SPF is the king of all skincare!
Hello beautiful people. If you only ever take one piece of advice from me, let it be this one: wear your sunscreen. Every day. Yes, even in Frinton in February.
Why I bang on about SPF
Up to about eighty to ninety per cent of visible facial ageing comes from ultraviolet light. Not birthdays. Light. Fine lines, pigmentation, broken vessels, that crepey texture on the cheeks: the sun has a hand in nearly all of it.
Here is the bit that surprises people at consultations. You can spend hundreds of pounds with me on beautiful treatments, and unprotected sun exposure will quietly undo that work month by month. SPF is not a boring extra. It is the bodyguard for every other product and treatment you invest in.
UVA, UVB and cloudy Essex days
UVB burns, UVA ages. UVA passes through cloud and window glass all year round, which is why "but I work indoors" does not get you off the hook. If your desk is near a window, so is your face.
- Choose a broad-spectrum SPF 30 to 50, and look for a high UVA rating.
- Apply it as the last step of your morning skincare, every single morning.
- Use enough: roughly two finger-lengths for the face and neck.
- Top up if you are outside for long stretches, especially on the seafront.
"But sunscreens break me out"
Older formulas earned that reputation. Modern medical-grade sunscreens are light, elegant and sit beautifully under make-up. If you have oily or sensitive skin, ask me at your next appointment and I will match you to one from the ranges I stock. Bring in whatever you are using now and we will have a look at it together, no judgement.
The honest bottom line
Sunscreen is the cheapest anti-ageing treatment you will ever buy, and the only one I recommend to absolutely everyone who walks through my door. Protect first, correct second. Everything else we do together works better on protected skin.
See you at the clinic, and wear your sunscreen!
Best wishes, Helen x