We all know that that sunscreen is one of the most important parts of skincare, but apparently, a lot of people still have some misunderstandings regarding sunscreen, or worse, tend to use it incorrectly, which leaves their skin insufficiently protected.
Today, let's discuss everything related to sunscreen, and get some myths busted at the same time.
No！
First of all, everyone should know that using sunscreen is not just for preventing tanning, sunburn, and sunspots——more importantly, it is to prevent cell damage, premature aging, and even skin cancer.
Of the UV solar radiation that reaches the earth, about 5% is UVB, and up to 95% is UVA. While UVB is responsible for burning your skin, UVA, which is undeterred by cloudy skies or glass, penetrates deep into the skin and causes cumulative damages to our DNA at the cellular level. These damages may be initially invisible to the eye, but the fact that they are affecting everything from the surface to the deepest layers of the skin is indisputable, and it can take years for sun damage to become visible because of the depth at which the UV rays damage skin cells, i.e. the sun damages from your teenage years will start showing up in your late 20s and 30s, and those in your 20s and 30s will greatly accelerate the appearance of signs of aging in your 40s and 50s.
A lot of people tend to perceive sun-kissed skin as healthy looking, or freckled as cute. Guess what, tanned skin and freckles are injured skin. Period. UV light exposure causes an inflammatory reaction in the skin, which triggers signals to be sent to the melanocytes as part of the body’s natural immune response. The melanocytes then overproduce the brown melanin pigment, resulting in visible tanned skin and freckles. In other words, it is a sign that your body is trying to protect against further DNA damage; and if your skin is burnt and peeling, it is a sign that the body is ridding itself of damaged skin cells.
Besides melanin-related issues, daily UV exposure, even for only 10 to 20 minutes, can lead to the production of harmful enzymes in the skin that break down collagen and elastic fibers. Combined with the fact that our body produces increasingly fewer hormones and less collagen from the age of about 25, this decline in collagen in our body causes the skin’s epithelial structures (tissue formed by several layers of cells) to weaken, which then thins out the skin and results in sagging and wrinkles.
Speaking of signs of aging, what many people don’t realize is that UVA radiation creates skin-damaging free radicals. These free radicals can lead to damages to all components of a cell, including DNA, proteins, lipids and its membrane, whilst setting off a chain reaction of cellular disruption whereby a healthy cell that is victimised by a free radical transforms into a free radical, ultimately, accelerating the appearance of signs of aging.
Remember, just because it’s cloudly does not mean you’re not exposed to UV. Whilst UV levels are highest under cloudless skies, and cloud cover generally reduces a person's exposure, light or thin clouds have little effect and may even enhance UV levels because of scattering. Staying indoor does not mean you could skip sunscreen either. Glasses used typically in car, home and office windows are designed to block most UVB rays, but it does not offer protection from all UVA rays, which are the ones responsible for loss of elasticity, skin sagging and wrinkles.
Many surfaces also reflect UV radiation and add to the overall UV levels you experience. For instance, grass, soil and water reflect less than 10 per cent of UV radiation, beach sand reflects about 15 per cent, sea foam about 25 per cent, and fresh snow almost doubles a person's UV exposure.
Staying indoor does not mean you could skip sunscreen either. Glasses used typically in car, home and office windows are designed to block most UVB rays, but it does not offer protection from all UVA rays. So even if you’re indoors but as long as you’re close to a window, you still run the risk of UVA exposure and skin damage. In fact, studies have shown that, for those that drive on the left, sun damage is significantly worse on the right face and right arm, and vice versa.
The truth is, preventing UV damage and photoaging is much easier than reversing it. So the conclusion is, whether indoors or outdoors, sunny or cloudy, rainy or snowy, sunscreen should be used throughout the year!
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No！
After applying sunscreen, it's best to wait a few minutes before applying foundation. Reasons for this include:
- To properly protect against UV damages, sunscreen needs to create a uniform barrier on the skin. Immediately applying foundation can disrupt the even coverage and effectiveness of the sunscreen.
- Allowing the sunscreen to set before applying foundation can prevent interference between the two products and help the foundation to adhere more smoothly and evenly.
- Waiting a few minutes after applying sunscreen before putting on foundation can increase the longevity of both products and prevent makeup from melting off easily.
If you want your makeup to last even longer, after waiting a few minutes post-sunscreen application, spray on a setting spray first before applying foundation.
No！
Many people refer to mineral sunscreen as physical sunscreen because they believe that mineral sunscreen ingredients reflect all ultraviolet rays, unlike chemical sunscreen ingredients that absorb them and disperse them. This is a misconception believed by 99% of people worldwide, including cosmetic chemists, formulators, and even dermatologists. In reality, this outdated notion has long been debunked by scientific research, as the percentage of UV absorption and reflection by mineral sunscreens is simlar to chemical sunscreens!
In 2015, Curtis Cole (Sun and Skin Consulting, LLC), Thomas Shyr (Johnson & Johnson Consumer), and Hao Ou-Yang (Estée Lauder Companies Inc.) quantified the various ways in which mineral sunscreen ingredients provide protection to confirm this viewpoint. The results showed that the average reflection of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide across the entire UV range is only 4-5%, with the remaining 95-96% of UV protection achieved through semiconductor band gap mediated absorbance of the UV photons, followed by dispersion. The conclusion is that mineral sunscreens primarily provide UV protection by absorbing UV rays rather than through significant reflection or scattering.
Interested readers can click here to download this detailed study on ResearchGate, which has been peer-reviewed and cited by over a hundred fellow scientists: Cole, Curtis & Shyr, Thomas & Ou-Yang, Hao. (2015). Metal Oxide Sunscreens Protect Skin by Absorption, Not by Reflection or Scattering. Photodermatology, photoimmunology & photomedicine. 32. 10.1111/phpp.12214. 。
It is important to remember that dermatology is also a type of science, and many old beliefs are overturned by new research daily. There are no absolutes. Unfortunately, many misconceptions, when passed around, can turn false information into truth, thus even what dermatologists say may not always be accurate information.
No and yes！Depending on what type of sunscreen you use.
If you are using a mineral sunscreen, there is no need to use additional products for blue light protection because the most effective skincare ingredients that protect the skin from blue light damage, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, are both components of mineral sunscreen products.
If you have a habit of wearing foundation everyday, you also do not need to use additional products for blue light protection because iron oxide, which is found in foundation, is another ingredient that helps protect the skin from blue light damage. This ingredient works similarly to zinc oxide and titanium dioxide to prevent blue light from penetrating the skin.
On the other hand, if you are using a chemical sunscreen, since the principle of how they work is entirely different and does not provide blue light protection, it is recommended to use additional products for blue light protection, or switch to a mineral sunscreen, or one that combines both mineral and chemical sunscreen filters.
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No！
The protection provided by sunscreen is calculated based on a dosage of 2mg/1cm²; when the dosage is insufficient, besides not being able to cover all areas of the skin completely, it also cannot provide complete protection.
When applying sunscreen sprays or powders, not only is it difficult to apply them evenly, the amount applied is always never enough for adequate protection. Therefore, they can only be used as a touch-up for sun protection after makeup.
No！
As mentioned above, the protection indicated by all SPF numbers is calculated based on 2mg/1cm². Unless you don't mind applying a super heavy layer of foundation or makeup base, which will undoubtedly end up looking like a mask, the normal amount of foundation or BB cream is simply not enough to provide complete sun protection. At most, it can only serve as an additional simple layer of protection (although the iron oxide in foundation helps protect the skin from blue light damage).
No！
The SPF value of each product with sun protection function is calculated independently. Therefore, even if you use a SPF50 sunscreen and a SPF30 foundation or makeup base, it does not add up to SPF80 protection.
However, because it is rare for people to completely cover all areas evenly when applying sunscreen, using two products with sun protection function can indeed provide better protection than a single sunscreen. To use an analogy, it's like curtains; two layers of sheer curtains can block more sunlight than a single layer, but they still won't block out light like a blackout curtains.
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People who wear makeup know that to achieve perfect coverage while maintaining a long-lastinng skin-like finish when applying foundation or concealer, the secret lies in applying small amounts multiple times.
The same principle applies to sunscreen products. If you apply the necessary amount in one go, even with a lightweight sunscreen, it may feel thick, sticky, greasy and uncomfortable. It would also melt off easily and affect your makeup afterwards. And as a result, people would naturally reduce the amount used, resulting in inadequate sun protection. Therefore, the correct method is to first apply half of the necessary amount, or even just 1/3, wait a moment for it to settle down, and then apply the remaining half or 1/3, and so on.
By doing this, not only will the skin feel fresher and more comfortable, while reducing the chances of it melting off and showing through your foundation later, you will also be ensuring a better coverage (meaning the second layer can fill in the spots missed in the first layer).
No！
In 2021, Hawaii banned the sale of sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate locally to protect the coral reefs in the area, since these two sunscreen ingredients were subsequently widely reported to be harmful to corals.
However, at that time, the American Cosmetic Association and the American Academy of Dermatology had already deemed this legislation to lack scientific basis and should be approached with caution, as the study on which the legislation was based had three major flaws:
- These two ingredients were the only two sunscreen ingredients evaluated in the quoted study, while other commonly used sunscreen ingredients in the United States were not evaluated.
- The concentrations used in the evaluation were extremely high and conducted in aquariums at super-high concentrations without considering dilution levels in seawater. (In such concentrations, it would cause harm not only to corals but also to humans...)
- The experiments were conducted not only without sunlight exposure but also without properly cultivating corals (artificial coral cultivation is not easy), so even if the ingredients do not affect corals, it would lead to coral death.
Due to many issues with this study, many believe that the legislation was in fact passed by Hawaii lawmakers at the time to gain votes.
In 2022, KOSÉ from Japan, feeling uneasy about this, conducted experiments in collaboration with coral farming experts and Yokohama National University. Firstly, they established sound coral farming methods and determined how to present an even dispersion of sunscreen ingredients in seawater in the lab to properly and accurately assess their real impact on corals.
Experiments conducted in Okinawa showed that even at concentrations higher than the highest concentrations used in the Hawaii experiment, these two sunscreen ingredients had no impact on corals at all, similar to zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which are considered safe for corals.
For those who understand Japanese and are interested in learning more, you can visit: https://www.kose.co.jp/company/ja/content/uploads/2022/02/20220207.pdf 及 https://www.kose.co.jp/company/ja/content/uploads/2022/04/20220413.pdf。
No！
The process of our body producing Vitamin D begins with the skin absorbing UVB, which is then converted by the liver and kidneys into the usable form of Vitamin D.
Many research studies indicate that overall, under normal usage, using sunscreen still allows for sufficient Vitamin D production.
For example, a study conducted by the research team at King's College London in Spain's Tenerife had 40 individuals correctly use sunscreen daily while on vacation. After a week, the experiment found not only an increase in the participants' Vitamin D levels but also protection from sunburn.
Another frequently cited Australian study showed that over a summer, there was no difference in Vitamin D levels between adults randomly assigned to use sunscreen or a placebo cream.
In fact, the body does not require prolonged skin exposure to sunlight for synthesizing the necessary Vitamin D levels, in fact, excessive exposure only leads to various UV damages. The optimal time and skin area for sunlight exposure are approximately 15 minutes on the back of the hand-sized area or around 30 minutes without direct sunlight exposure. Additionally, Vitamin D can also be obtained through foods like salmon, mackerel, sardines, red meat, egg yolks, and others.
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