There are a lot of things that can cause our skin to age. Some of them are beyond our control, including, of course, nature. Time presses forward, regardless of how we feel about it, gradually etching visible lines in our faces and diminishing some of their fullness.
But we can play an even bigger role in that process. “How’s that possible?” you ask. Two words: Sun exposure.
Sun exposure is responsible for 80 percent of skin aging. So, those fine lines you may have begun to notice around the corners of your eyes and across your forehead, or the dark spots that now populate your chest and back, while you may be inclined to blame Mom and Dad (our genes play a big role in how we age, too), they’re more likely the result of a lifetime of sun exposure.
The toll of all those sunburns and tans begins to become more evident when we enter our thirties and our skin’s started to lose some of its inherent resiliency. Which is why preventative sun protection is critical; it can be years before we see the visible effects of sun damage.
Slathering on a broad-spectrum sunscreen just to run errands on a Saturday morning may feel like overkill until you look in the mirror one morning and see someone who looks 10 years older than you feel looking back at you.
Preventive and reactive
If you find yourself already there, talk to your dermatologist about ISDIN’s Eryfotona Actinica, a groundbreaking new sunscreen that not only protects the skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays but also helps to address previous sun damage.
It’s a 100-percent mineral-based sunscreen that features three key elements:
- Zinc oxide for broad-spectrum, SPF50+ protection from the sun.
- Vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps protect against environmental damage.
- DNA Repairsomes, which contain photolyase, an enzyme that recognizes and directly repairs UV-induced DNA damage.
It goes on just like a typical sunscreen. Apply the equivalent of two finger-lengths to your face and neck 15 minutes before going outside. And then reapply it every two hours. If you’ve been swimming or sweating, make it every 40 minutes. It has a lightweight consistency, so it’ll absorb easily and won’t leave your skin feeling greasy.
All the best parts of summer
Eryfotona Actinica isn’t going to halt the aging process altogether. Again, there are too many factors at play for that to happen. But it will slow it down—without keeping you from a sun-drenched morning at the farmers market or a lazy afternoon at the beach.
In other words, you can keep indulging in all the parts of summer you’ve always loved. Only now, you can find a special satisfaction in knowing that you won’t be paying a steep price for those Instagram-able moments.
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