If you try one product, make it this clever SPF fluid that treats sun spots and stops new ones in their tracks
Why choose between prevention and cure? This hardworking £25 buy does it all
I was reading about the differences between Asian and British skincare routines recently, and something really struck a chord.
An in-house scientist with a big Japanese skincare brand explained the reason Japanese women are generally on their A-game with the best facial sunscreen, is because the Eastern market focuses on prevention above all else, whereas here, treatment and correction are king.
That tracks. I can't count the number of times I've been asked what the best neck cream or pigmentation treatment is and been met with a disappointed sigh when I say it's good old SPF. I get it - prevention may be better than cure, but it definitely isn't as exciting. So, what if I had a product for you that offers a bit of both?
Why this pigmentation-busting SPF is my beauty buy of the week
If the beauty editor's first commandment, thou shalt wear sunscreen every day brings out some contrary determination to ignore what's good for you, that's ok. I get bored with us lot banging on about it, too.
That's why it's such a gift when a brand brings out a product that takes care of the prevention side of things (it truly is more important) but also tackles things that have already occurred, which realistically, is a more compelling motivator.
And here is a buy, ringing in sub £25 (on most sites, anyway) that ticks so many boxes. The sun protection one of course - with very high factor UVB and UVA screens in a light fluid feel - but also the tackling sun spots one, with Hexylresorcinol, a skin-brightening non-prescription alternative to hydroquinone. There's also barrier supporting ectoin, because a strong barrier = better natural defences from all sorts of things, age spots very much included. Slip this on after your daily moisturiser and before makeup and I promise it'll feel like nothing, while grafting hard on your skin tone's behalf.
A mini lesson in pigmentation: It's caused by cells called melanocytes, that, egged on by UV rays, overproduce melanin pigment to try and 'protect' your skin. This becomes little brown or grey spots that can live in the top or deeper layers of the skin and get darker with additional UV exposure.
Once it's there, your best bet for deep pigmentation is to zap it away with lasers and IPL. If it's superficial, you can use skincare: antioxidants to inhibit melanin-producing enzymes, acids to push pigmented cells off the surface and sunscreen to get ahead of things and suppress the pigment from darkening when the sun's out.
And the sun has indeed been out, so perhaps all of us could benefit from getting a bit more Eastern in our approach - with products like this, you don't need to choose between prevention and cure anyway. Sounds good? Great! Let's chat next Sunday.
