Sunscreen Mistakes That Are Costing You Your Skin Health

Are you doing these sunscreen mistakes that are costing you your skin health? Do you know the correct ways to use your sunscreen to maintain your skin health?

What comes to your mind when you think of applying sunscreen? Protecting your skin to get better skin health or to maintain your current skin health right. But you only know about applying sunscreen and you are unaware of using an adequate SPF, if you are not using an adequate SPF to protect your skin then there is no sense of putting a sunscreen as it will give only partial protection from harmful UVA and UVB rays. Not applying sunscreen to the correct areas also is a big mistake. Do not forget to reapply at a regular interval to avoid hyperpigmentation sunburn, tanning. Sunscreen can help you avoid the chances of getting skin cancer so don't take it for granted and rely on SPF influenced makeup and skincare products. If in case you doubt about putting sunscreen at night then change your mind right. It doesn’t really matter whether cloudy or rainy.  So my dear friend apply a good SPF sunscreen every single day.

Take a look at the sunscreen mistakes you're making that are costing you your skin health

There are many mistakes that people make while applying sunscreen that is costing them their skin health some of the most common mistakes are listed in here:

• Not using enough of the SPF

The most common mistake made by people while using sunscreen is that their sunscreens don’t have enough SPF. The importance of using the right SPF is something that we do not want to take chance, if you wish to stay protected by harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun. It is recommended to use SPF 30 or more to have a better protective layer from harmful UVA and UVB rays when you step out. It is also recommended to not use more than 50 SPF as it may not give any extra protection but backfire your skin health. It is advisable to wear an SPF 15 sunscreen if you are not stepping out of your house. Being a little more cautious about using the correct SPF on the skin can give you much better skin. Any sunscreen with less than SPF 15 is not recommended to be used as it gives almost no protection to your skin. Buying a sunscreen with SPF ranging between 15-50 is considered a good choice by experts. Choosing the right SPF is not just helpful for maintaining your skin looks but it also prevents the risk of skin cancer caused by harmful UVA and UVB rays. Many people often think of applying sunscreen only in summers and skipping it in winter. It is equally important to apply sunscreen in winter you may use an SPF 30 for winter days and SPF 50 for summer mornings but putting on an SPF in any season is a must if you wish to maintain your skin health.

• Not reapplying the sunscreen at regular intervals

It is always good to reapply your sunscreen at regular intervals to stay on the safer side. You must be mistaking it if you too are from people that think applying sunscreen once a day is enough.  Unfortunately our environment is filled up with harmful and toxic substance, UVA and UVB rays which increase the chance of getting skin cancer, painful sunburns, early ageing, hyperpigmentation and freckles and so on goes the list. It is recommended to reapply the sunscreen after every 2 hours of last application. The markets in order to make the reapplication of sunscreen easy and less time consuming have come up with sunscreen sprays. Now, isn’t that cool and easy to get the job done!   Sunscreens tend to stay on your skin for 2-6 hours depending on various factors, so reapplying sunscreen at regular intervals consistently is always considered a good choice instead of relying on just one application per day.

• Getting influenced by SPF substitutes

Relying on SPF present in your foundation primer or setting spray is a big NO-NO. SPF present in your makeup can provide you some protection but for broad protection, you will always have to  rely on a good sunscreen. It was found in a survey that almost 70% of women do not use sunscreen and simply rely on  makeup that have SPF - without realising that the foundation with SPF 15 is not as effective. When SPF is mixed with the foundation or any makeup product for that matter, may not give similar effects on the skin. Remember that an SPF substitute cannot take place of a pure SPF sunscreen which is made to protect your skin and maintain its health. SPF cosmetics are simply made to attract people to get their hands on. The cosmetics that are applied in a pea-size amount do not help in maintaining your skin health. Applying sunscreen under your makeup should be a must even if your makeup has SPF.

• Not applying sunscreen at the right time

Applying sunscreen after stepping out of your house should be strictly avoided. It is advisable to apply sunscreen 30 minutes prior to stepping out in the sun so that it deeply penetrates your skin and provide protection from harmful UVA and UVB rays. The worst time to apply sunscreen is a minute before stepping out in the sun as it takes some time for the sunscreen to settle down in the skin. So applying it just before you step out in sun will do worse than good. People who apply sunscreen at the wrong time suffer from hyperpigmentation wrinkles and premature ageing. Applying sunscreen at least 15-30 minutes before stepping out in skin is a must to maintain skin health.

• Not protecting your lips

According to a research, dermatologists found that a large number of people do not put sunscreen on their lips and this became a reason for increasing number of lip hyper-pigmentation, skin cancer. When the lips come in contact with harmful sun rays a protein called collagen present in our lips gets destroyed and eventually our lips become dark. To avoid this situation it is advised to wear a lip balm with adequate SPF which not only moisturises the lips but also protects them from getting damaged. Did you know that some shiny lip gloss attracts or absorb more UV rays causing more lip damage. Just like our face and body skin our lips also come in contact with harmful UVA and UVB rays of the sun – so it isn’t a wise decision to avoid using sunscreen on the lip area.

• Not applying sunscreen over other important body parts

People often apply sunscreen only on their faces and completely forget about the other body parts that are exposed to sun damage. It is found in a survey that the most common spot for skin cancer are the eyelids. The reason is that they are being completely ignored when it comes to applying a good sunscreen. It is very important to apply sunscreen on the eyelids, lips, thighs, back, neck, and on every part of the body that is exposed to sun. Face is not the only spot that gets exposed to sun damage but it is the whole body that needs to be protected from harmful sunlight.  

• Applying sunscreen at night

Are you also one who applies sunscreen at nights? If yes is your answer – then you shouldn’t be doing that. Applying sunscreen at nights does bad to your skin then good. Yes! It clogs your skin, makes it dry and finally makes the skin dull, lifeless. There are a few people who apply the sunscreem even at nights. It is advisable to not use it at night as there is no need for SPF at night. Sunscreens are meant to protect you from harmful UVA and UVB rays. These harmful rays are present only during the day time so applying sunscreen at night is completely useless. Applying sunscreen at night may clog your pores, causing acne and dries out the skin too. Night is the time when your skin needs to breathe and feel free. So it is advisable to not apply a lot of skincare products at night and stick to basic skincare for the nights.You can go ahead and apply some aloe vera gel at night to deal with to sunburns and inflammation.

• Applying sunscreen according to the weather

Since harmful UV rays have the power to pass through the clouds as well, it is very important to apply sunscreen in any and every weather condition. People often tend to skip sunscreen during rainy and cloudy days simply because they think sunscreens are meant for the summers and not the other seasons. Applying waterproof sunscreen during rainy or cloudy days is the right thing to do. So dear buddies, the clouds do not act like a filter and block the UVA and UVB rays for us.

• Not using sunscreen according to the skin type and texture

Understanding and knowing your skin type is essential to choose the right kind of a sunscreen. Most people tend to apply a sunscreen that is not meant for their skin type such as applying a heavy sunscreen on oily skin and a gel-based sunscreen on dry skin will be a cause of concern. This will make the skin either too oily or too dry which is the last thing we all want. Heavy sunscreen will make your skin feel greasy and clog your pores causing acne and pimples. Investing in a good sunscreen lotion just not only protects the skin from the sun but also provides some plumness to it. The markets today have got a huge number of sunscreen specially designed to suit oily skin, dry skin, sensitive skin, normal skin and combination skin. It is always ideal to choose mineral rich sunscreen lotions having titanium dioxide, zinc oxide as they do not irritate the skin.

So now that you are aware of all the sunscreen mistakes you are doing that are costing you your skin health, it is high time to work on avoiding them. Use an adequate SPF to avoid sunburns, tanning, skin cancer, wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, premature aging, etc. Also do not forget to reapply your sunscreen at regular intervals and don't get influenced by substitutes. Your skin needs to be protected from the harmful rays emitted in the environment. The skin needs to be protected even more in the summers as they are many harmful rays and pollutants present which will cause dark, dull, dry, discoloured skin. So, the only saviour for your skin from the sun rays is the sunscreen.

Get yourself the right one now!