You Are (Not) Golden

It feels like it went from spring to summer overnight here. I live in what is technically classified as a desert, and we’ve had rain nearly every day for two months. And several days ago, the clouds parted. It’s been ninety degrees and sunny ever since, and I’m expecting several more months of that before the temperature starts to descend. However, even the winters here are sunny. In fact, despite Florida’s claim as the sunniest state, I live in a state that boasts 300 days of sunshine a year.

So I figured now would be the perfect time to review the rules of sunscreen. First rule: you must wear it. I know you don’t want to wear it. I know you want a sun-kissed J-Lo glow. You want to look good in white, especially if you are getting married this summer. You want to look good in pale pink if you are a bridesmaid this summer. You want to look like you just breezed into work from your yacht in the Grand Caymans, and let’s face it: even the best self-tanners give an orange glow and, to boot, smell bad. I get it. I am so white that some cosmetic companies don’t make foundations light enough for my skin. I’d like to look like Penelope Cruz as much as the next woman, but here’s the truth: I don’t. Neither do you. And even if you are as dark as Iman, wear sunscreen. Your skin will thank you for it when you are older. And that cheerful, bleach-blonde, dark-as-night lifeguard at your community pool will be envying your wrinkle-free face and freckle-free shoulders in twenty years when she peers out at you from her Botoxed face.

Now that we’ve established that no matter what you look like you need to wear sunscreen, let’s review what to look for in a sunscreen. The most important rule of sunscreen is to buy one that is broad-spectrum. Often the labels on sunscreen advertise in bright white numbers the SPF. And yes, the higher the SPF you have the better, but broad-spectrum is just as important. You want your sunscreen to have both UVA and UVB protection. The sun emits two types of rays - UVA and UVB. You want protection from both.

UVA rays are the rays that age your skin (just think Ultra Violet Aging to remind yourself what the rays to do you). Basically, UVA rays penetrate into the second layer of skin. This second layer of skin stops reproducing itself abundantly after the age of 28, so take care of it because you have limited time to enjoy it. When the UVA rays penetrate the skin, they basically dry it up and cause it shrink. Once the second layer of skin has shrunk, the first layer hangs off it causing loose skin and, yes, wrinkles.

UVB rays burn your skin (think Ultra Violet Burning to remind yourself). UVB rays cause your skin to produce more melatonin, which is what causes a tan, but it is also what causes burning and sun spots.

I recently spent some time in Ecuador where one local girl told me she used to envy the white girls she saw because they could get a rosy red glow in the sun. She tried and tried to emulate the color, but she couldn’t do it. Her skin just got darker. Don’t give naïve, young Ecuadoran girls something to envy. Just wear your sunscreen. For more info, you can read this post from several years ago.