Best everyday sunscreen for the face?

[Jjcrackers]

Having recently found out from you lovely S&B ladies that the one of the best things that you have done for your skin is used sunscreen every day, I need to add it to my beauty regime.

I have had brief flirtations with facial sunscreen products but either found them too chalky (Chanel factor 50) or too oily (Elizabeth Arden).

Please share your favourites

[Tindertree]

I use it instead of moisturiser too, and plenty of it. Maybe a bit of serum underneath sometimes, if my skin is feeling dry, which is rare.

I'm pretty hands off with skincare these days - I use a gentle foam cleanser by L'Occitane and remove it with a flannel, occasional exfoliation, and a moisturiser at night only. I'm spending less on products than ever, and my skin is better than it's ever been.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I read an article saying sunscreen should go on bare skin so it can bind to the skin.

[70isaLimitNotaTarget]

Last year I used Ultrasun 30 in UK and 50 on holiday instead of moisturiser for day (normal night moisturiser)

Not greasy or chalky at all.

[Bella88]

Moisturiser first.

[Jjcrackers]

Can I ask, do you put sunscreen before or after moisturiser?

[ColdWinterMorning]

I started using a Boots No 7 facial protector cream last summer, spf 30, that says it's ok under make up, and olay with spf15 the rest of the time.

[Tindertree]

And often on offer.

[Lottapianos]

La Roche Posay is in Boots. The Anthelios cream is about 16 quid

[madammecholet]

I use clinique city block. Tis amazing stuff, makes a great primer..

[Missbopeep]

Dont take my word for it- dermos have advised not me.

It's how you look at 50 + that's a reflection of how you have cared for your skin- not 39.

[ArielThePiraticalMermaid]

I work outside. Sometimes I spend ten hours on the water in the height of summer. A few applications of factor 15 per day in the spring and summer gives me a great complexion. There are a smile lines around my eyes on one side of the mouth but I'm not bothered. Par for the course as you approach forty.

I do not look like a prune that's for sure.

[Missbopeep]

Re Vit D- it's dead easy to pop a Vit D supplement or two.
The idea with Vit D is that is is stored in the liver ( and not used up /excess excreted immediately like Vit C etc) so what you get in summer - 15 mins a day on arms or legs-should last all year round.
You can still be healthy and not have face like a prune.

[Missbopeep]

where does one buy this Roche Posay stuff then? it's not in John Lewis.

[WifeofPie]

Lotta re: the LRP spray. I moisturize first and then spray it on my hands and rub it all over my face. It sinks in right away and then I put make-up on top of that. It would be too liquid-y to spray on top of makeup, iyswim.

[Delatron]

I very much rate La Roche Posay, factor 50 as it has no parabens in it. I use Claudalie or Jurlique moisturiser in the winter which are factor 8 and 15 respectively. Sun creams contain lots of chemicals and I would be wary of putting these on my face throughout the winter when the sun is less of a problem.

It is a very interesting debate; the need for sufficient vitamin D versus not becoming wrinkly/getting skin cancer. Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in the Uk and is becoming a huge problem. I now make sure I spend 20 mins in the sun with arms, hands legs etc out in the summer! Hand and face are not enough and suncreams block the absorption of vitamin D.

With regards to skin cancer, rates are increasing despite suncreams usage going up. I firmly believe slathering chemicals all over yourself then thinking you are safe to lie in the sun all day is a factor. Getting a bit of sun for vitamin D and then seeking shade is the safest thing to do. Ironically Vitamin D deficiency is linked to cancer.

[Tindertree]

When I wear the factor fifty all year round (even inside), my pigmentation doesn't come up. When I used 25 or 40 in other brands, it did.

So after several years of testing (and wearing a hat when possible), I'm sticking to 50. Anecdotally, my skin is noticeably less lined than friends my age. Although of course this could be down to other factors.

[lurkingaround]

Maybe so Ariel. But there is quite an increase in skin cancers, both aggressive and not so aggressive, (and farmers have always been at risk for skin cancers) so while we are not 100% sure using SPF reduces this figure, at the moment it's what we think works, so I suppose you makes your choices and you takes your chances.
I know what I do.

[ArielThePiraticalMermaid]

That's exactly what I mean. Anti ageing is "just" vanity really isn't it? That's why I wondered about people like farm workers. Need for health reasons isn't the same as wanting for anti ageing reasons! Not trying to pick a fight - I'm just musing.

Factor 50 in the middle of a British winter when the snow is so low and weak - when it's out at all - and people hardly go outside seems excessive to me. Between March and October, yes.

[lurkingaround]

Yes, even in the UK we need factor 50, certainly for anti-ageing effect.

[ComradeJing]

Thanks Jemima! I'll have a look.

[ArielThePiraticalMermaid]

What about here in the UK with weaker sun?

[JemimaPuddle]

comrade the Alpha H SPF 50 which I use is an Australian brand so you should be able to get it fairly easily

[ComradeJing]

Ooh watching with interest.

I use the La mer SPF cream that Salli Hughes recommended in a column some time ago. Not too much for my combi skin, works well under make up and isn't greasy.

I'm looking for something with a higher SPF though now were in Sydney and trying to learn to keep a hat on when I'm out.

[AdoraBell]

I use Clinique SPF 50 (no, that's not a typo I really do need factor fifty in summer) it's labeled Solar Smart and protects against UVA and UVB. I recently changed from Lancôme when they changed to just UVA and I burnt with their SPF 50. I'm in Chile with twice the radiation levels that UK gets. I use SPF 30 for winter months. DDs are using the LaRoche pediatric one, again SPF 50 ( they are 11)

For body we use Hawaian Tropic, SPF 50 or 45