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?

The reason it's best to use SPF50 is because hardly anyone applies enough to get that level of protection. So at least you're getting maybe SPF25, say.

Anyway, there's no downside to using a higher SPF so why not?

It did become a bit ridiculous there for a while though, like competitive SPF application along beauty bloggers to see who was using the 'correct' amount, some women were just bright white from where they had put so much on!

@KweenieBeanz
The point of a factor 50 is that it's much harder to produce with an elegant texture so far more effort is put into it.
Factor 30 is often poorly created, thick, sticky and you only need to read the comments in this thread to see people don't like using it.
Once you get into F50 territory the texture and finish is going to be a lot better.

I was my face with soap and water, sometimes even sleep in makeup. I dont apply sunscreen everyday only on days when I know I'm going to be out all day in the sun as in heatwave conditions.

To be fair my foundation includes app but well I doubt its as good as using sunscreen itself.

I only use niven face cream nothing else special.

I'm 40 and not one single wrinkle or line.

My nan is 90, soap and water and whatever moisture she has not even a face one. Only has minor wrinkles on her forehead otherwise rest of her face looks amazing.

I notice my skin is much better when I'm hydrated and not eating crap food.

So I dont know why but ill just stick to what I'm doing for now

I've found the opposite - factor 50 was horribly thick greasy paste!
Is it really worth spending huge amounts for that extra 4% of blockage? Factor 15 is generally much less greasy and still blocks out 93% - do you honestly feel in January in the UK that's not enough? Sorry but I think this is just another health anxiety people have dreamed up for themselves 😆

I was certainly using "medium" sun protecttion SPF 6 as a child in the late 80s. DM used SPF 2 or 4 on herself. I've gradually worked up the SPF ratings and was using 20 in the early 2000s and tend to use 30 these days. If I'm going for a long run, I'll use a roll on 50 on specific points like shoulders and cheek bones that catch the sun more.

I use hats a lot and if I'm out for a prolonged period will often cover up with a light layer rather than relying on suncream. On today's swim I wore a rash vest. I then put the sun cream on for the drive home as the windows were open. My face was mainly down within the water so not worth the film of oil creeping off my skin. I generally try to avoid the most direct heat/ UV of the day.

My skin is sensitive and is happiest to be left alone/ treated minimally. I only wear moisturiser when needed. My suncream season is between the equinoxes, and cool breezy days of late spring are highest risk for burning as the strength of the sun is masked by cooler air. Sun cream always seems to inevitably creep into my mouth and eyes, so it's not appealing to use year round when the benefits are abstract. I'd rather know I use it well (generous, repeated application) when I do than think I use it constantly but with poor, ineffective application.

I’m mid fifties and started using sunscreen in my 20’s. I had a third degree sunburn on my nose, that was with a moisturiser with SPF 20 sunscreen. Saw my GP and was advised to use sunblock separately from moisturiser. Siblings laughed at me, DM told me it was rubbish because no one used when she was growing up, and DF told me just keep out of the sun as they only sold sunblock to make money.

How he expected me to get to the tube station with out being exposed to sunlight was a mystery

Started using SPF 50. I now have recurring solar keratosis. I now can’t expose my skin to sunlight, have to wear a hat, long sleeves etc and take Vit D daily.

I’m using Laroche Posay, can’t remember the actual name but it has 400 in the name. Non greasy and not visible once it’s dried/settled onto skin.

Sorry but I think this is just another health anxiety people have dreamed up for themselves 😆

Well after a family member having two cases of skin cancer, I'll listen to what the dermatologist recommends. They know more about the skin 🤷🏻‍♀️

Also, I burn with SPF 30. Can’t count the times I’ve been told that anything over 30 is pointless etc, but no one could explain why I burn with SPF 30 and not burn with SPF 50z

I think schools have become a lot better at normalising it - DS knows he has to wear sunscreen in summer term now and they are always being shooed into the shade at lunchtime or told to put a hat on, whereas I remember being forced to sit in full sun all day on things like Sports Day, and getting hideously burned every single year (there was always at least one kid sent to A&E with sunstroke but they never ever let us sit in the shade or wear suncream or hats).

So I think it has grown out of that? DS wears 8hr factor 50 on his face, neck, arms and legs. I tend to put factor 15 on my face year round, but then I am inside from 9-5 so not really out in high UV - I do wear full factor 50 on my days off in summer, but I am a ginger and burn as soon as the sun comes out.

I suppose the thing is any protection is better than no protection, so if factor 15 is something you will use on a regular basis then it's better than a factor 50 that you hate using and don't bother with. I see it as a 'do my best but not going to stress too much over it'.
I wear factor 50 because I have found one I like that goes well under makeup. After that I don't stress too much about it.

Winter suncream, whatever for!

I now wear spf 50 all year round. Have done for a few years. I'm early 40s but wish I'd started in my 20s

My husband is the same, he is very very pale and burns very easily, April to late September he needs factor 50 on each day.

Mine definitely isn't a health anxiety and my factor 50 spf isnt a thick greasy paste either my winter factor 30 isn't thick or greasy either.

I'm not sure it is mainstream, I'm in my 20s and use daily factor suncream after a skin cancer scare and under the doctors advice. Most people who know that I use it daily think I'm insane (they don't know about the cancer scare admittedly). I'm a pale redhead who's never used sunbeds and generally took care with suncream on hot days before so I thought I was fairly low risk. I think it's a good thing if it is becoming more common though.

To protect against UVA rays that are present all year round and cause premature skin ageing.

I use a moisturiser with SPF even in winter. I do worry about vitamin D deficiency.

Have you ever been skiing? You would very much regret not wearing suncream.

I wear 50 every day on my face now, as use retinol. Pre that, I have always been fairly careful about suncream on hot days and holiday etc, as my mum worried about skin cancer and I had a teacher at college who'd lost a chunk of her calf to skin cancer.

My daily moisturiser has it in and that goes on my face otherwise I don't use suncream unless I'm going to be in a situation where I'd likely burn. I do keep reasonably covered up though to avoid burns. I do think we need a certain amount of sun exposure to produce vitamin D as we are outside much less these days. I wouldn't even think of it in winter.

I don't understand how it could be considered hassle/bother by anyone - does everyone not moisturise daily? Even a moisturiser with SPF 15 is some protection, and even a lot of the cheapest ones have that.

This. I apply moisturiser with SPF 30 every day, and even in the height of summer my face doesn't get burned - and I live in a country where the sun damage danger is much higher than in the UK. It's so simple to do, why wouldn't you?

No, "everyone" does not use moisturiser daily.

I take a vitamin d supplement, but you can also get it from your diet. Most cereals and milk these days are fortified with vitamin d.

I don't find it a hassle to have a daily skincare routine, including applying sunscreen - I just see it as part of my self care - a few minutes in the morning, and a few minutes in the evening. The same way I brush my teeth, have a shower etc.

Quite. I've used moisturiser maybe 20 times my whole life. Have no interest in it.