Long after I’ve retired from this beauty editor gig, I’ll still be hammering the importance of sun protection into people’s heads. In my twentysomething years of living, it remains one of the most overlooked skin-care habits, even as we continue to learn more about the connection between sun exposure and a handful of life-threatening diseases; ever heard of a little thing called skin cancer"
The list of excuses for not wearing sunscreen every day is long and tired. If you have time to drink a gallon of water every day or apply an entire makeup beat in minutes, surely you can make a little room for SPF. And when you consider the number of beauty products actually infused with protection properties, I mean … come on. It has to end here, even if you’ve got brown skin like me and are convinced SPF almost always leaves a white, chalky cast. The assumption that darker skin is immune from serious sun damage is one of the most dangerous myths out there. And for some reason, we keep believing it! “Although darker skin does have more natural protection from the sun, daily broad-spectrum sunscreen use with an SPF of at least 30 is still highly recommended,” says Valerie D. Callender, MD, FAAD, medical director of Callender Dermatology & Cosmetic Center. “All skin incurs free-radical damage from UV radiation and the potential for skin cancer, regardless of color.”
Now I’ll admit that the struggle can be real. More oft...