post all about skincare, and talked a lot about how moisturizing is important and it's so true! I'm trying to follow her lessons ;)

Anyway, on the market right now, I think there are many more chemical sunscreen ingredients than there are physical sunscreen ingredients. I think this is because some sunblocks with ingredients like zinc oxide are heavier/oilier feeling and sometimes are more likely to leave a white cast in photos, like here:

This picture is with flash, and I'm wearing Clarins UV Plus Day Screen, which I LOVE, even with slight whiteness in flash pics. It's an excellent physical sunscreen product.

This sunblock has titanium dioxide in 8.1%, and has an SPF of 40, but the texture is a complete dream. I hate when sunscreens are thick and hard to spread, because they just make my face shiny and take forever to absorb. This one comes out liquidy-powdery, with a white opaque color out of the bottle, but it absorbs beautifully and immediately. In fact, it's really great as a makeup primer just on its own, because it absorbs almost dry and you don't have to worry as much about makeup sliding off your face during the day.

Here is a pic of me with the Clarins sunscreen just in direct sunlight-the slight whiteness translates more as brightness here, which is really nice. I like this sunscreen a lot. I highly recommend it, also because it's great to reapply because it doesn't shine up your face when you do :D

I'm going to do a sunscreen series, and I'm starting out with the Clarins physical sunscreen because I really love it, but also because I'm a little more comforted by the idea of physical sunscreens than chemical sunscreens. From what I've read and learned, chemical sunscreens degrade on your skin and can sometimes cause skin damage themselves when broken down by the sun. Of course, chemical sunscreens offer more opportunities for different textures and consistencies and are definitely effective, too. There are good sides and bad sides to both kinds of protection, and it's important to find what works for you.

What spurred my interest in sunscreen and particularly physical sunscreens was this study done by the Environmental Working Group about the most effective sun protection. Most of the top picks were physical sunscreens and didn't have chemical sun protection ingredients. I don't think chemicals in skincare are a bad thing, but specifically with sunscreens, I think it seems like physical sunscreens are a good bet for protection.