In my previous life, I was a sun worshipper. And by 'previous life,' I mean the perpetually-bronze period that lasted into my 30s when I didn't care about the sun or the damage it could do to my body. I just wanted to be tan.
I won't deny it: Since I was young, I have loved a good tan. Nothing made me happier than spending lazy summer days in my bathing suit - on a beach, rooftop, by the pool, you name it - soaking up the sun and turning a deep shade of golden brown. I’m half Mediterranean, so I tan easily and stay that way well into the fall. It is common knowledge, of course, that sun exposure is damaging to your skin, but I felt invincible, as young people tend to feel. I was warned by doctors, family, friends, even well-meaning strangers that my desire to be tan was harming my skin, but I didn’t want to listen. I entered my 30s and still practiced my sun tanning ways. It wasn’t until this year that I really started to notice the damage I was causing. I began paying more attention to my skin care routine and even started implementing a sunscreen into my daily regimen. While skin cancer is indeed a growing epidemic among Americans - and I don’t dispute that skin cancer is a clear and present danger - I have been one of those people who believed it would never happen to me. And while I thankfully have not been diagnosed with skin cancer (knock on wood), I am aware of the damage the sun has done to my skin and wish to prevent further sun damage (like sun spots and wrinkles). So while my initial reason for changing my sun worshipping ways is purely cosmetic, ultimately I am preventing an even more terrible result of unprotected sun exposure.
I was recently introduced to a brand called ISDIN, a Spanish dermatology company, and some of their amazing products. One of the products I instantly fell in love with was their Eryfotona Actinica Ultralight Emulsion SPF 50+. Now, when I first heard the name, I was like “huh?”, so I did some research and... it is basically a really fancy name for some awesome sunscreen that not only protects you from the damage of UVA and UVB rays, but also repairs and reverses sun damage already done! This product has 11% zinc oxide, the name of which conjures an image of lifeguards in silly summer comedies with a white paste all over their nose. That is essentially what this is, minus the icky white residue and implied dorkiness. This is one of the best sunscreens I’ve tried, mostly because I actually want to put it on my skin. It absorbs super quickly, faster than any other sunscreen I've ever tried, and doesn’t leave behind any residue. I’ve been using it after my moisturizer and before applying makeup, and it has not affected my makeup application one bit! In fact, I think it makes a pretty great base for the rest of my makeup.
I highly recommend this sunscreen to people like myself - those of you who are ready to get serious about suncare, but want a non-greasy formula you can easily incorporate into your makeup routine. Hats off to you, ISDIN, for making a sunscreen that is as enjoyable to wear as it is effective. My skin already thanks you.
If you want some for yourself, you can buy it here: https://www.isdin.com/us/sun-damage