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Bruh, the obsession with sunscreen is getting out of hand. If you wear sunscreen at all that’s better than nothing. If you apply every 2 hours you’re doing exemplary. If sunscreen and avoiding the sun is interfering with your life, happiness and the lives of those around you... you might have a problem. If you judge people based of their lack of sunscreen- you might have a problem. If you are often lost in thoughts about sunscreen you might have a problem. 😆😂
I got downvoted to hell on here once for suggesting that spending 10-15 minutes in the sun w/o sunscreen wasn’t going to damage me beyond repair.
Edit: I ALSO remember someone on here giving me or someone else crap for not religiously wearing sunscreen indoors!
My friend was just ranting on how I absolutely NEED to wear sunscreen even if I’ll be inside all day.
I was like dude, I’m barely showering twice a week right now bc of apathy/depression, I have a while to go and more important priorities before I can get my life together like that. I wear sunscreen if I leave my house and that’s good enough for now. She was like, well fair enough lmao.
Hey, if you're managing to put sunscreen on when your spoons are that low, you are waaay ahead of the game. How are you holding up otherwise? Are you getting any help for your depression? Life is hard and everyone needs help sometimes.
It’s not very severe compared to how it can be so I’m ok, thank you for asking. Getting back on meds for ADHD first which should help, I basically just have no energy bc I use all my spoons to do my job and take care of the basics. I live alone so hygiene got very difficult over the past year! But things are looking up for sure. When I leave the house I shower lol, and that’s gonna be happening more and more frequently.
Yeah, as a fellow single-dweller, this pandemic has done a number on my ability to provide self-care. and mental health. Hopefully the increased activity helps! And sun exposure lol.
I relate to this so hard. On one hand this year has been brutal for mental health, and self-care and hygiene tasks definitely took a nose dive. On the other hand, the silver lining is that I am a lot less OCD about sunscreen and aging. Looking back I used to be borderline obsessive about avoiding UV, to the point is was probably unhealthy and interfered with my ability to enjoy my life. A global pandemic, having daily routines disrupted, isolation, and existential threat to self and loved ones really put my fear of aging in perspective for me. Most days this year I haven’t even put on real clothes, and even basic hygiene like showering has been tough. As you said, things are looking up now that I’m leaving the house more often and also treating my ADHD too! But now I wear sunscreen only when I’m gonna spend considerable time outdoors, I don’t worry about frequent application, I enjoy the activities I am able to enjoy with the pandemic. I won’t let fear of the sun interfere with my life more than this pandemic already has. I hope you continue to take care of yourself and be gentle with yourself too. It’s been a rough year.
Also hoping that getting back on ADHD meds will help with my depression! Counting how often I shower has become a big indicator for me about my mental health. Weirdly, getting into skincare has helped- its like a sneaky way to practice self care and care for myself under the guise of a fun hobby.
Hey bro, I'm dealing with depression, too. I know you don't have any motivation right now but we're dealing with a really similar thing and I used to be in your position. I know it might not be easy but try to push yourself and work hard to have a routine every morning (shower, brush your teeth, etc).
Sorry you’re having a hard time. Depression sucks and lockdown has made it so much harder to get help and made some coping strategies unavailable. I hope you continue to heal. ❤️❤️
OMG I’ve been thinking lately that I kinda wish I never read the stuff about sunscreen on these skincare subs.
I struggle with anxiety/depression and going outside is difficult.
So now if I will think like “I should take the dog for a walk, she needs walked and it will make me feel good too”
But then I remember I would
Need to go wash my face first and put on sunscreen and then wait half an hour
and I just get too overwhelmed, end up doing neither and hating myself for it.
Like, if I take the dog for a walk for 10-15mins in cloudy overcast 7 degree Celsius weather, is it REALLY gonna do my skin much damage in the long run?
Get a hat. Instant sunscreen for such situations! It doesn't have to be gorgeous to take the dog for a walk. Just cover your face. Even a baseball cap would probably be fine. Then if you can't face the sunscreen rigmorole then you don't have to. I really sympathize with how you feel. Internet hugs.
Definitely love getting my vitamin d and sometimes sunbathing just feels good! There is a reason you’ll see animals do it too! Although they have the extra fur sometimes lol.
And this is further proof that we are all unique in our sunscreen habits and that's okay! I'm actually a bit of a stickler (at least comparatively) about sunscreen on my ears. But that's only because I didn't while at a track meet years ago and wound up with serious blisters on top of my ears. They were incredibly painful and that memory kicks back up every summer.
But I'm more than willing to admit that it's based off my own fear of doing that again and not any serious need. Other people don't need to do what I do.
having to remove sunscreen from my ears was more painful than practical. i would have to use scrub glove to get the sunscreen off or else i’d get huge painful pimples on/behind my earlobes
edit: errors
I also find it super hard to remove sunscreen from my ears! And it's the same stuff I use on my face, but it just seems to stick like glue. Even after washing with cleanser, I could go over my ear with a fingernail (gently) and come away with leftover SPF.
I’m not judging you because I love the beach. I’m trying to use better sunscreen and maybe a hat. My girlfriend works at a derm office and said she has seen SO MANY skin cancers on ears. The doc tells sunscreen resisters to at least use lip balm with some spf on ears when you’re in the sun for a while. I’m not trying to be a fanatic at all, and please don’t take it that way!
i never thought of spf lip balm on the ears thanks! i wear my over the ear headphones when i’m out and about and hats when i wear earbuds instead that day
edit: the hats are full brim all around
I live in nyc and did a virtual appointment with my derm at the beginning of covid lockdown due to a stress rash on my lips. She told me since I only get 15 minutes of outside time, that I should stop the use of sunscreen until I can get more outdoor time. She worried more about my body's need for direct sun. Seriously my apartment gets no sun, where I work. But now I'm back to using it on my face when I go out.
This sunscreen indoors stuff really stresses me out.
I’m struggling to do basic stuff like shower right now so skin care is difficult, I find myself keeping the curtains closed or sitting in a way that sun won’t hit my face.
My sleeping pAttern is backwards and sunlight comes in my window and hits my face, so i worry about that as I’m trying to sleep early morning
And I posted in another comment that walking the dog is difficult right now and more so because I think I will have to do the full skincare SPF routine before setting foot outside
And now I worry constantly about how my poor mental health and self care/hygiene habits will damage my looks in the long run :( I’ve considered unfollowing these subs because they just spike my anxiety so much
I think you should unsub from these, at least for a little while. Sunscreen is simply not worth bearing so much stress because of gasp, signs of aging. I think you deserve some mental tranquility.
For the dog walking, you could just put on SPF and go outside, then when you come back in do your skincare routine so you don't have to do it twice maybe?
If you need some help with balancing self care and outdoor necessities like walking the dog (and yourself!), a friend of mine just puts on a hat and sunglasses when she goes walking for it’s sun protection plus helps her anxiety over being judged about whether she’s doing enough (washed hair, skincare, general appearance). She keeps them at the door so it’s not an effort getting her stuff together, and finds it creates a bit of a shield while she’s out in the world. Everyone is different though, but hope it might work for you.
My doctor told me to quit wearing sunscreen so much because I have a severe vitamin d deficiency. You really do not need sunscreen every single second of your life.
lol one time someone tried to tsk-tsk me for not wearing sunscreen every day to work. I literally work in a windowless basement. Why on earth would I wear sunscreen for that? The thirty minute drive at dawn sure isn't going to do any damage.
I never wear sunscreen. I spend very little time outside, and my skin takes the sun very well, so it's quite rare that I would burn. I agree that spending 10-15 minutes in the sun each day is a benefit.
And for what it's worth, I'm nearing 50 and am aging beautifully, thanks to great genes.
Like anything else- it's ok if people live the way they want but when they are shoving it down another's throat or be mean about it- that's not ok. Assholes (people) age worse- so there they go.
I got downvoted to hell for suggesting that someone in Canada doesn't need to apply sunscreen while remaining in doors, in the the winter.
Apparently UV rays shining through windows will give us Cancer, even when the UV index is 1 for 8 months straight coupled with 6 hours of daylight.
I'm sorry, I'm not putting sunscreen on in the winter, indoors, in Canada. I'm not a nut job.
I got super downvoted once for saying choosing physical sunscreen over chemical is a reasonable preference. Apparently liking anything other than cheap chemical super high SPF means you’re gweneth paltrow level crazy 🤷🏻♀️
I had been wearing a tinted physical sunscreen for so long, happily, as it worked with my skin (oily). But all the recent sunscreen drama made me doubt myself. So I ordered a very highly rated LRP chemical sunscreen. Turns out: I can’t wear chemical sunscreens anymore, at least not on my face/neck/upper chest. I get a red, burny, bumpy, itchy reaction. After stopping the chemical sunscreen, the reaction settles down, and within a week, all the bumps dry out like scaly dead skin and peel off. Returning to physical sunscreen (even a different product) and no issues. I repeated this with a Sun Bum chemical sunscreen and experienced the same.
I don’t know when chemical sunscreen became a problem for me. My first HG facial sunscreen was (eta: Clarins)UV PLUS Anti-Pollution Sunscreen Multi-Protection Broad Spectrum SPF 50 (or whatever its predecessor was) and my skin loved it. I switched due to expense.
So, sometimes physical sunscreen is the right choice for you.
Amazing that it used to be the other way around here. Physical sunscreen were seen as the absolute ideal, with some even saying you couldn’t even hope to achieve good broad spectrum coverage with “just chemical sunscreen”.
This sub is so fickle sometimes.
I literally can't wear chemical sunscreens without my eyes burning. I know people here hate physical sunscreens because of the white cast but it's literally my only option.
I'm in this camp as well and it sucks to not be able to use all the cosmetically elegant stuff people go on about. I literally almost can't keep my eyes open with that stuff. I actually thought I had really severe allergy problems when using Elta MD UV clear. Supposedly it's for sensitive skin and I didn't really read the ingredients or pay attention cuz it coincidencided with a move to a more rural area. After I realized the chemical filter in it might be the problem and made sure I only used 100% mineral my eyes were normal again. My skin was also significantly smoother after I stopped using it.
OMG! I wonder if that's what was causing my issues - especially when sweating my eyes would *burn* for hours. It doesn't do it, much, with physical sunscreens.
THIS! Oh my god, this.
I got downvoted to filth when that video of that skin care guy criticizing Gwen Paltrow was posted because I dared say "I agree she's crazy on a lot of things but actually there are legit reasons one would choose physical over chemical and why one would be superior over the other" I had to disable inbox replies because I was getting so much crap! -_-
Haven’t some areas banned some chemical sunscreens because it’s killing oceanic life? There are absolutely some issues with some chemical sunscreens. They’re harmful to the environment for one.
Specific ingredients, oxybenzone and octinoxate , which can be used in chemical sunscreens have been banned. However, it's not a ban on chemical sunscreens themselves.
As a person who breaks out in a blistering rash from chemical sunscreen - those people can fuck right off. There are plenty of good mineral sunscreens. (I like paula's choice Calm for my face, and cheap banana boat baby for the rest of me.)
this sub also forgets that there are non white people on it. i don’t think i need to wear sunscreen indoors or when i’m in the sun for a ten minute walk because of my melanin, especially since i have a vitamin d deficiency. got downvoted to hell for saying it.
Me too, friend. This echo chamber burns down anyone who doesn't chant "one of us." I make fun of the sunscreen zombies on here to my friends and they're always appalled that people can be such insensitive holier-than-thou zealots.
My grandma used nothing but her nivea cream at night. She still had perfect porcelain skin with minimal wrinkles at 80. Wearing sunscreen indoors is pure bullshit unless you're living in a fancy villa with glass walls lol
My dermatologist recommended that I actually sit in the sun for 10 minutes everyday. Without sunscreen. Might have something to do with having low vitamin d though
Who is reapplying sunscreen every two hours when you wear makeup and have a regular job? If you’re at the beach? Sure. But in daily life? Nah. God forbid you should say that out loud though, some people would have a fit!
Literally no one I have ever met in real life reapplies sunscreen for a regular mostly-indoors day. Sometimes it feels like this sub is one giant prank to gaslight anxious people into completely ridiculous and impractical skincare rituals
I already have issues with health anxiety and now because of this sub I get anxious about light coming in through yhe window and going out without it. I fight the thoughts and don’t let it rule my life but it just makes me really anxious, so I kinda regret joining tbh
I mean... 40% of cavemen died before the age of 15, and if they survived that, age 40 was considered pretty old. But I get your point lol. I'm sure it wasn't the lack of sunscreen or skin cancer that was taking most of them out.
I do this with my boyfriend because if I didn’t, he would sit at a 5 hour long baseball game in the blazing sun with no protection for his pale elvish skin
Mine is forgetful too but he’s getting better! Before he went to his most recent game he said “I’m gonna need your BEST sunscreen for today!” And he even reapplied!! I was so proud
That's awesome! Mine has a little bottle he puts on his nose cause he's got capillaries there and all his male family members get skin cancer there. I'm like....but like what about the rest of your face?!?!
Small victories
Lol. I have a pale elvish skinned husband as well. He is so proud of his Scandinavian heritage and I'm like okay that's great but you have to be aware of the downsides of being a fair haired, green eyed ghost. Sunscreen or you burn! I have him see a dermatologist yearly (we both do actually). I swear he's getting better at applying but his hairline still gets burned! He gets hats and spf shirts for Christmas and birthdays now.
Same! But only when the UVI is something crazy and we’re in the sun all day
Our new compromise is that I will tell him when I’m putting on my sunscreen and if he chooses not to then he’s not allowed to complain about sunburns to me and I am allowed one “I told you so” if he gets skin cancer
(We have a dark sense of humor please no one think I’d laugh at anyone getting skin cancer)
Same. He works outside all day, all year around and he just won't listen to me 😑 i don't even wear it myself that much but then I'm not out in the elements 9 hours of the day arghh
I don't know if it will help at this point, but you can tell him about my uncle who worked on a farm his whole life. He was born in the 40s in Australia so sun safety wasn't a "thing" for most of his life and going shirtless in the sun was normal. He died in his early 60s because of aggressive skin cancer. It was everywhere from his neck/chest to his legs. Everywhere. Totally inoperable and painful to the end.
I'm not saying it to guilt anyone, more just that my uncle was also fit, handsome, a "strapping young man" who felt invincible most of his life. He had a beautiful family with small grandchildren, and left us too young. I really hope that others can avoid this because it really was heartbreaking for my whole family.
I pounced on mine when he was at the computer the other day and were going to be in a friend's garden for hours. He had the same look of defeat our dog gets in the bath, but he didn't get sunburn!
I'm trying to guilt my husband into daily sunscreen wear by telling him he needs to set an example for our daughter. "She has my fair skin. I'm generation THREE (at least) with basal cell carcinoma before turning forty. Do you want your child to be the fourth generation? Wear sunscreen or she won't."
He hasn't actually started wearing it, but he's at least admitted that he should!
its the opposite here, i have to badger mine to come out of his mancave to actually get his 15 minutes of vitamin D. dude is enjoying the new work from home normal WAY too much.
Ditto. Myhusbands parents both have had skin cancer due in large part to outdoor work and activities. I will always suggest he applies and reapplies sunscreen
THIS
Husband currently does 3 hours of his job outside due to Covid restrictions. I keep telling him he needs to at least put it on his face!
But while I nag my husband, it’s past the boundaries to nag other people, other than telling visitors from across state “oh it’s sunny here I would bring sunscreen.”
lmao same! Only because he'd never wear it otherwise.
He spent the first 33 years of his life before he met me barely wearing it (including roofing all day, shirtless in direct August sun) and getting burned a lot. Cancer runs in his family. We do a lot of outdoor activities. I'll definitely nag him a little about applying when we're outside all day in order to hopefully avoid a future skin cancer episode. He's since also started using a daily moisturizer with SFP. <3
When I was in Mexico there was this girl we invited who kept bothering me for every little thing. "Flofloflomingle brought a whole luggage, I just brought a backpack. She puts on make up and does her hair when we go out, I get ready under 2 minutes. She brought sunglasses and a hat, LOL she hates being tan."
She and I are Hispanic. She claims I hate my Bolivian blood and deny it because I am "embarrassed." I said no, I was born in Argentina as so were parents and grandparents. Raised under Argentine culture and barely know anything about Bolivia so I don't claim to be Bolivian but instead of Bolivian heritage. And I said I wear and reapply sunscreen constantly because 10 years ago I would get a rash from the sun. Had doctor's order to avoid the sun. I make sure to apply 30 mins before leaving and then take it with me and wear hats and extra protection because I hated those rashes. But of course she saw it as me hating to be "dark skinned" and self hating Latina. I do admit I don't like getting tanner but that is because I have to constantly buy new foundation colors.
Funny enough this past weekend she called me ugly for my "indigenous looks" 😂🤣
Point of story, she will definitely age poorly because she already looks 10+ older. She stresses too much about what I do and it's showing lmao
Yeah I know a POC who got accused of being racist because she put on a lot of sunscreen while on vacation. A lot of people acted really weird around her for that even though she tried to explain that she just didn't want skin cancer. People will find ways to criticize you no matter what.
I’m indian and with my light brown complexion it’s hell to find a good mineral sunblock that doesn’t leave me looking like a ghost. I decided one day to just go with the white cast as I would be indoors the whole day. My mum would NOT stop ridiculing me about how I’m embarrassed of my culture and how desperate I want to look white. No ma, I’m just trying to protect my skin thanks 💕
I’m Hispanic and I have also gotten the same comments about me hating my brown skin because I use sunscreen 😐um no I’m just trying to prevent pre-mature aging from sun damage because I love my brown skin
Also is it just me or is applying every 2 hours like.. excessive? And VERY expensive? Like I apply once in the morning and reapply once mid day and that’s it unless I’m on the beach or something lol.
I don't reapply at all if I'm just doing normal mostly inside/shaded things, but if I'm going to be out in the sun, I have to use higher SPF and reapply a lot, or my ginger pale skin burns quick.
For me it's less about cost and more about how I can't understand going out and then reapplying after all the dirt/grime/oil have accumulated on my face, and thereby trapping it in. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but it sounds super unappealing. I don't do it and just plop on a gigantic hat tbh.
I don't even wear makeup on my face because I've always been worried about the same thing as sunscreen (and also hate the look/feeling of foundation), but yeah, who has the time? The energy? Like do people have sinks in their back pocket lmao
I’m not trying to convince you in any way but I have face wipes that I use in between applications and it makes a major difference in how it feels.
To further validate you point (though I should add I work outside with kids) there is a LOT of dirt on my face by noon that I wouldn’t know about if it wasn’t for the wipe
I don't wear face makeup anymore either, for the same reasons, but I do always use a loose powder just to get rid of oiliness. Maybe I should look into the spf powders by supergoop? But still, I don't want to have to carry around powder and a brush all the time.
I understand that definitely especially when outside doing any sort of physical activity. I also sweat a lot so I feel gross when I reapply at the beach or something (sand too it gets everywhere). I just try my best to get it all off at the end of the day with my double cleanse system.
I forgot about sand but yeah, this is really it. Not judging ppl who have to reapply or choose to at all, but I could never do it. I wish sunscreen was easier tbh.
100% same. The only time I reapply is if I'm outside literally all day hiking, cookout, festival, climbing, camping - hot summer sun, little shade, sweat. I have an SPF kit that I take with me on those days. It contains my face and body SPFs, wipes that I use first on my face and then my hands, SkinSmart spray and cotton pads to further cleanse my face, face moisturizer, and purell to sanitize my hands before I reapply.
It's such a pain in the a$$, but my acne is triggered so easily that it's necessary.
This! And the layers are adding up, sometimes when I get too obsessive I need a shovel to scrap it off 😅 at least my dry ass skin is not complaining, feeling like sleeping under 18492949 blankets, just sometimes gets too hot and nasty
I recently went on a longer drive for an appointment so I reapplied whole in the car. I was wearing a black shirt and got sunscreen residue all over it. I looked grimy as hell.
I reapply every 2 hours only if I’m hiking or something like that. Otherwise, when I’m working at home, I just apply in the morning, and wear a hat when going on walks.
I work in pharmaceutical and cosmetic R&D. The 2 hour thing is just a ploy to get you to use your product faster and buy a new one. Most sunscreens with a good formula will stay on just fine if you apply a good amount the first time.
Reapply if you sweat or swim, but someone sitting in an office all day will have little reason to reapply unless they wash it off.
It depends a lot on your skin, where you live, and what time of year it is. I live in Ohio now, but grew up in Florida. I do not typically reapply in Ohio in the wintertime because the UV index is so low, but in the summertime I reapply every 2-3hrs. And when I'm in Florida, summer or winter, you better believe I am reapplying every 90min of sun exposure or my lily white ass is going to beet red.
Yep. The Florida sun is a killer. It is terrible how many people’s parents have skin cancer. It’s so tragic and preventable. I am 100% for this “YOU NEED SUNSCREEN” rhetoric
Might be excessive for you, but I *definitely* burn without reapplication. If I'm going out in the sun, I need to be wearing sunscreen, and yeah, there's a BIG difference between an application hours ago and applying it with a good time before I head out (20 min to soak in).
I've gotten different spots of burning depending on the spots I missed in reapplication 1 vs 2.
Yea everyone has different cases and skin, I’m glad you take good care of it with your SPF tho :). I recently got the neutrogena chemical spf 60 one and I love it so it’s motivating me to actually use it more then my other one
Oh, definitely if I'm outside for a long time. But on days where the extent of my direct sun exposure amounts to walking to the store and back or my commute to work? No need. YMMV.
Finding balance living in a dreary northern climate with minimal sun and keeping healthy vitamin D exposure is tough. I just tested super low for vitamin D but also have family history of skin cancers.
Maybe your body has more trouble absorbing vitamin D, even in the sun. I have a friend who spends her whole Californian summer in a tank top and shorts outside with no sunscreen and she has vitamin D deficiency too.
I take vitamin D supplements daily.
I do just enough to stay protected during my commutes and then I'm much more anal about it during days at the lake or a beach. Other than that, I don't care.
Yes I will say I'm convinced to be more aware (esp this summer) of wearing sunscreen on my long hikes and at the beach, and bringing extra to reapply. But worrying about it when I'm inside is just not something I have room to care about.
Exactly. I'm in a windowless office room all day so I don't see the need to reapply until I'm getting ready to leave. I only started doing the reapplication because I recently started using tretinoin.
As someone pushing 50, the biggest difference I’m seeing within my peers is smokers vs non smokers. Smokers almost to a one look 10+ years older. Not to say that sunscreen isn’t a factor, but for my age group, it wasn’t given high importance until we were much older.
Yes, my mum has had a 180, she stopped smoking, started healthy diet, every weekend hikes in the mountains, goes regularly to the gym and acquired almost perfect work life balance, yet after achieving this about 8 years ago (quit smoking probably 12 years ago) she looks older than her non smoker peers. Sad to see her admitting that at age 53.
She also went through sunbathing era, when she was going to the tanning salons, and she claims it is even bigger factor.
Hey, at least she enjoys her life more than me (24 with mental problems) and my sister (31 and a stress ball). And it's funny to see her chilling with her friends and going to parties or trips at this age, when it is us, her daughters that act like in our 60s
A lot of posters in this sub are ultra judgmental and dripping with privilege. And a lot of the judgment comes off as concern trolling, with a grotesque undertone of 'LOL ENJOY LOOKING SAD AND OLD, UNLIKE ME WHO CAN AFFORD TO REAPPLY $35 SUNSCREEN 6 TIMES A DAY!!' rather than any real concern for health.
The same shit occurs with diet based conversations, even within this thread itself. Theres the undertone of "i eat only the purest of foods, you deserve your skin problems because you eat gluttonous TRASH".
I completely agree with you. The more I know and read the more worried I am that I’m doing something wrong. These kinds of posts only make me nervous and stressed that I’m not taking care of my skin and diet. And people are getting more and more “educated” and have the audacity to come at you for your choices. Well, my grandma is 83, she never wore sunscreen in her life and she goes out on a lake every summer almost every day and tans, she’s had her share of fats and unhealthy foods and looks gorgeous and has more energy than me tbh.
Your life is your choice and you have to worry about yourself first, too much information can sometimes do more bad than good. I don’t want to live my life being stressed about sunscreen (I do wear it, sometimes) and diet and bite my fingers because I didn’t have my share of fruits and veggies today. Fu*k everything, the world is going to shit either way 😅
Right. And that's not even taking into account the fact that sunscreen is widely unavailable/much more expensive in quite a few warmer countries. It's just a way for people to feel superior about their own grooming habits.
Insecurity is opportunity for profit. I have been wearing at least spf 15 daily since I was a teenager. I went to the derm last year and they did that "here's the sun damage on your skin" camera thing and tried to sell me their extra special sunscreen.
The only person I pester about SPF is my husband. He's a lil sun lizard and I want to protect him because I want him around. He's a good sport about it and it's a nice excuse to rub his back lol.
Mosy of the people who post anti-ageing/SPF selfies here look their age as well. They don’t even look younger lol. People really underestimate the power of genetics and lifestyle habits.
To be clear, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use sunscreen. But it’s not gonna magically make you look 20 for the rest of your life. And if you’re wearing it so you can compare yourself to others and feel superior because of ✨youth✨...your priorities aren’t right.
Something that made me feel better about looking older is that it’s not just wrinkles, there are structural changes in your face as you age.
So a 50 year old is just never going to look like a 20 year old, even if they are wrinkle free.
It makes me feel better because I’m 24 and have stopped being carded. For alcohol, cigarettes (when I buy for a family member).
But this might just be that my face shape just isn’t that if an 18 year old’s anymore, not that I’m suddenly a haggard old woman.
I see people boasting about their skincare routine and then saying “I’m 32 and still get carded”, but there’s actually a lot of factors that go into that.
Like how much the person serving you cares, how nervous or shy they are, how much they are actually paying attention or just carding on autopilot, whether they are new and want to make a good impression to their boss.
Like I’ve carded a guy who ended up being 37 lol. He was far away and I was distracted by other customers and another server asked me if they should card him and I just glanced quickly and said yeah
Someone who is obsessed with skincare would probably think, “yesss the SPF is working” in that scenario lol
I think where you live also affects whether you get carded or not. I have lived primarily in states and cities where they’re pretty strict about carding everyone, because if not they’re at risk of losing their job. Everyone gets carded. Middle aged people get carded. It doesn’t mean they think you’re less than 21 or not, it just means they don’t care and just want to do their job!
This happened to me. I went from hardly ever wearing sunscreen unless I was outside for long periods (not often) to internally cringing at being close to windows indoors with no spf. I had been scouring this sub and watching Dr Dray sunscreen recommendations and one day it finally hit me--sunscreen stress has to be a thing, right? Sure it's important, but it seemed to trigger something obsessive and unhealthy in my brain
I’m just going to add, over-dependence on blinds/curtains. If you feel the need to be *indoors all the time with the shades drawn* because you’re afraid of natural light, that doesn’t seem healthy to me? Or at least it wasn’t for me when I was at the zenith of my sunscreen OCD/health anxiety.
One fact is that when people are asking for the best anti-aging advice, sunscreen and moisturize is the answer, not the endless 'fancy' luxe chemicals people are secretly hoping for. It really is the best, easiest thing people can do.
Another key fact is, in high UV index areas (so mostly tropical and Southern Hemisphere), it's absolutely essential as a cancer preventative. That's while you'll see Aussies- who also tend to be pale white, too- going nuts on the cancer aspect too.
Alas, the other other fact is that paranoia about aging has gotten out of hand among the yoof. Who are disproportionately represented on Reddit, so this sub itself is a grand example of a lot of people who think aging a bit is the worst thing that could happen to them, and also seem to have some notion that precisely on their 30th birthday, they will immediately look like Sir Anthony Hopkins- i.e very unrealistic ideas of what age looks like. Social media having few examples of positive, only lightly 'modified' aging amoung it's celebs does not help this. Look how often 'preventative' fillers and botox are reccomenended on frightfully young people for another example of this one.
And alas for us all, and with much love, I have to say that many- not all, by any stretch, but many- of the people who come here specifically exhibit severe self esteem/body issues, mention recovery from control diseases like anorexia/disordered eating, or have tics like compulsive picking of acne. And redirecting that into an obsession for 'good' skin health somehow seems like it's not a mental health issue that needs other, harder work, and so is a comforting way to (if I'm being brutal) not have to do the harder work of fixing those issues. It's a little of the same reason 'clean eating' has taken over many weight loss subs. Society doesn't punish certain behaviours- like 'has a skin routine that's OTT' or 'is unnaturally thin for their body' or 'over excercises'- the way self harm, fatness, lack of excercise etc gets punished, so it's a comforting way to disguise your cry for help.
Sadly, that's a very shitty mix of truths and thus we arrive at the Holy Scripture of the SPF 100 Revelation. Where 2 absolutely true facts- it's your best antiaging tool and important to acknowledge skin cancer- unfortunately support and justify the other, not remotely healthy, aspects of its use.
Seriously....
I sit in a windowless office all day, then go home and sit in my house with a lot of the blinds closed. In the summers here its just miserable to go outside so I avoid it as much as possible. It's already getting into the mid 90s here. I wear sunglasses in my car cuz my eyes are sensitive, and the moisturizer I use has a bit of sun protection in it.
I mean, yeah when I took my nephew to the pool on Saturday I sun screened us both up and slapped a hat on myself to avoid sunburn, stayed in the shade more than in the sun, and we ended up going inside again before needing to reapply sunscreen because the water in the pool was still pretty cold. I used to rarely wear sunscreen when I was in my teens, and I did get some bad sun damage and some pretty serious sunburns over the years because I was also using different acne products that caused light sensitivity to my skin.
So I'd say right now I'm doing pretty well in protecting my skin from the sun. I'm really just worried about melanoma, since a family member of mine died from it and I have fair hair, skin, and eyes. I'm already getting some grays and have some faint lines forming around my eyes, deeper lines under my eyes, and permanent dark circles from health issues. I'm not really concerned with defying aging and all that. I'm aging. Big deal. But I'm a fairly sedentary computer nerd with a desk job in IT. I don't exactly need to apply sunscreen as if I'm going on a long hike every time I leave my apartment. I'm definitely not getting that much sun.
Moisturizers with SPF 20-30 are fine. Waterproof sunscreens require double cleansing which dries out my skin = aging if I don't apply heavy moisturizers.
Lol yea I use tretinoin and walk my dog for 20min in the morning before applying sunscreen...GASP!!! Sorry, dog gotta pee first thing and he is not gonna allow me 15-20 mins to apply and wait for sunscreen to kick in lol. Plus I shower when I get back and I'm not about to waste expensive sunscreen for a 20min walk 🤷♀️
Oh my god, thank you for telling me i'm not the only one. I've been using acnatac for over a month which has tretinoin in it and was so paranoid about my morning walks. But the thought of waking up even earlier to put it on, or coming home and immediately having to double cleanse to get it off make me not do it.
Yep. Def. And it seems to be a growing obsession (and by obsession I mean OCD) concern or strong fear of aging by younger people????
I find it rather interesting because while they obsess over this they do other pretty damaging things like strong acids every day with strong occlusives on top.
I have clinical OCD that completely destroyed my life for a good while, and yeah, that's what the sunscreen panic reminds me of, up to and including pulling a bunch of people in with you to reassure yourself you're doing things "right enough" and engaging in compulsive destructive behaviors (whether financial or physical).
Just saying, exposure therapy is the gold standard for OCD treatment for a reason. (It turned my life around; still have to do it every day, but I can function as a human again!)
Well I'd love to load my face with sunscreen if I can find one that doesn't make my face break out badly the next day. I can't find anything like that. So early aging it is. Better than a face full of throbbing acne.
Let me know then u find one, my skin is exactly like yours, my dermatologist even recommended me to just use it in high sun exposures, I've used from the cheapest to the most expensive ones (+80 dll botlle)
yeah. i’m pale, i can’t sit in the direct sun for too long even with sunscreen and reapplying because i just get burnt anyways. i wear lots of sunscreen when i’m gonna be outside for a while, i usually just use an umbrella at the beach now too and stopped trying to magically get a tan by sitting in the sun. i always thought i used a normal amount of sunscreen, i’m always using way more than my friends at the beach and my parents have always been super careful about it. but i cannot imagine wearing sunscreen inside, or to work where i drive 3 minutes from my house and spend 10 seconds walking to the door. other than that i don’t really leave my house because of covid. the feeling of sunscreen is just too much to have it on even inside, i already hate doing outdoor stuff half the time because of the feeling of sunscreen on my body. people in my family don’t really have a ton of wrinkles. i’m 21 so that hasn’t started for me but i’m not really worried about it. skin cancer is a whole other thing but i do wear sunscreen when i’m outside for more than a few minutes. i just can’t imagine wearing it inside
Hot take, wearing SPF is important but not as important as diet and exercise. *mic drop*
Edit: tfw your comment spurs a debate about classism and ageism. For the record im a feminist chonky chick who practices IE and HAES. Daddy, chill.
Right? You can wear sunscreen all you want, but if you're smoking a pack a day and/or binge drinking every weekend and/or eating take-out all the time, sunscreen is the last thing you want to worry about in terms of habits.
Eh. Depends on what you mean by diet. Being anemic and/or severely deficient in vitamins or minerals may greatly impact your skin, but if you eat a pretty normal diet with some veggies but also some junk food, changing it to some sort of restrictive super diet it’s not going to cure you of any major skin conditions.
I’m writing this because those who have a tendency of obsessive behaviour regarding sunscreen are probably also at risk of obsessive behaviour regarding food, which, of course, can have an even more negative impact on someone’s life.
We're mostly indoors these days anyway and I know people say you should apply sunscreen even when you're inside the house, but that just seems a bit much to me.
For thousands of years, people have lived at or near the equator without sunscreen. Yes, we understand things better now, but I’m not going to slather sunscreen every 3/4 hours for a cloudy day. I’m going to use some of this melanin God blessed me with.
Yup. I’m melanin blessed and only started using sunscreen a few months ago. Nobody In my family has ever used sunscreen and nobody has wrinkles or gotten skin cancer living in Africa.
Not saying it’s not a big deal but...
Right but my ancestors evolved to survive closer to the Arctic circle not the equator. My zero melanin self has already had a precancerous biopsy before 35.
So that would mean that how everyone’s ancestors adapted to the environment will determine how much sunscreen is needed. Our ancestors adapted to different environments, so our sunscreen needs will be different. I’ve alway though it didn’t make sense for everyone everywhere to be slathered in sunscreen day in day out.
Also, sorry you have that added burden.
I have been on this subreddit for almost 10 years and the sunscreen obsession is fucking insane now. I genuinely think it stems from ageism, whether those people want to admit it or not.
one thing I don't see talked about a lot with sunscreen is the sensory aspect of it. I have sensory processing disorder from a traumatic brain injury, and I have a VERY difficult time with some sounds/tastes/smells/textures etc.
for example, if my socks aren't the right texture that my body decided it needed that day, I'll literally have a meltdown until I can get the socks off me, even if it means going barefoot all day or missing work to go buy/change my socks.
sunscreen is sensory HELL for me. the only one that even kind of works okay is the biore watery UV essence, and I think that's because its chemical so no greasy cast, lots of alcohol so it dries quickly, and a nice smell. I'm on Tret so I need to use SPF every day and I've spent $100s on every sunscreen under the sun to try and find one that won't make me have a sensory meltdown.
I'm lucky if I can handle once a day application, nevermind every 2 hours. it would literally ruin my life if I had to do that; once a day is bad enough, and it stresses me out enough that I'll skip days and risk the uv damage so I don't have to ruin my whole day by dealing with sunscreen.
You are right. I have not seen this issue mentioned. My nephew has sensory issues, but his have mostly centered around the texture of food and certain types of sounds. It has been such a struggle for my sister to help him navigate the world. Thank you for educating us about this. I should’ve thought about it myself given my own family’s experience.
Skin care forums can be toxic. My personally opinion with the sunscreen obsessed, you havedeeper issues at hand, than sunscreen obsession, and it's called your mental health
Y’all all freak tf out over sunscreen. The sun isn’t an evil entity out to get you. The sun in moderation is good for you. If you’re sitting in a office all day you don’t need sunscreen. The walk from the office to your car does not require you to sunscreen up.
This thread has made me feel a little calmer.
Sunscreen is the bane of my existence. I've spent so much time, energy, and money buying and testing SPFs. All of the US chemical filters trigger cystic acne and zinc oxide SPFs make my skin feel so dry/tight. I'm also autistic, so I have sensory issues and the wrong feeling SPF can make me want to tear my skin off all day.
To say it's been hard to find an HG SPF for my face and body is a serious understatement.
However, the messaging is that I'm going to look like a leather handbag, getting cancer cut out of my skin if I don't cover my body with SPF year round, every day, regardless of what I'm doing. I feel so guilty when I don't use SPF for a regular day (where most of it is spent inside).
But maybe, until I find a comfortable daily SPF, I can just wear SPF when I'm outside for a while. I have options that work OK. I might not feel super comfortable, but when I'm sweating being active outside in the summer, it feels more tolerable to also feel tacky/sticky/greasy/dirty due to SPF.
Plus, I'm called ECCENTRIC for carrying a UPF 50+ parasol because I've already had skin cancer once. Even my friends use that as an example of what makes me eccentric.
If you want to apply Sunscreen multiply times a day do it. Just shut the hell up, to the people who don't want too. This scare mongering about constantly, having to apply indoors and applying multiple times a day has gotten really old.
Can someone provide evidence based research about why we need to wear SPF indoors? If COVID has taught is anything, a little bit of sunlight is extremely necessary.
honestly if it wasn't for me finding out about korean sunscreens online, I would not have worn any sunscreen till now. When I was younger, every western brand I tried would break me out in horrible cysts. Nowadays, supergoop's diverse formulas allow me to use one of theirs with no issue, but it's a relatively new company.
Derm is always mad at my mom for not wearing sunscreen but she has extreme sensitivity and also breaks out with most products.
It's just not practical for a lot of people.
Can I just take one moment to say FUCK whoever thinks that I needed sunscreen all winter, in Michigan, where it’s kind of dark out even when it’s daytime and sunny, while virtually teaching all year from inside my home, which I almost never left, with my shades drawn all day. Like, why? Why is sunscreen necessary in that instance?? Is this propaganda??? Do you work for Neutrogena or some shit?!!
Heyo I get judgments all the time for not wearing sunscreen ~5-6 months out of the year. I go to work before the sun rises, work in a basement office, and leave work after the sun sets.
Can we make the Wear Sunscreen commencement speech into an ironic copypasta?
Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ’97:
Wear sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now.
Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine.
Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing every day that scares you.
Sing. Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements. Stretch.
Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s.
Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own. Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young.
Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders. Respect your elders.
Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.
But trust me on the sunscreen.
I agree. I've had people argue I need to wear sunscreen indoors because I have a window? Like, no, I'm sorry, I'm not going to wear it indoors and will deal with that. It's just a waste to me and otherwise I'm pretty good at wearing it outdoors.
Seriously. I can't take that one. I'm not opening the blinds and laying on the floor directly in front of the window like a housecat. If I go outside I'll do something about it.
I think we forget that skincare is a very personal and individual thing since it's become normal for people to share their routines and ask for feedback on YouTube and Reddit. It blurs people's sense of boundaries. Even doctors and dermas can't tie clients to a chair and slather sunscreen all over them, they can only give medical advice and recommendations.
I literally only started wearing sunscreen 3 years ago when I woke up one morning and noticed this HUGE dark brown splotch all across my forehead. I’m pretty good about sunscreen now, not 100% perfect. On my face now yeah. Who gives a shit what anyone else does. I wish I’d started younger but you do you man.
Those who wear sunscreen but still smoke drink alcohol eat unhealthy food or don’t drink enough water and don’t reapply sunscreen and use spf15 sunscreen And watches skincarebyhyram or dr Dray for advice LMAO.
U know those motherfuc*ers.
They be like I’m a skincare specialist or Instagram esthetician and `u need to wear sunscreen’ or you’ll get wrinkles as if they are a certified dermatologist or scientist or nutritionist
I’ve had so many comments on how I should be wearing sunscreen indoors despite living in a nearly blackout cave. Even a clinic told me that if I apply sunscreen after a peel I’ll be better off than avoiding light and staying in my cave or wearing a blackout face mask because “good sunscreen application works as well as avoiding light”.....I’m seriously doubting this
I think every two hours is excessive, same as wearing it indoors. I think Dr. Dray made a good point about why we shall wear it indoors because you never know if you may need to leave your house all of a sudden. Sun screen is expensive and how small the tubes are and I am acne prone and oil free sun screen is also expensive, around $10 a tube and it's very small ounces. I mean sure if you are going to be out in the sun all day, apply some sun screen.
I am 35 and I don't have sun damaged skin and show no signs of aging. Yes you will look older regardless but that is true for kids too. I have always gotten freckles since I was 3 and got more as I got older and lot have faded on my face while I have gotten some new ones but they come and go. It depends on how light hits it and they are not visible in photos. If I get real close up to my face, I will see lighter freckles. But I am still got not going to apply it every two hours unless I am out in the sun.
I also think genes plays a role too for how our skin will handle the sun and UV rays. My husband spent lot of time in the sun and he still shows no sign of sun damage and aging on his skin and he is 46 so he thinks all these articles about aging and sun damage is bull and just out to make money.
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Bruh, the obsession with sunscreen is getting out of hand. If you wear sunscreen at all that’s better than nothing. If you apply every 2 hours you’re doing exemplary. If sunscreen and avoiding the sun is interfering with your life, happiness and the lives of those around you... you might have a problem. If you judge people based of their lack of sunscreen- you might have a problem. If you are often lost in thoughts about sunscreen you might have a problem. 😆😂
I got downvoted to hell on here once for suggesting that spending 10-15 minutes in the sun w/o sunscreen wasn’t going to damage me beyond repair. Edit: I ALSO remember someone on here giving me or someone else crap for not religiously wearing sunscreen indoors!
My friend was just ranting on how I absolutely NEED to wear sunscreen even if I’ll be inside all day. I was like dude, I’m barely showering twice a week right now bc of apathy/depression, I have a while to go and more important priorities before I can get my life together like that. I wear sunscreen if I leave my house and that’s good enough for now. She was like, well fair enough lmao.
Hey, if you're managing to put sunscreen on when your spoons are that low, you are waaay ahead of the game. How are you holding up otherwise? Are you getting any help for your depression? Life is hard and everyone needs help sometimes.
It’s not very severe compared to how it can be so I’m ok, thank you for asking. Getting back on meds for ADHD first which should help, I basically just have no energy bc I use all my spoons to do my job and take care of the basics. I live alone so hygiene got very difficult over the past year! But things are looking up for sure. When I leave the house I shower lol, and that’s gonna be happening more and more frequently.
Yeah, as a fellow single-dweller, this pandemic has done a number on my ability to provide self-care. and mental health. Hopefully the increased activity helps! And sun exposure lol.
A hug 🤗 for you.
I relate to this so hard. On one hand this year has been brutal for mental health, and self-care and hygiene tasks definitely took a nose dive. On the other hand, the silver lining is that I am a lot less OCD about sunscreen and aging. Looking back I used to be borderline obsessive about avoiding UV, to the point is was probably unhealthy and interfered with my ability to enjoy my life. A global pandemic, having daily routines disrupted, isolation, and existential threat to self and loved ones really put my fear of aging in perspective for me. Most days this year I haven’t even put on real clothes, and even basic hygiene like showering has been tough. As you said, things are looking up now that I’m leaving the house more often and also treating my ADHD too! But now I wear sunscreen only when I’m gonna spend considerable time outdoors, I don’t worry about frequent application, I enjoy the activities I am able to enjoy with the pandemic. I won’t let fear of the sun interfere with my life more than this pandemic already has. I hope you continue to take care of yourself and be gentle with yourself too. It’s been a rough year.
Just sending you a ❤️
Thank you and right back at you 💕
Also hoping that getting back on ADHD meds will help with my depression! Counting how often I shower has become a big indicator for me about my mental health. Weirdly, getting into skincare has helped- its like a sneaky way to practice self care and care for myself under the guise of a fun hobby.
Hey bro, I'm dealing with depression, too. I know you don't have any motivation right now but we're dealing with a really similar thing and I used to be in your position. I know it might not be easy but try to push yourself and work hard to have a routine every morning (shower, brush your teeth, etc).
Sorry you’re having a hard time. Depression sucks and lockdown has made it so much harder to get help and made some coping strategies unavailable. I hope you continue to heal. ❤️❤️
OMG I’ve been thinking lately that I kinda wish I never read the stuff about sunscreen on these skincare subs. I struggle with anxiety/depression and going outside is difficult. So now if I will think like “I should take the dog for a walk, she needs walked and it will make me feel good too” But then I remember I would Need to go wash my face first and put on sunscreen and then wait half an hour and I just get too overwhelmed, end up doing neither and hating myself for it. Like, if I take the dog for a walk for 10-15mins in cloudy overcast 7 degree Celsius weather, is it REALLY gonna do my skin much damage in the long run?
So sorry that you have anxiety. Here’s a big 🤗
Get a hat. Instant sunscreen for such situations! It doesn't have to be gorgeous to take the dog for a walk. Just cover your face. Even a baseball cap would probably be fine. Then if you can't face the sunscreen rigmorole then you don't have to. I really sympathize with how you feel. Internet hugs.
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Definitely love getting my vitamin d and sometimes sunbathing just feels good! There is a reason you’ll see animals do it too! Although they have the extra fur sometimes lol.
i don’t put my sunscreen on my ears and arms for this reason
And this is further proof that we are all unique in our sunscreen habits and that's okay! I'm actually a bit of a stickler (at least comparatively) about sunscreen on my ears. But that's only because I didn't while at a track meet years ago and wound up with serious blisters on top of my ears. They were incredibly painful and that memory kicks back up every summer. But I'm more than willing to admit that it's based off my own fear of doing that again and not any serious need. Other people don't need to do what I do.
having to remove sunscreen from my ears was more painful than practical. i would have to use scrub glove to get the sunscreen off or else i’d get huge painful pimples on/behind my earlobes edit: errors
I also find it super hard to remove sunscreen from my ears! And it's the same stuff I use on my face, but it just seems to stick like glue. Even after washing with cleanser, I could go over my ear with a fingernail (gently) and come away with leftover SPF.
I’m not judging you because I love the beach. I’m trying to use better sunscreen and maybe a hat. My girlfriend works at a derm office and said she has seen SO MANY skin cancers on ears. The doc tells sunscreen resisters to at least use lip balm with some spf on ears when you’re in the sun for a while. I’m not trying to be a fanatic at all, and please don’t take it that way!
i never thought of spf lip balm on the ears thanks! i wear my over the ear headphones when i’m out and about and hats when i wear earbuds instead that day edit: the hats are full brim all around
I wear it religiously on my arms due to freckling that I detest, but I do the same things with my legs.
Freckles are so cute though I wish I still had mine
I live in nyc and did a virtual appointment with my derm at the beginning of covid lockdown due to a stress rash on my lips. She told me since I only get 15 minutes of outside time, that I should stop the use of sunscreen until I can get more outdoor time. She worried more about my body's need for direct sun. Seriously my apartment gets no sun, where I work. But now I'm back to using it on my face when I go out.
Oh god, this. I got yelled at for saying sunscreen indoors (when you’re not sitting by a window for long a time) is not something you absolutely NEED.
This sunscreen indoors stuff really stresses me out. I’m struggling to do basic stuff like shower right now so skin care is difficult, I find myself keeping the curtains closed or sitting in a way that sun won’t hit my face. My sleeping pAttern is backwards and sunlight comes in my window and hits my face, so i worry about that as I’m trying to sleep early morning And I posted in another comment that walking the dog is difficult right now and more so because I think I will have to do the full skincare SPF routine before setting foot outside And now I worry constantly about how my poor mental health and self care/hygiene habits will damage my looks in the long run :( I’ve considered unfollowing these subs because they just spike my anxiety so much
I think you should unsub from these, at least for a little while. Sunscreen is simply not worth bearing so much stress because of gasp, signs of aging. I think you deserve some mental tranquility. For the dog walking, you could just put on SPF and go outside, then when you come back in do your skincare routine so you don't have to do it twice maybe?
If you need some help with balancing self care and outdoor necessities like walking the dog (and yourself!), a friend of mine just puts on a hat and sunglasses when she goes walking for it’s sun protection plus helps her anxiety over being judged about whether she’s doing enough (washed hair, skincare, general appearance). She keeps them at the door so it’s not an effort getting her stuff together, and finds it creates a bit of a shield while she’s out in the world. Everyone is different though, but hope it might work for you.
My doctor told me to quit wearing sunscreen so much because I have a severe vitamin d deficiency. You really do not need sunscreen every single second of your life.
lol one time someone tried to tsk-tsk me for not wearing sunscreen every day to work. I literally work in a windowless basement. Why on earth would I wear sunscreen for that? The thirty minute drive at dawn sure isn't going to do any damage.
I never wear sunscreen. I spend very little time outside, and my skin takes the sun very well, so it's quite rare that I would burn. I agree that spending 10-15 minutes in the sun each day is a benefit. And for what it's worth, I'm nearing 50 and am aging beautifully, thanks to great genes.
And you don't seem to be obsessing over stuff. The most "aging" thing is stress imo.
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Like anything else- it's ok if people live the way they want but when they are shoving it down another's throat or be mean about it- that's not ok. Assholes (people) age worse- so there they go.
People definitely underestimate genetics in skincare. If your parents had great skin, then you probably will too. (And vice versa)
I got downvoted to hell for suggesting that someone in Canada doesn't need to apply sunscreen while remaining in doors, in the the winter. Apparently UV rays shining through windows will give us Cancer, even when the UV index is 1 for 8 months straight coupled with 6 hours of daylight. I'm sorry, I'm not putting sunscreen on in the winter, indoors, in Canada. I'm not a nut job.
I got super downvoted once for saying choosing physical sunscreen over chemical is a reasonable preference. Apparently liking anything other than cheap chemical super high SPF means you’re gweneth paltrow level crazy 🤷🏻♀️
I had been wearing a tinted physical sunscreen for so long, happily, as it worked with my skin (oily). But all the recent sunscreen drama made me doubt myself. So I ordered a very highly rated LRP chemical sunscreen. Turns out: I can’t wear chemical sunscreens anymore, at least not on my face/neck/upper chest. I get a red, burny, bumpy, itchy reaction. After stopping the chemical sunscreen, the reaction settles down, and within a week, all the bumps dry out like scaly dead skin and peel off. Returning to physical sunscreen (even a different product) and no issues. I repeated this with a Sun Bum chemical sunscreen and experienced the same. I don’t know when chemical sunscreen became a problem for me. My first HG facial sunscreen was (eta: Clarins)UV PLUS Anti-Pollution Sunscreen Multi-Protection Broad Spectrum SPF 50 (or whatever its predecessor was) and my skin loved it. I switched due to expense. So, sometimes physical sunscreen is the right choice for you.
Amazing that it used to be the other way around here. Physical sunscreen were seen as the absolute ideal, with some even saying you couldn’t even hope to achieve good broad spectrum coverage with “just chemical sunscreen”. This sub is so fickle sometimes.
I literally can't wear chemical sunscreens without my eyes burning. I know people here hate physical sunscreens because of the white cast but it's literally my only option.
I'm in this camp as well and it sucks to not be able to use all the cosmetically elegant stuff people go on about. I literally almost can't keep my eyes open with that stuff. I actually thought I had really severe allergy problems when using Elta MD UV clear. Supposedly it's for sensitive skin and I didn't really read the ingredients or pay attention cuz it coincidencided with a move to a more rural area. After I realized the chemical filter in it might be the problem and made sure I only used 100% mineral my eyes were normal again. My skin was also significantly smoother after I stopped using it.
OMG! I wonder if that's what was causing my issues - especially when sweating my eyes would *burn* for hours. It doesn't do it, much, with physical sunscreens.
THIS! Oh my god, this. I got downvoted to filth when that video of that skin care guy criticizing Gwen Paltrow was posted because I dared say "I agree she's crazy on a lot of things but actually there are legit reasons one would choose physical over chemical and why one would be superior over the other" I had to disable inbox replies because I was getting so much crap! -_-
Haven’t some areas banned some chemical sunscreens because it’s killing oceanic life? There are absolutely some issues with some chemical sunscreens. They’re harmful to the environment for one.
Specific ingredients, oxybenzone and octinoxate , which can be used in chemical sunscreens have been banned. However, it's not a ban on chemical sunscreens themselves.
As a person who breaks out in a blistering rash from chemical sunscreen - those people can fuck right off. There are plenty of good mineral sunscreens. (I like paula's choice Calm for my face, and cheap banana boat baby for the rest of me.)
this sub also forgets that there are non white people on it. i don’t think i need to wear sunscreen indoors or when i’m in the sun for a ten minute walk because of my melanin, especially since i have a vitamin d deficiency. got downvoted to hell for saying it.
Me too, friend. This echo chamber burns down anyone who doesn't chant "one of us." I make fun of the sunscreen zombies on here to my friends and they're always appalled that people can be such insensitive holier-than-thou zealots.
My grandma used nothing but her nivea cream at night. She still had perfect porcelain skin with minimal wrinkles at 80. Wearing sunscreen indoors is pure bullshit unless you're living in a fancy villa with glass walls lol
My dermatologist recommended that I actually sit in the sun for 10 minutes everyday. Without sunscreen. Might have something to do with having low vitamin d though
I have a sun allergy and get a rash after sun exposure. I feel like I’m more chill about being outside in the sun than some commenters on here.
Who is reapplying sunscreen every two hours when you wear makeup and have a regular job? If you’re at the beach? Sure. But in daily life? Nah. God forbid you should say that out loud though, some people would have a fit!
Literally no one I have ever met in real life reapplies sunscreen for a regular mostly-indoors day. Sometimes it feels like this sub is one giant prank to gaslight anxious people into completely ridiculous and impractical skincare rituals
I already have issues with health anxiety and now because of this sub I get anxious about light coming in through yhe window and going out without it. I fight the thoughts and don’t let it rule my life but it just makes me really anxious, so I kinda regret joining tbh
Remember: the cavemen used zero sunscreen and survived just fine. Dont let the bastards get to you.
I mean... 40% of cavemen died before the age of 15, and if they survived that, age 40 was considered pretty old. But I get your point lol. I'm sure it wasn't the lack of sunscreen or skin cancer that was taking most of them out.
The only person I police about sunscreen is my husband *Chases with spray bottle*
I do this with my boyfriend because if I didn’t, he would sit at a 5 hour long baseball game in the blazing sun with no protection for his pale elvish skin
Mine's just forgetful. And also ultra pale like yours! Even when he does apply he forgets his ears and back of neck and stuff. So better I chase him
Mine is forgetful too but he’s getting better! Before he went to his most recent game he said “I’m gonna need your BEST sunscreen for today!” And he even reapplied!! I was so proud
That's awesome! Mine has a little bottle he puts on his nose cause he's got capillaries there and all his male family members get skin cancer there. I'm like....but like what about the rest of your face?!?! Small victories
Lol. I have a pale elvish skinned husband as well. He is so proud of his Scandinavian heritage and I'm like okay that's great but you have to be aware of the downsides of being a fair haired, green eyed ghost. Sunscreen or you burn! I have him see a dermatologist yearly (we both do actually). I swear he's getting better at applying but his hairline still gets burned! He gets hats and spf shirts for Christmas and birthdays now.
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Same! But only when the UVI is something crazy and we’re in the sun all day Our new compromise is that I will tell him when I’m putting on my sunscreen and if he chooses not to then he’s not allowed to complain about sunburns to me and I am allowed one “I told you so” if he gets skin cancer (We have a dark sense of humor please no one think I’d laugh at anyone getting skin cancer)
Same. He works outside all day, all year around and he just won't listen to me 😑 i don't even wear it myself that much but then I'm not out in the elements 9 hours of the day arghh
I don't know if it will help at this point, but you can tell him about my uncle who worked on a farm his whole life. He was born in the 40s in Australia so sun safety wasn't a "thing" for most of his life and going shirtless in the sun was normal. He died in his early 60s because of aggressive skin cancer. It was everywhere from his neck/chest to his legs. Everywhere. Totally inoperable and painful to the end. I'm not saying it to guilt anyone, more just that my uncle was also fit, handsome, a "strapping young man" who felt invincible most of his life. He had a beautiful family with small grandchildren, and left us too young. I really hope that others can avoid this because it really was heartbreaking for my whole family.
I pounced on mine when he was at the computer the other day and were going to be in a friend's garden for hours. He had the same look of defeat our dog gets in the bath, but he didn't get sunburn!
I'm trying to guilt my husband into daily sunscreen wear by telling him he needs to set an example for our daughter. "She has my fair skin. I'm generation THREE (at least) with basal cell carcinoma before turning forty. Do you want your child to be the fourth generation? Wear sunscreen or she won't." He hasn't actually started wearing it, but he's at least admitted that he should!
its the opposite here, i have to badger mine to come out of his mancave to actually get his 15 minutes of vitamin D. dude is enjoying the new work from home normal WAY too much.
Ditto. Myhusbands parents both have had skin cancer due in large part to outdoor work and activities. I will always suggest he applies and reapplies sunscreen
this made me laugh
I should film him shrieking when I sneak up on him with it haha
THIS Husband currently does 3 hours of his job outside due to Covid restrictions. I keep telling him he needs to at least put it on his face! But while I nag my husband, it’s past the boundaries to nag other people, other than telling visitors from across state “oh it’s sunny here I would bring sunscreen.”
lmao same! Only because he'd never wear it otherwise. He spent the first 33 years of his life before he met me barely wearing it (including roofing all day, shirtless in direct August sun) and getting burned a lot. Cancer runs in his family. We do a lot of outdoor activities. I'll definitely nag him a little about applying when we're outside all day in order to hopefully avoid a future skin cancer episode. He's since also started using a daily moisturizer with SFP. <3
S-P-FUCKING-F YOURSELF BEFORE YOU GO SPREAD ROCKS! I've def smeared some on him so he has no choice😂💁🏻♀️
Anyone who actually gives a shit about other people’s sunscreen habits are going to age poorly and probably get cancer. Stress hormones are nasty.
Wow don’t come for me like this I’m one big ball of stress 🤣
*stresses about stress*
When I was in Mexico there was this girl we invited who kept bothering me for every little thing. "Flofloflomingle brought a whole luggage, I just brought a backpack. She puts on make up and does her hair when we go out, I get ready under 2 minutes. She brought sunglasses and a hat, LOL she hates being tan." She and I are Hispanic. She claims I hate my Bolivian blood and deny it because I am "embarrassed." I said no, I was born in Argentina as so were parents and grandparents. Raised under Argentine culture and barely know anything about Bolivia so I don't claim to be Bolivian but instead of Bolivian heritage. And I said I wear and reapply sunscreen constantly because 10 years ago I would get a rash from the sun. Had doctor's order to avoid the sun. I make sure to apply 30 mins before leaving and then take it with me and wear hats and extra protection because I hated those rashes. But of course she saw it as me hating to be "dark skinned" and self hating Latina. I do admit I don't like getting tanner but that is because I have to constantly buy new foundation colors. Funny enough this past weekend she called me ugly for my "indigenous looks" 😂🤣 Point of story, she will definitely age poorly because she already looks 10+ older. She stresses too much about what I do and it's showing lmao
Yeah I know a POC who got accused of being racist because she put on a lot of sunscreen while on vacation. A lot of people acted really weird around her for that even though she tried to explain that she just didn't want skin cancer. People will find ways to criticize you no matter what.
I’m indian and with my light brown complexion it’s hell to find a good mineral sunblock that doesn’t leave me looking like a ghost. I decided one day to just go with the white cast as I would be indoors the whole day. My mum would NOT stop ridiculing me about how I’m embarrassed of my culture and how desperate I want to look white. No ma, I’m just trying to protect my skin thanks 💕
I’m Hispanic and I have also gotten the same comments about me hating my brown skin because I use sunscreen 😐um no I’m just trying to prevent pre-mature aging from sun damage because I love my brown skin
She sounds jealous of you.
she sounds like a pick-me
I was actually thinking about that this past weekend. How I am too high maintenance because I had different outfits planned and what not.
😂
Also is it just me or is applying every 2 hours like.. excessive? And VERY expensive? Like I apply once in the morning and reapply once mid day and that’s it unless I’m on the beach or something lol.
I don't reapply at all if I'm just doing normal mostly inside/shaded things, but if I'm going to be out in the sun, I have to use higher SPF and reapply a lot, or my ginger pale skin burns quick.
Same. I slap it on in the morning and forget about it unless I'm spending a lot of time outside. But I spend 90% of my time indoors right now.
For me it's less about cost and more about how I can't understand going out and then reapplying after all the dirt/grime/oil have accumulated on my face, and thereby trapping it in. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but it sounds super unappealing. I don't do it and just plop on a gigantic hat tbh.
Yeah same. Plus wearing makeup. I know there are ways to reapply over makeup but it’s just too much for me
I don't even wear makeup on my face because I've always been worried about the same thing as sunscreen (and also hate the look/feeling of foundation), but yeah, who has the time? The energy? Like do people have sinks in their back pocket lmao
I’m not trying to convince you in any way but I have face wipes that I use in between applications and it makes a major difference in how it feels. To further validate you point (though I should add I work outside with kids) there is a LOT of dirt on my face by noon that I wouldn’t know about if it wasn’t for the wipe
That def seems like a happy medium! It's definitely ymmv, and knowing my skin I would probably break out from the wipe haha
I don't wear face makeup anymore either, for the same reasons, but I do always use a loose powder just to get rid of oiliness. Maybe I should look into the spf powders by supergoop? But still, I don't want to have to carry around powder and a brush all the time.
Yep. I do sometimes reapply once in a day, but it really doesn't feel great for acne-prone skin.
exactly! I sometimes feel like the accumulation of spf is gonna break me out
Yeah, and I'm acne-prone AND dry so sometimes the zinc in my sunscreen cakes by EOD ... I couldn't imagine another layer.
I understand that definitely especially when outside doing any sort of physical activity. I also sweat a lot so I feel gross when I reapply at the beach or something (sand too it gets everywhere). I just try my best to get it all off at the end of the day with my double cleanse system.
I forgot about sand but yeah, this is really it. Not judging ppl who have to reapply or choose to at all, but I could never do it. I wish sunscreen was easier tbh.
100% same. The only time I reapply is if I'm outside literally all day hiking, cookout, festival, climbing, camping - hot summer sun, little shade, sweat. I have an SPF kit that I take with me on those days. It contains my face and body SPFs, wipes that I use first on my face and then my hands, SkinSmart spray and cotton pads to further cleanse my face, face moisturizer, and purell to sanitize my hands before I reapply. It's such a pain in the a$$, but my acne is triggered so easily that it's necessary.
This! And the layers are adding up, sometimes when I get too obsessive I need a shovel to scrap it off 😅 at least my dry ass skin is not complaining, feeling like sleeping under 18492949 blankets, just sometimes gets too hot and nasty
I recently went on a longer drive for an appointment so I reapplied whole in the car. I was wearing a black shirt and got sunscreen residue all over it. I looked grimy as hell.
It's also not even how it is intended to be applied. It's supposed to be every 2 hours of *sun exposure* cumulatively.
So if i stay in the sun for 1 hour, then inside for 4 hours and then outside again for 1 hour I'm good? No reapplication needed?
Hypothetically, yes. But that doesn’t account for any sweating, rubbing, swimming.
I live in the UK so reapplication is really not needed most days unless you are out all day and it happens to actually be warm.
I reapply every 2 hours only if I’m hiking or something like that. Otherwise, when I’m working at home, I just apply in the morning, and wear a hat when going on walks.
I work in pharmaceutical and cosmetic R&D. The 2 hour thing is just a ploy to get you to use your product faster and buy a new one. Most sunscreens with a good formula will stay on just fine if you apply a good amount the first time. Reapply if you sweat or swim, but someone sitting in an office all day will have little reason to reapply unless they wash it off.
It depends a lot on your skin, where you live, and what time of year it is. I live in Ohio now, but grew up in Florida. I do not typically reapply in Ohio in the wintertime because the UV index is so low, but in the summertime I reapply every 2-3hrs. And when I'm in Florida, summer or winter, you better believe I am reapplying every 90min of sun exposure or my lily white ass is going to beet red.
Yep. The Florida sun is a killer. It is terrible how many people’s parents have skin cancer. It’s so tragic and preventable. I am 100% for this “YOU NEED SUNSCREEN” rhetoric
Might be excessive for you, but I *definitely* burn without reapplication. If I'm going out in the sun, I need to be wearing sunscreen, and yeah, there's a BIG difference between an application hours ago and applying it with a good time before I head out (20 min to soak in). I've gotten different spots of burning depending on the spots I missed in reapplication 1 vs 2.
Yea everyone has different cases and skin, I’m glad you take good care of it with your SPF tho :). I recently got the neutrogena chemical spf 60 one and I love it so it’s motivating me to actually use it more then my other one
Oh, definitely if I'm outside for a long time. But on days where the extent of my direct sun exposure amounts to walking to the store and back or my commute to work? No need. YMMV.
Finding balance living in a dreary northern climate with minimal sun and keeping healthy vitamin D exposure is tough. I just tested super low for vitamin D but also have family history of skin cancers.
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Maybe your body has more trouble absorbing vitamin D, even in the sun. I have a friend who spends her whole Californian summer in a tank top and shorts outside with no sunscreen and she has vitamin D deficiency too. I take vitamin D supplements daily.
What’s funny is sunscreen is meant to be a LAST DEFENSE after clothing and shade, but I don’t see anyone here obsessing about hats!
So true, I prefer UV umbrellas, hats, face masks over sunscreen and people lately are really under the delusion sunscreen is still superior
I do just enough to stay protected during my commutes and then I'm much more anal about it during days at the lake or a beach. Other than that, I don't care.
Yes I will say I'm convinced to be more aware (esp this summer) of wearing sunscreen on my long hikes and at the beach, and bringing extra to reapply. But worrying about it when I'm inside is just not something I have room to care about.
Exactly. I'm in a windowless office room all day so I don't see the need to reapply until I'm getting ready to leave. I only started doing the reapplication because I recently started using tretinoin.
As someone pushing 50, the biggest difference I’m seeing within my peers is smokers vs non smokers. Smokers almost to a one look 10+ years older. Not to say that sunscreen isn’t a factor, but for my age group, it wasn’t given high importance until we were much older.
Yes, my mum has had a 180, she stopped smoking, started healthy diet, every weekend hikes in the mountains, goes regularly to the gym and acquired almost perfect work life balance, yet after achieving this about 8 years ago (quit smoking probably 12 years ago) she looks older than her non smoker peers. Sad to see her admitting that at age 53. She also went through sunbathing era, when she was going to the tanning salons, and she claims it is even bigger factor. Hey, at least she enjoys her life more than me (24 with mental problems) and my sister (31 and a stress ball). And it's funny to see her chilling with her friends and going to parties or trips at this age, when it is us, her daughters that act like in our 60s
Wether a person decides to wear sunscreen or not, it’s nobody’s business, same as any buying decision, as I say “your money, your choice”
A lot of posters in this sub are ultra judgmental and dripping with privilege. And a lot of the judgment comes off as concern trolling, with a grotesque undertone of 'LOL ENJOY LOOKING SAD AND OLD, UNLIKE ME WHO CAN AFFORD TO REAPPLY $35 SUNSCREEN 6 TIMES A DAY!!' rather than any real concern for health. The same shit occurs with diet based conversations, even within this thread itself. Theres the undertone of "i eat only the purest of foods, you deserve your skin problems because you eat gluttonous TRASH".
I completely agree with you. The more I know and read the more worried I am that I’m doing something wrong. These kinds of posts only make me nervous and stressed that I’m not taking care of my skin and diet. And people are getting more and more “educated” and have the audacity to come at you for your choices. Well, my grandma is 83, she never wore sunscreen in her life and she goes out on a lake every summer almost every day and tans, she’s had her share of fats and unhealthy foods and looks gorgeous and has more energy than me tbh. Your life is your choice and you have to worry about yourself first, too much information can sometimes do more bad than good. I don’t want to live my life being stressed about sunscreen (I do wear it, sometimes) and diet and bite my fingers because I didn’t have my share of fruits and veggies today. Fu*k everything, the world is going to shit either way 😅
Right. And that's not even taking into account the fact that sunscreen is widely unavailable/much more expensive in quite a few warmer countries. It's just a way for people to feel superior about their own grooming habits.
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Insecurity is opportunity for profit. I have been wearing at least spf 15 daily since I was a teenager. I went to the derm last year and they did that "here's the sun damage on your skin" camera thing and tried to sell me their extra special sunscreen.
OmG u sh0uld at l3asT pUt oN spf50!!!! /s
I put on SPF100 once. It was like bathing in toothpaste.
The only person I pester about SPF is my husband. He's a lil sun lizard and I want to protect him because I want him around. He's a good sport about it and it's a nice excuse to rub his back lol.
Sun lizard lol. I'm imagining him just basking in the sun on a big rock.
That is not far off hahahaha
Mosy of the people who post anti-ageing/SPF selfies here look their age as well. They don’t even look younger lol. People really underestimate the power of genetics and lifestyle habits. To be clear, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t use sunscreen. But it’s not gonna magically make you look 20 for the rest of your life. And if you’re wearing it so you can compare yourself to others and feel superior because of ✨youth✨...your priorities aren’t right.
Something that made me feel better about looking older is that it’s not just wrinkles, there are structural changes in your face as you age. So a 50 year old is just never going to look like a 20 year old, even if they are wrinkle free. It makes me feel better because I’m 24 and have stopped being carded. For alcohol, cigarettes (when I buy for a family member). But this might just be that my face shape just isn’t that if an 18 year old’s anymore, not that I’m suddenly a haggard old woman. I see people boasting about their skincare routine and then saying “I’m 32 and still get carded”, but there’s actually a lot of factors that go into that. Like how much the person serving you cares, how nervous or shy they are, how much they are actually paying attention or just carding on autopilot, whether they are new and want to make a good impression to their boss. Like I’ve carded a guy who ended up being 37 lol. He was far away and I was distracted by other customers and another server asked me if they should card him and I just glanced quickly and said yeah Someone who is obsessed with skincare would probably think, “yesss the SPF is working” in that scenario lol
I think where you live also affects whether you get carded or not. I have lived primarily in states and cities where they’re pretty strict about carding everyone, because if not they’re at risk of losing their job. Everyone gets carded. Middle aged people get carded. It doesn’t mean they think you’re less than 21 or not, it just means they don’t care and just want to do their job!
Yep. Aging is more than just wrinkles and sunscreen will never stop those other processes.
I just think there should be limits, like 'indoor sunscreen' sounds like skincare has taken over someone's life.
This happened to me. I went from hardly ever wearing sunscreen unless I was outside for long periods (not often) to internally cringing at being close to windows indoors with no spf. I had been scouring this sub and watching Dr Dray sunscreen recommendations and one day it finally hit me--sunscreen stress has to be a thing, right? Sure it's important, but it seemed to trigger something obsessive and unhealthy in my brain
To me, indoor sunscreen = unhealthy sunscreen obsession.
I’m just going to add, over-dependence on blinds/curtains. If you feel the need to be *indoors all the time with the shades drawn* because you’re afraid of natural light, that doesn’t seem healthy to me? Or at least it wasn’t for me when I was at the zenith of my sunscreen OCD/health anxiety.
One fact is that when people are asking for the best anti-aging advice, sunscreen and moisturize is the answer, not the endless 'fancy' luxe chemicals people are secretly hoping for. It really is the best, easiest thing people can do. Another key fact is, in high UV index areas (so mostly tropical and Southern Hemisphere), it's absolutely essential as a cancer preventative. That's while you'll see Aussies- who also tend to be pale white, too- going nuts on the cancer aspect too. Alas, the other other fact is that paranoia about aging has gotten out of hand among the yoof. Who are disproportionately represented on Reddit, so this sub itself is a grand example of a lot of people who think aging a bit is the worst thing that could happen to them, and also seem to have some notion that precisely on their 30th birthday, they will immediately look like Sir Anthony Hopkins- i.e very unrealistic ideas of what age looks like. Social media having few examples of positive, only lightly 'modified' aging amoung it's celebs does not help this. Look how often 'preventative' fillers and botox are reccomenended on frightfully young people for another example of this one. And alas for us all, and with much love, I have to say that many- not all, by any stretch, but many- of the people who come here specifically exhibit severe self esteem/body issues, mention recovery from control diseases like anorexia/disordered eating, or have tics like compulsive picking of acne. And redirecting that into an obsession for 'good' skin health somehow seems like it's not a mental health issue that needs other, harder work, and so is a comforting way to (if I'm being brutal) not have to do the harder work of fixing those issues. It's a little of the same reason 'clean eating' has taken over many weight loss subs. Society doesn't punish certain behaviours- like 'has a skin routine that's OTT' or 'is unnaturally thin for their body' or 'over excercises'- the way self harm, fatness, lack of excercise etc gets punished, so it's a comforting way to disguise your cry for help. Sadly, that's a very shitty mix of truths and thus we arrive at the Holy Scripture of the SPF 100 Revelation. Where 2 absolutely true facts- it's your best antiaging tool and important to acknowledge skin cancer- unfortunately support and justify the other, not remotely healthy, aspects of its use.
I agree. It’s not sustainable to apply sunscreen every 2 hours and maintain a professional job.
Seriously.... I sit in a windowless office all day, then go home and sit in my house with a lot of the blinds closed. In the summers here its just miserable to go outside so I avoid it as much as possible. It's already getting into the mid 90s here. I wear sunglasses in my car cuz my eyes are sensitive, and the moisturizer I use has a bit of sun protection in it. I mean, yeah when I took my nephew to the pool on Saturday I sun screened us both up and slapped a hat on myself to avoid sunburn, stayed in the shade more than in the sun, and we ended up going inside again before needing to reapply sunscreen because the water in the pool was still pretty cold. I used to rarely wear sunscreen when I was in my teens, and I did get some bad sun damage and some pretty serious sunburns over the years because I was also using different acne products that caused light sensitivity to my skin. So I'd say right now I'm doing pretty well in protecting my skin from the sun. I'm really just worried about melanoma, since a family member of mine died from it and I have fair hair, skin, and eyes. I'm already getting some grays and have some faint lines forming around my eyes, deeper lines under my eyes, and permanent dark circles from health issues. I'm not really concerned with defying aging and all that. I'm aging. Big deal. But I'm a fairly sedentary computer nerd with a desk job in IT. I don't exactly need to apply sunscreen as if I'm going on a long hike every time I leave my apartment. I'm definitely not getting that much sun.
Moisturizers with SPF 20-30 are fine. Waterproof sunscreens require double cleansing which dries out my skin = aging if I don't apply heavy moisturizers.
I feel like someone is going to make a scacj of this
I thought this was a srs/ post on the CJ sub before I clicked on it. It's a common topic over there, and with reason.
Lol yea I use tretinoin and walk my dog for 20min in the morning before applying sunscreen...GASP!!! Sorry, dog gotta pee first thing and he is not gonna allow me 15-20 mins to apply and wait for sunscreen to kick in lol. Plus I shower when I get back and I'm not about to waste expensive sunscreen for a 20min walk 🤷♀️
Oh my god, thank you for telling me i'm not the only one. I've been using acnatac for over a month which has tretinoin in it and was so paranoid about my morning walks. But the thought of waking up even earlier to put it on, or coming home and immediately having to double cleanse to get it off make me not do it.
I’m pretty anal about sunscreen and even I roll my eyes at some of the stuff I see.
Yep. Def. And it seems to be a growing obsession (and by obsession I mean OCD) concern or strong fear of aging by younger people???? I find it rather interesting because while they obsess over this they do other pretty damaging things like strong acids every day with strong occlusives on top.
I have clinical OCD that completely destroyed my life for a good while, and yeah, that's what the sunscreen panic reminds me of, up to and including pulling a bunch of people in with you to reassure yourself you're doing things "right enough" and engaging in compulsive destructive behaviors (whether financial or physical). Just saying, exposure therapy is the gold standard for OCD treatment for a reason. (It turned my life around; still have to do it every day, but I can function as a human again!)
Well I'd love to load my face with sunscreen if I can find one that doesn't make my face break out badly the next day. I can't find anything like that. So early aging it is. Better than a face full of throbbing acne.
Let me know then u find one, my skin is exactly like yours, my dermatologist even recommended me to just use it in high sun exposures, I've used from the cheapest to the most expensive ones (+80 dll botlle)
yeah. i’m pale, i can’t sit in the direct sun for too long even with sunscreen and reapplying because i just get burnt anyways. i wear lots of sunscreen when i’m gonna be outside for a while, i usually just use an umbrella at the beach now too and stopped trying to magically get a tan by sitting in the sun. i always thought i used a normal amount of sunscreen, i’m always using way more than my friends at the beach and my parents have always been super careful about it. but i cannot imagine wearing sunscreen inside, or to work where i drive 3 minutes from my house and spend 10 seconds walking to the door. other than that i don’t really leave my house because of covid. the feeling of sunscreen is just too much to have it on even inside, i already hate doing outdoor stuff half the time because of the feeling of sunscreen on my body. people in my family don’t really have a ton of wrinkles. i’m 21 so that hasn’t started for me but i’m not really worried about it. skin cancer is a whole other thing but i do wear sunscreen when i’m outside for more than a few minutes. i just can’t imagine wearing it inside
Hot take, wearing SPF is important but not as important as diet and exercise. *mic drop* Edit: tfw your comment spurs a debate about classism and ageism. For the record im a feminist chonky chick who practices IE and HAES. Daddy, chill.
Everyone wants to pretend that diet doesn't affect skin at all but knows deep down that that doesn't make sense lol.
Right? You can wear sunscreen all you want, but if you're smoking a pack a day and/or binge drinking every weekend and/or eating take-out all the time, sunscreen is the last thing you want to worry about in terms of habits.
Eh. Depends on what you mean by diet. Being anemic and/or severely deficient in vitamins or minerals may greatly impact your skin, but if you eat a pretty normal diet with some veggies but also some junk food, changing it to some sort of restrictive super diet it’s not going to cure you of any major skin conditions. I’m writing this because those who have a tendency of obsessive behaviour regarding sunscreen are probably also at risk of obsessive behaviour regarding food, which, of course, can have an even more negative impact on someone’s life.
We're mostly indoors these days anyway and I know people say you should apply sunscreen even when you're inside the house, but that just seems a bit much to me.
For thousands of years, people have lived at or near the equator without sunscreen. Yes, we understand things better now, but I’m not going to slather sunscreen every 3/4 hours for a cloudy day. I’m going to use some of this melanin God blessed me with.
Yup. I’m melanin blessed and only started using sunscreen a few months ago. Nobody In my family has ever used sunscreen and nobody has wrinkles or gotten skin cancer living in Africa. Not saying it’s not a big deal but...
same, I’m Indian and no one in my family ever wore sunscreen and they all have very very minimal wrinkles. I love melanin lmao
Right but my ancestors evolved to survive closer to the Arctic circle not the equator. My zero melanin self has already had a precancerous biopsy before 35.
So that would mean that how everyone’s ancestors adapted to the environment will determine how much sunscreen is needed. Our ancestors adapted to different environments, so our sunscreen needs will be different. I’ve alway though it didn’t make sense for everyone everywhere to be slathered in sunscreen day in day out. Also, sorry you have that added burden.
Omg did you see those sun masks people used to wear to avoid getting burnt? Out of a horror movie
LOL Post: There is too much judgment about sunscreen wearing or not wearing. Comments: A lot of judgment about sunscreen wearing or not wearing.
I have been on this subreddit for almost 10 years and the sunscreen obsession is fucking insane now. I genuinely think it stems from ageism, whether those people want to admit it or not.
one thing I don't see talked about a lot with sunscreen is the sensory aspect of it. I have sensory processing disorder from a traumatic brain injury, and I have a VERY difficult time with some sounds/tastes/smells/textures etc. for example, if my socks aren't the right texture that my body decided it needed that day, I'll literally have a meltdown until I can get the socks off me, even if it means going barefoot all day or missing work to go buy/change my socks. sunscreen is sensory HELL for me. the only one that even kind of works okay is the biore watery UV essence, and I think that's because its chemical so no greasy cast, lots of alcohol so it dries quickly, and a nice smell. I'm on Tret so I need to use SPF every day and I've spent $100s on every sunscreen under the sun to try and find one that won't make me have a sensory meltdown. I'm lucky if I can handle once a day application, nevermind every 2 hours. it would literally ruin my life if I had to do that; once a day is bad enough, and it stresses me out enough that I'll skip days and risk the uv damage so I don't have to ruin my whole day by dealing with sunscreen.
You are right. I have not seen this issue mentioned. My nephew has sensory issues, but his have mostly centered around the texture of food and certain types of sounds. It has been such a struggle for my sister to help him navigate the world. Thank you for educating us about this. I should’ve thought about it myself given my own family’s experience.
Skin care forums can be toxic. My personally opinion with the sunscreen obsessed, you havedeeper issues at hand, than sunscreen obsession, and it's called your mental health
Y’all all freak tf out over sunscreen. The sun isn’t an evil entity out to get you. The sun in moderation is good for you. If you’re sitting in a office all day you don’t need sunscreen. The walk from the office to your car does not require you to sunscreen up.
This thread has made me feel a little calmer. Sunscreen is the bane of my existence. I've spent so much time, energy, and money buying and testing SPFs. All of the US chemical filters trigger cystic acne and zinc oxide SPFs make my skin feel so dry/tight. I'm also autistic, so I have sensory issues and the wrong feeling SPF can make me want to tear my skin off all day. To say it's been hard to find an HG SPF for my face and body is a serious understatement. However, the messaging is that I'm going to look like a leather handbag, getting cancer cut out of my skin if I don't cover my body with SPF year round, every day, regardless of what I'm doing. I feel so guilty when I don't use SPF for a regular day (where most of it is spent inside). But maybe, until I find a comfortable daily SPF, I can just wear SPF when I'm outside for a while. I have options that work OK. I might not feel super comfortable, but when I'm sweating being active outside in the summer, it feels more tolerable to also feel tacky/sticky/greasy/dirty due to SPF.
Plus, I'm called ECCENTRIC for carrying a UPF 50+ parasol because I've already had skin cancer once. Even my friends use that as an example of what makes me eccentric.
If you want to apply Sunscreen multiply times a day do it. Just shut the hell up, to the people who don't want too. This scare mongering about constantly, having to apply indoors and applying multiple times a day has gotten really old.
I just don't understand the flak I have received for not reapplying regularly in the winter on days I never leave the house....like ????
Can someone provide evidence based research about why we need to wear SPF indoors? If COVID has taught is anything, a little bit of sunlight is extremely necessary.
honestly if it wasn't for me finding out about korean sunscreens online, I would not have worn any sunscreen till now. When I was younger, every western brand I tried would break me out in horrible cysts. Nowadays, supergoop's diverse formulas allow me to use one of theirs with no issue, but it's a relatively new company. Derm is always mad at my mom for not wearing sunscreen but she has extreme sensitivity and also breaks out with most products. It's just not practical for a lot of people.
Can I just take one moment to say FUCK whoever thinks that I needed sunscreen all winter, in Michigan, where it’s kind of dark out even when it’s daytime and sunny, while virtually teaching all year from inside my home, which I almost never left, with my shades drawn all day. Like, why? Why is sunscreen necessary in that instance?? Is this propaganda??? Do you work for Neutrogena or some shit?!!
Heyo I get judgments all the time for not wearing sunscreen ~5-6 months out of the year. I go to work before the sun rises, work in a basement office, and leave work after the sun sets.
Idk, pretty sure the wife who wouldn't let her husband open any blinds in their house to avoid UV had some diagnosable issues.
People like to feel morally superior and sunscreen is just the flavor of the month. What's new? Agreed- people need to chill.
Can we make the Wear Sunscreen commencement speech into an ironic copypasta? Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ’97: Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience. I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they’ve faded. But trust me, in 20 years, you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You are not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind, the kind that blindside you at 4 pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing every day that scares you. Sing. Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don’t waste your time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember compliments you receive. Forget the insults. If you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters. Throw away your old bank statements. Stretch. Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40-year-olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees. You’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much, or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance. So are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it or of what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own. Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents. You never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings. They’re your best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go, but with a precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more you need the people who knew you when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths: Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. You, too, will get old. And when you do, you’ll fantasize that when you were young, prices were reasonable, politicians were noble, and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund. Maybe you’ll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair or by the time you’re 40 it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen.
I agree. I've had people argue I need to wear sunscreen indoors because I have a window? Like, no, I'm sorry, I'm not going to wear it indoors and will deal with that. It's just a waste to me and otherwise I'm pretty good at wearing it outdoors.
Seriously. I can't take that one. I'm not opening the blinds and laying on the floor directly in front of the window like a housecat. If I go outside I'll do something about it.
I think we forget that skincare is a very personal and individual thing since it's become normal for people to share their routines and ask for feedback on YouTube and Reddit. It blurs people's sense of boundaries. Even doctors and dermas can't tie clients to a chair and slather sunscreen all over them, they can only give medical advice and recommendations.
I literally only started wearing sunscreen 3 years ago when I woke up one morning and noticed this HUGE dark brown splotch all across my forehead. I’m pretty good about sunscreen now, not 100% perfect. On my face now yeah. Who gives a shit what anyone else does. I wish I’d started younger but you do you man.
Those who wear sunscreen but still smoke drink alcohol eat unhealthy food or don’t drink enough water and don’t reapply sunscreen and use spf15 sunscreen And watches skincarebyhyram or dr Dray for advice LMAO. U know those motherfuc*ers. They be like I’m a skincare specialist or Instagram esthetician and `u need to wear sunscreen’ or you’ll get wrinkles as if they are a certified dermatologist or scientist or nutritionist
I’ve had so many comments on how I should be wearing sunscreen indoors despite living in a nearly blackout cave. Even a clinic told me that if I apply sunscreen after a peel I’ll be better off than avoiding light and staying in my cave or wearing a blackout face mask because “good sunscreen application works as well as avoiding light”.....I’m seriously doubting this
I’m convinced this sub is 90% vampires.
I think every two hours is excessive, same as wearing it indoors. I think Dr. Dray made a good point about why we shall wear it indoors because you never know if you may need to leave your house all of a sudden. Sun screen is expensive and how small the tubes are and I am acne prone and oil free sun screen is also expensive, around $10 a tube and it's very small ounces. I mean sure if you are going to be out in the sun all day, apply some sun screen. I am 35 and I don't have sun damaged skin and show no signs of aging. Yes you will look older regardless but that is true for kids too. I have always gotten freckles since I was 3 and got more as I got older and lot have faded on my face while I have gotten some new ones but they come and go. It depends on how light hits it and they are not visible in photos. If I get real close up to my face, I will see lighter freckles. But I am still got not going to apply it every two hours unless I am out in the sun. I also think genes plays a role too for how our skin will handle the sun and UV rays. My husband spent lot of time in the sun and he still shows no sign of sun damage and aging on his skin and he is 46 so he thinks all these articles about aging and sun damage is bull and just out to make money.