This is everything you need to know about sunscreen.
Now, BIG IDEA: If you aren’t wearing sunscreen your skincare is basically useless. Also, the
Western products kinda suck.
First of all, there are 2 types. Physical or Mineral sunscreens, which use metal oxides to block
UV light, and chemical which use chemical filters to convert UV into heat. Now this is actually
untrue. Both kinds of sunscreens actually absorb UV light (physical blocks visible light), and
they sit in the top layer of your skin, the stratum corneum.
So the sunscreen industry in the U.S. is a mess right now. American culture promotes wearing
sunscreen on special occasions, like a beach day. Problem is sunlight comes in UVA, UVB, and
UVC light. UVC is sterilizing, it’s what that UV lamp you bought uses. I isn’t really focused for
skincare, but UVB, which is less than 5% of sunlight, and causes sunburns, and UVA which is
about 95% of all sunlight is what causes long-term aging and skin cancer.
Because Americans are primarily concerned about sunburns, there isn’t that much emphasis on
UVA, which causes the most significant damage over time. That’s not to say that UVA filters
aren’t incorporated in American brands, but the attitude and things like tanning shift the focus
away. Tanning, btw, is stupid. What causes the tint on your skin is your cells throwing all their
melanin, or pigment, on top of themselves like a shield – as a last ditch effort to protect their
DNA. It’s honestly really sad, all these fitness nerds are jogging around without protection giving
themselves cancer. If you look over to East Asian countries, you’ll notice women walking around
with umbrellas. That’s right, the reason their skin is good isn’t due to genetics, they just take
more care of it since youth.
On that note,
Big Idea #2: Korean Sunscreens are much better than American ones. That’s because the FDA
hasn’t approved a new UV filter since 1999. Congress literally had to pass the Sunscreen
Innovation Act to force them to approve SOMETHING, but unfortunately it’s slow to work.
There’s clear evidence of this, because if you look at the back of your American sunscreen, it is
classified as a drug – as a medication. However, over in Korea or Japan, sunscreen is to be
used everyday so the regulation is much looser. Thus, they have access to technology such as
the next-generation filters TInosorb M and S. That’s not to say, however, that the products are
unsafe. Because overall, their screening processes are much better than America’s. Literally,
bathing everyday was introduced by Asia.
And so, you should be wearing sunscreen everyday, to fight off the UVA. This includes while
inside or on cloudy days. Actually, UVA is even higher on cloudy days, because the clouds
refract the light. However, I don’t think it’s necessary to reapply every 2 hours. If you look in
Asia – people don’t entirely rely on sunscreen, and instead wear close-knit clothing and
full-rimmed hats. The companies only say this because it’s a drug, so they have to make a
guarantee. So yes, the sunscreen is rigiorously tested to hold-up for 2 hours. However, there’s
various unavoidable factors so choose how you will and maybe only apply once or twice a day if
you aren’t outside. If you don’t, than any scarring or damage on your skin will not heal.