Essential Sunscreen Guide Part 2

We recommend sunscreen made with zinc oxide as it’s the safest and most effective mineral active ingredient that protects from both UVA and UVB rays.

The most important skin care step for anti-aging is sunscreen as the UV rays cause 90% of premature skin aging including wrinkles, sagging skin and hyperpigmentation.  It’s important to remember that sunscreen is not just for sunny days as UV rays can still penetrate the cloud cover, windows and beach & rain umbrellas. It is estimated that 80% of UV rays can pass through the clouds (Source: American Academy of Dermatology).  UV rays exposure breaks down collagen and impairs the synthesis of new collagen formulation and speeds up the signs of aging (Source: Skin Inc.). We recommend sunscreen made with zinc oxide as it’s the safest and most effective mineral active ingredient that protects from both UVA and UVB rays.  

Here are more popular sunscreen questions being asked in recent months:

What is the difference between SPF (Sunscreen Protection Factor) 50+ and SPF 30+ sunscreen?

There are two ways to understand the difference between SPF 50+ and SPF 30+ sunscreen. SPF 50+ offers better protection, filtering out 98% of UV radiation compared to 96.7% with SPF 30+.

SPF is derived by taking the time it takes someone to burn with the sunscreen applied and dividing it by the time it takes the person to burn without sunscreen.  For example, if the subject burns in 300 minutes with the sunscreen applied and 10 minutes without, the SPF would be 30.

If SPF 50+ is applied correctly and reapplied every two hours, it will offer 50 times your natural protection.  An SPF of 50+ will reduce the damaging UV rays getting to your skin by about 50% when compared with an SPF 30+.

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Why is Soul Story sunscreen ‘Oxybenzone’ free?

Soul Story Skincare decided to go oxybenzone-free since it scores very high on skin allergy and toxicity indexes. Oxybenzone is one of the common chemical filters found in 80% of sunscreen products.  While primary function is to absorb UV rays, research has shown that it is also absorbed by the skin and can stay in our bodies for an unknown duration. Skin penetration testing and lab studies have even found traces in breast milk (source:EWG).  Oxybenzone is also a hormone disruptor and it can act like estrogen in the body.

Why is Soul Story sunscreen ‘Octinoxate’ free?

Octinoxate, also known as ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate, is a common and inexpensive ingredient in many sunscreens. While it absorbs UVB rays, it also poses numerous risks to humans as well as coral reefs.  Octinoxate has been found in human urine, blood samples and breast milkis a hormone disruptor, producing estrogen-like effects, similar to oxybenzone.

According to a study on coral bleaching conducted by scientists from Environmental Health Perspectives , octinoxate “caused complete bleaching of coral even at very low concentrations.” Many resorts near coral reefs actually require biodegradable sunscreen, prohibiting specific ingredients in guests’ sunscreen including oxybenzone, octinoxate and parabens..

Why is it important to apply sunscreen when the weather is cold or overcast and even staying indoors with windows?

‘Think UV, Not Heat’  Ultraviolet radiation is from the sun and does not correlate with heat, so UV radiation can be very high even on cloudy and cooler days.. It can not be seen or felt, but still remains the major cause of premature aging, sunburn, and eye and skin damage.  It is important to protect our skin with sunscreen on our face and body on a daily basis to minimize the side effects, even while indoors as UV rays are able to penetrate through windows.