Sunscreen: Guys here’s why you need to be wearing everyday

Are you the kind of guy who only applies sunscreen when he’s about to hit the beach or spend a day playing golf? Today’s the day that should stop, and we’re going to tell why. Sunscreen will always be a top line of defence to protect you from a sunburn. But that’s hardly the only reason to wear it. Many men don’t realise it, but unprotected sun exposure is the primary cause of premature ageing.

As a man, your skin is structured differently to that of women. In short, it’s thicker, which is why it’ll be slightly slower to show the signs of ageing. These include fine lines that become wrinkles, a loss of firmness and a loss of volume. However, once they set in and you decide you don’t like them, correcting them (although not impossible) will be a lot harder than preventing them. Also, later on, if you do decide to invest in your skin by taking better care of it, you’ll get much better results on the skin that hasn’t been damaged by the sun.

The insidious side of sun damage

We all know the obvious signs of sun-damaged skin—things like sunspots and rough, leathery texture. Wanting to avoid that is a given. But most of the premature ageing you might experience is actually due to a loss of collagen – the protein that gives your skin it’s youthful elasticity. Once your “stretchy stuff” starts to degrade from the sun, you’re then on the downward slope to lax-looking skin that develops wrinkles, jowls, under eye bags and a sagging neck.

To get an idea of how sun-induced collagen damage works, imagine your skin like a swimming costume left hanging out to dry on a cactus in the desert. Alone and forgotten, it quickly fades, and any elastic it contains begins to shrivel and harden in the sun. Imagine what it would feel like to pick up months later. Crispy. Stiff as a board. That, essentially, is what happens to your skin’s collagen content in the sun. There’s also indirect damage to worry about. This is when free-radicals, induced by unprotected sun exposure, start attacking your cells. Aside from premature ageing, if left unchecked, they can cause the kind of DNA damage that leads to skin cancer.

Get proper protection from your sunscreen

Clearly, you really should be wearing sunscreen. Not just in summer when you’re spending more time outdoors, but all year round. After all, just a few minutes of unprotected sun exposure is all it takes to culminate in sun-damaged skin. Even on a cloudy day! Still, not all sunscreen is created equal. It would be best if you found something that offers broad-spectrum protection (from both UVA and UVB rays) as well as those DNA-damaging free-radicals. Happily, setting up a defence against the latter isn’t tricky. All you need to do is find a sunscreen that includes potent antioxidants. Quite simply, an SPF of 15 with a dash of vitamin E isn’t enough.

To ensure you’re wearing the very best protection, consider some of these top picks:

– Heliocare Gel SPF 50 is an ultra-light formula that’s ideal for anyone with an oily skin type. It also contains Fernblock, a powerful botanical antioxidant, to fend off free radicals.

– Lamelle Helase Photo-Repair Cream SPF 50 also has a light gel-crème texture. Thanks to the inclusion of Pycnogenol, a potent antioxidant derived from marine bark, you’ll get to enjoy antioxidant protection. It also contains a potent enzyme, Photolyase, that doesn’t just prevent DNA-damage, but can correct it too!

– NeoStrata Sheer Physical Protection SPF 50 has a light, lotion-like texture. It includes a great mix of antioxidants – and in this case, more is always more – including lactobionic acid and green tea extract.

The bottom line 

If you want to prevent premature ageing, dramatically lower your risk of skin cancer and protect your skin on a cellular level, wear a high sun protection factor. Not just in the summer, but every single day you set foot outside. Also, a high SPF isn’t enough. You’re going to want antioxidants too. Then, you’ll get to enjoy the very best protection under the sun.