With all this rain we have been having lately I am really missing the sun. Despite the grey clouds and showers the first thing I do every morning after I wash my face is to apply sunscreen. I have fair skin and I have always waged a war against the sun. My first bad burn was when I was a kid while skiing. I got terrible snow blindness, who'd have thought that you can burn while on the slopes. That was a hard lesson to learn. I spent Mother's Day weekend with patches over my eyes and an awful sunburn on my face. Not very pretty. Then, when my skin peeled, it made a funny shape on the side of my left cheek. It kind of looked like a pathetic version of South America. I had to wear awful greasy Cornhuskers lotion to stop the peeling and I was teased by my classmates. I remember that moment being the first time I was embarrassed and self conscious about my looks. Luckily, the peeling faded and so did the jeers. But as I got older I became all too cavalier about using sunscreen. I spent many a day out in the rays never thinking it could lead to wrinkles or skin cancer. It wasn't until I was pregnant and got the brown, "mask of pregnancy" as they call it or melasma that I began to really consider taking better care of my skin. I turned to magazines and the internet for help. After my son was born the brown patches faded for the most part but slowly sunspots became more noticeable. It wasn't until last year that I decided to look into laser therapy. It seemed that no matter how much concealer or foundation I placed over my sunspots they would always peek out and annoy me. So I bit the bullet and for $150.00 I went to my dermatologist and she preformed a Fraxel laser treatment. It didn't even hurt, just slight quick snaps on my skin that felt like a easy rubber band snap. Boy was that worth it. After a few days the spots formed a scab and new skin was later revealed. The spots were hardly noticeable and it was then and there that I vowed to use sunscreen each and every day. So far I have kept that promise and I have found a really great product that I would like to share with you. It's called Elta MD UV Clear and it is SPF 45. My dermatologist told me that no matter what sunscreen I picked I should always reach for one containing zinc oxide. The zinc helps to physically block the light and makes the UV rays scatter, therefore, not allowing them to penetrate into the dermal layers of the skin. Sounds scientific, huh? Well, the Elta MD UV Clear has 9% zinc oxide and helps to promote clear skin. So those of us who are prone to Acne, Rosacea and Hyperpigmentation benefit from this product. It helps to reduce the appearance of blemishes, discoloration and photo-damaged skin. I can attest to this as my skin has never been clearer. Yay! I have been using this product for about 6 months and I love love love it! It retails for about $30.00 but it is so worth it. You can find it online at www.eltamd.com or www.dermstore.com Especially for the piece of mind that your skin is clear and safe from those evil UV rays. I will add another sunscreen that I have used in the past and really liked. It is the La Roche Posay Anthelios SPF 40 sunscreen. It was actually a winner three years in a row in InStyle magazine as a Best Beauty Buy. You can find it at CVS and it retails for around $30.00 or online at www.dermstore.com. It too contains a sun filter called Mexoryl which is an organic compound that filters out the suns rays. Both of these sunscreens blend very well into the skin. You can comfortably layer a primer over them as well as your foundation without any sticky or tacky feeling to your skin. Whichever sunscreen you pick just remember to apply it to not only your face but also your neck, décolleté, and the backs of your hands. This will keep you protected and safe.
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