Do you guys really use sunscreen everyday?

Only for the last 35 years. Thankful for it every time I see a leathery version of me who didn't.

I am a 51 year old male and I have never worn sunscreen in my life. I have also never wiped down a cart at the supermarket with an antibacterial towelette. I have never bought a bottle of water. I have never posted on twitter and I have never and I mean NEVER cut a hamburger in half before eating it.

okinoko wrote:

Everywhere says you need to. Even on cloudy, rainy days. I just feel like most people I know don't actually do it.

absolutely. I use a moisturizer/spf 15 broad spectrum - fyi, spf 115, doesn't mean much, if it's not broadband spectrum. spf typically covers uvb, but not uva. My moisturizer has 4% Avobenzone, ( covers wavelengths: 310-400 nm, which covers all of UVA), and then when I want to go outside, particularly on a sunny day, i take hats/glasses sometimes, if i'm going to be out directly in the sun, umbrellas even, and grab my MyChelle spf 28 (~12% zinc oxide) (http://www.lovelyskin.com/o/mychelle-sun-shield-unscented-spf-28?ref=gbase&gclid=CMmWhLDS780CFRNahgodwloN4w) I can get it for $12 at the Whole Foods. The difference between spf 30-and 110, is only a few percent on the spf scale, for instance spf 30 covers 97 percent of uvb radiation, so 110, covers 99% of uvb - which is the radiation that gives you sun burns. UVA is important for sun damage though, so I grab mine with 12% Zinc Oxide, and reapply every 80 minutes. It's important to find one that isn't chalky, and blends in nicely, so you don't get white face - which looks real bad. I found Coppertone did that for me :/

I'm a guy, 25, btw, who's skin has declined, and in the process of making it pretty via needling/vita c/copper peptides/peels.

uva protection is very important, and ESPECIALLY, on cloudy days. Clouds only block 40% of uvb, that means, you are essentially ONLY using a spf 1.7 to protect your face from skin damage/sun burns. YIKES!

If you're lazy, just grab a moisturizer with spf 15 broadband spectrum, and use it after showers. If i don't face moisturize, my face gets super dry anyways.

tl;dr spf doesn't do shit to block uva, which is what causes deep skin damage, zinc oxide sits on your face as a mineral (unrelated to optics of suncreen via chalky face), make sure you have broadband spectrum, and most importantly, cloudy days = spf 1.7'ish, which is shit. People have bad skin, look at their faces, now think about how you want to look when you're older - also chemical peels are great and inexpensive. jessner/tca/vi/vita a/retinol are all great. tca is awesome with other chemicals as well, like jessner

ok. thanks for the info.

Just out of curiosity have you been using it daily your entire life or just recently?

Since the 1970's, the skin cancer rate in the US has tripled and the melanoma rate has roughly doubled. In Sweden, when sunscreens were introduced, the skin cancer rate also went UP.

As noted above, high SPF sunscreens do little to block UVA, but the blocking of UVB gives a false sense of security, and because people can stay out in the sun or at the beach all day, they are acquiring a LOT more total UV (UVB + UVA) than they would without the sunscreen, and I believe this is why skin cancer rates are going up, despite "scientific" studies saying that sunscreens cause cancer and melanoma rates to go down.

My view is that if you go out in the sun long enough to get a sunburn, you are out there too long, and the solution is NOT to pile pharmaceuticals on your skin to allow you to increase UV exposure even further. As an adult, I do not wear sunscreens at all except when going to altitude.

Just out of curiosity have you been using it daily your entire life or just recently?

I'm 25, and just found out what i've been doing to my skin. All my sisters, other females I know, use spf, and take care of their skin, hence the iconic picture of the beauty with the pink umbrella, strolling in the park. Women all know these secrets, because they want to have nice skin, but nobody tells the guys because it's not for them - which is retarded. As a guy, I want nice skin as well. I've only been tending to my skin via sunscreen for ~2 or so years, and i've grown my skincare regime like you would learn to play basketball. My understanding has grown, so naturally some things I'm doing have been flipped upside down. no sugar in the morning until you get some solids to dilute. help stop free radicals with massages/vitamin c/good tea/120 ounces of water a day...etc

If this picture of sunscreen user vs nonsunscreen user, doesn't give you a kick, I don't know what will.

Females are ahead in beauty by a million miles, and they don't share any knowledge with men.

My view is that if you go out in the sun long enough to get a sunburn, you are out there too long, and the solution is NOT to pile pharmaceuticals on your skin to allow you to increase UV exposure even further. As an adult, I do not wear sunscreens at all except when going to altitude.

Grab a sunscreen with Zinc Oxide, and at least 15-30 spf, and boom you are good to go. Even with that, get an umbrella at the beach, wear hats/glasses, and reapply every 80mins, or 40mins if sweat/swimming (even if 'water resistant' Zinc Oxide is magic vs uva waves. Just look for sunscreens that say broadband spectrum. If you want to take good care of your skin, it starts there.

fitnessisametalstate wrote:

Just out of curiosity have you been using it daily your entire life or just recently?

Females are ahead in beauty by a million miles, and they don't share any knowledge with men.

Yeah dude for real. Everyone says my female friends look like they are in their teens when they are really mid to late twenties.

coach d wrote:

My view is that if you go out in the sun long enough to get a sunburn, you are out there too long, and the solution is NOT to pile pharmaceuticals on your skin to allow you to increase UV exposure even further. As an adult, I do not wear sunscreens at all except when going to altitude.

How does your skin look tho?

I think the main concern with not using sunscreens is not that you'll get burned/skin cancer but because it prematurely ages your skin.

okinoko wrote:

fitnessisametalstate wrote:

Females are ahead in beauty by a million miles, and they don't share any knowledge with men.

Yeah dude for real. Everyone says my female friends look like they are in their teens when they are really mid to late twenties.

The good news is, if you can save up anywhere from $500-3k, you can get 'actor' skin with a good doctor. Needling/chemical peels/subcision/vita c/retin-a creams. I go cheap, but make it work. bought my own needling machine for $200, while they do it at spa's for 150-350 a session (6-12 sessions). Brad Pitt does needling as well. You prick the skin, and it tricks the face into thinking it needs to heal the face. If you get a good vitamin c serum, make sure the ph is good, and it's l-ascorbic, and it's kept in the dark/or refrigerated (split into two bottles is best case, as the serum can oxidate, and go bad - it goes bad when it looks dark yellow/brownish) - well i'm going on now, but i've got 2 years of research i'm spitting out quickly. Why be good at basketball, when you can be happy with glowing skin :)

especially as runners, we are out in the sun, on the track...etc luckily most runners have good skin because they sweat out the bad stuff. go look at letsrundotcom youtube channel, and find a runner male or female with bad skin! won't happen.

dang sounds like you are really knowledgeable about skincare.

Do all those runners really know to use sunscreen everyday or does all the sweat make that much of a difference for their skin?

Do all those runners really know to use sunscreen everyday or does all the sweat make that much of a difference for their skin?

genetics plays a part too, and what region of the world/US you live in. Some people eat healthy, and that helps kill the free radicals, with their good diets and exercise. uva radiation damage does also take time. There's no simple answer to who will have good skin in 5-20 years, it's kind of like how long will you live. With runners it's interesting. I think many runners hit their runs, and then try to relax/do errands, feel less of a need to be trail walking all day, plus they don't look great at the beaches with their skinny bodies, heh. Sweating out the toxins makes a massive difference though. I didn't exercise for a 3-4 weeks due to injuries, and then ran around past few days, and noticed my skin looks immaculate. I didn't mean to imply runners use sunscreen, rather skin care is a spectrum of things including diet/water/sweating/cleansers/toners/exfoliating...etc (moisturizers).

Don't underestimate exercise as a skin cleansing tool, but nor should you let the sun destroy your skin with free radicals and hurting your collagen/elasticity.

Pro runners typically have good skin because: they drink plenty of water, their diets should be better than average at least, if not great, and they sweat everything out. Female runners probably use sunscreen as well, so they might even go up a tier. Here's a great depiction, of the difference you could see in 25-30 years.

okinoko wrote:

Everywhere says you need to. Even on cloudy, rainy days. I just feel like most people I know don't actually do it.

Nope, everyone in LRC wears sunscreen every single day. Because being outside without sunscreeen can be very dangerous for white people like us here.

Use common sense and run close to sunset if possible.

fitnessisametalstate wrote:

[quote]

Don't underestimate exercise as a skin cleansing tool, but nor should you let the sun destroy your skin with free radicals and hurting your collagen/elasticity.

Yeah that makes sense. I have fairly dark skin so I neglected sunscreen a lot thinking [incorrectly] that I don't need it as much. I mean I never sun bathe or anything but I also didn't use sunscreen everyday when it is cloudy and such.

What would you say is the best thing to do to recover from all the damage that might have already been done to my skin?

okinoko wrote:

What would you say is the best thing to do to recover from all the damage that might have already been done to my skin?

I'm pushing 70 and my skin looks fine. Here's what I do.

I wear a cap when I run. I started wearing a cap in 1992 when a running friend got a nasty skin cancer on his forehead. I run in the early morning or on trails with lots of shade. I don't use sunscreen, except when I go to track meets where I have to be outside for several hours. I don't stay out in the sun for hours at a time without a shirt and cap. The only exception is cycling, but just my forearms and lower legs are exposed.

I also take vitamins and mineral supplements every day... maybe they help with skin damage. I don't know.

I'm sure that some of the women on this board can give you advice on what sort of oils/creams to use on your skin. When my hands get dry in winter, I use a hand lotion called Triple Lanolin Original Formula by King Research. My wife has shelves of lotions and she says this is one of the best.

I'm doing just fine........ wrote:

I am a 51 year old male and I have never worn sunscreen in my life. I have also never wiped down a cart at the supermarket with an antibacterial towelette. I have never bought a bottle of water. I have never posted on twitter and I have never and I mean NEVER cut a hamburger in half before eating it.

but you play pokemon go, right?

also

throwback to the 90s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTJ7AzBIJoI

I like how people will slather themselves with chemicals from a factory and call it healthy.

I've never sat in the sun for a tan.

I've never worn sunscreen in my life, except when on an expedition.

When I die of skin cancer, I'll come back to this thread and deliver an admission of guilt and how you guys were all correct the whole time.