When did daily sunscreen become a mainstream thing?

[dolobug]

I'm 45 and have been using spf on my face every day since I was in my late teens / early 20's. I think that when I was in my earlier teens the info about sunscreen and skin ageing just wasn't as known and that very few moisturisers or foundations actually contained any sunscreen at all and not many would have put (sun tan lotion) on their face in winter! In fact I remember when most sunscreens seemed to be spf 6 and my parents using tanning oil in the 80's. Perhaps people from different countries where it is sunnier had different attitudes to spf but in the UK I don't think anyone was really wearing it daily until the early 2000's where they?

I recall being an outlier amongst my peers for caring about spf when I was in my 20's in the early 2000's and that people even thought the spf 15 I was wearing in winter then was excessive, never mind the daily spf 30 - 50 I was wearing daily by the mid 2000's. Even at that point when spf was more commonly found in make up and moisturiser it was and spf 15 and mostly you weren't applying that in a thick enough layer for it to be effective.

Am I wrong now in thinking that most people are wearing spf 30 - 50 on their face and exposed skin everyday even in winter? When did you first start to take notice of how important sunscreen was for your skin? Do you where it regularly and think it has made a difference to the quality of your skin as you have aged?

I’m very fair so have always worn suncream in the summer when I’m going to be out all day (ie on beach or similar), but not religiously and got a pink nose a fair few times! But I’ve always been a shade seeker because I burn easily. Now I wear factor 50 every day and have done for a couple of years. The damage is probably done now though (I’m 41)! Don’t have wrinkles yet though!

My moisturiser has spf 15, that's all I use.

@BeanyBops I think as you say it is hard to parse out all the potential factors that might affect how your skin ages. I'm a conscienctious type myself and have never drank alcohol, smoked or did drugs which is fine for me as I didn't want to. Being a skincare nerd probably helps a lot too!

@dolobug yes exactly, there's probably a lot to be said about people who wear spf year round also making a big effort with their skin in general and possibly other lifestyle factors too. But we know that sun exposure causes damage over the long term so spf has got to be helping!

I think you’re right. I’m in my 60s and spent my teens and twenties frying myself in olive/coconut oil. Had my children in the late 90s and always used sunscreen on them. I use it if I feel it’s so hot I might otherwise burn, but never in the winter.

Impressed with your dedication op

have you developed wrinkles?

I blame mine on a lack of
spf!

very curious

I remember Esther Rantzen in That's Life doing a piece on sun ageing and compared an older persons wrinkled face and smooth looking bottom and that's when I realised the sun aged skin!

I wear factor 50 every day, all year round. I don't really wear make up.

When the skincare companies started pushing it in their advertising....

SUNSCREEN DOES NOT STOP YOU ABSORBING VITAMIN D! That's a myth. But it's good to take a supplement anyway as it's hard to get enough.

For those who complain about "chemicals" - well, everything is a chemical, for a start, even water. You could stick to physical/mineral sunscreens however rather than chemical sunscreens.

I'm nearing 40 and of the pink/blue Scottish skin persuasion. I have a tiny wrinkle at one side of my mouth and a few light forehead lines. Not even a hint of crow's feet. I don't drink, smoke and don't have kids. I also eat lots of nuts, seeds, protein, berries and keep my sugar low.

As a teen/young adult, I wore SPF15 moisturiser every day, all year round.
Only in the last few years, as I got into youtube skincare videos, have I started wearing SPF30-50 most of the year. (Not in the depths of winter when I'm not leaving the house)

I think people don't wear it because of the cost, smell, eye-stinging and it not looking good under make-up. I like Cetaphil SPF50 Daily Defence moisturiser and I'm currently trying out Boots Soltan Face products.

I think try to find a product you like and it's much easier.

I recommend Dr Sam Bunting and Dr Dray videos on youtube.

But particularly when they gave out acids with one hand and then prescribed year round necessary spfs to mitigate the damage with the other. Two for the price of one, the best swizz since rinse and repeat.

I'm well aware that everything is a chemical @ChinBristles thank you, I have a scientific background. But it's disingenuous to imply that therefore all chemicals are as harmless as water. People used to put lead on their faces in the pursuit of beauty, but no-one does that now, despite lead being just another chemical. There is plenty of evidence about the dangers of endocrine disrupters and the like, as well as the environmental harms of sunscreen.

No not yet but as has been discussed here there are other factors that come into it but I do think SPF is really important almost like other things like skincare, or not smoking won't work as well if you don't use SPF.

Its also never too late to start!

Am I wrong now in thinking that most people are wearing spf 30 - 50 on their face and exposed skin everyday even in winter?

Yes, I expect you are. I don't think you could even say most women.

does everyone not moisturise daily?

Also no

I think acids like tretinoin, glycolic etc help to undo previous and ongoing damage so tretinoin can actually reverse sun damage and even remove wrinkles over time but it also does make your skin more vulnerable to the sun so if you use actives you have to commit to sunscreen every day.

However its all a question of what your priorities are and of course nobody has to do any of it.

I'm 42 and have worn it daily since I was late 20s.

Mainly because of my skin and needing to see a Dermatologist who treated me, along with hammering home the important of daily stand alone spf.

I read somewhere that Boots are going to stop producing spf lower than 15 for adults and lower than 50 for children in their Soltan range.

I wear a moisturiser with factor 50 every day of the year. Have done for about ten years now. I've had skin cancer cut out on my chest and don't want to push my luck.

I’m in my late 20’s and have used a facial spf factor 50 everyday since I was about 18.
I’m also heavily tattooed, and part of tattoo aftercare is sun protection in order to ensure your tattoos stay in the best shape possible over time, so I also use a factor 50 on the tattooed skin that’s exposed every day, all year round.

The problem with skincare and make up products that contain spf is that the amount of product you use, doesnt contain the right amount of SPF to offer the right protection.

Its roughly a line of SPF on your index and ring finger for your face and a further one for your neck and ears. No one wears that much foundation or moisturiser.

How on earth can we possibly have survived as a species if we weren't fundamentally safe to ever be exposed to even winter sun?

I never get this argument. No-one is saying we can't survive the sun but we do know that skin cancer rates are really high, and adding Spf daily is an easy way to avoid skin cancer. As a species if entirely left to nature we would die significantly younger. Childbirth would be far more risky, more babies would die... We have evolved to treat avoidable illnesses, of which skin cancer is one.

I'd love to know how much extra benefit there is to using factor 30/50, rather than 15. I'd guess - very little. a lot of people don't realise that beyond factor 15/20 the extra benefits are increasingly marginal, especially in this country where it's not that common for the sun to be strong. Factor 15 blocks out 93% of UVB rays. Factor 30 = 97%, factor 50 = 98%. Sorry but there is absolutely no need to be using factor 30 or 50 in this country in the winter, the benefits of that are going to be so marginal, if anything at all! As previous posters have noted, in winter we spend relatively little time outdoors anyway!

I’m in my mid 40s and never put anything on my face except water. I use soap on the rest of me, and never use moisturiser.
I wear sunglasses a lot, and a hat if it’s sunny.
I only use sun cream on exposed arms and legs if it is very sunny, but prefer to lurk in the shade anyway in hot weather.
I do take a vitamin d tablet in winter.

I think my skin looks fine - looking old is about so much more than your skin anyway.

It was this photo that got me into wearing sunscreen on my face every day. It's apparently a lorry driver who spent his whole career with one side of his face exposed to the sun through his window. It could be bullshit but I thought what harm can it do to start slapping on a bit of sunscreen every morning!

That, and I now also use tretinoin, and it's recommended you use SPF with that anyway.

I avoid products with added sunscreen and only use it if it’s very hot and sunny. I’m of an age that I basted myself with olive oil to lie in the sun. It didn’t seem to do me any harm, but I get bored quickly lying in the sun so it wasn’t for long.
My skin isn’t bad for nearly 70. People think I’m ten or so years younger.

I drop to 30 in the winter as advised by my Dermatologist and because of the treatment I have for my skin. I also work outside all year round.