Apply sun cream to your neck, and thank yourself later!

Skincare

IMPORTANCE OF SUN CREAM

As one of the most effective layers to protect against those harmful UV rays, sun cream should be a no-brainer in our daily routine, as UV rays cause harmful sunburn and skin damage.

I’m sure we can all think back to that one holiday where we underestimated the intensity of the sun and had to spend the rest of the holiday in agony with blisters from the sunburns!

Maybe the word daily has confused you, as you might ask why do i need to apply sun cream if i live in a typically cold and cloudy country? This is because up to 80% of the sun’s rays are infiltrated through heavy clouds. Even if you work indoors, the 20 minutes you travel to work in the car, are 20 minutes a day that you are exposed to UV rays.

This was specifically seen in this 69 year old man who worked 28 years as a lorry driver, whose route consisted of the sun’s UV rays hitting only his left side of the face through the lorry window. The difference seen here is incredible!

Sun cream also is a defence against signs of ageing; it fights and protects against wrinkles, sun spots, pigmentation, sun damage and fine lines.

‘Studies reveal that people below the age of 55 who used sunscreen had 24% lesser chances of developing these ageing signs than non-sunscreen and occasional sunscreen users, Rao.’

By using this cream daily it will enhance our natural glow and health of our skin, by ensuring the skin’s keratin, elastin and collagen are not damaged nor burnt. If collagen is broken down, wrinkles begin to take form as the elasticity, once able to repair itself, has now been broken.

WHY SHOULD SUN CREAM BE APPLIED TO OUR NECK?

When you use the word skincare do you include your neck within this description, or do you limit it only to your face? An interesting point that many of us neglect. In fact, we should focus a great part of our skincare routine onto our neck, considering our neck has thinner skin than that of our face; greater care should be taken here.

(The recommendation for face and skin sun cream appliance is roughly half a teaspoon, meaning it can be a quick step in your morning skin care routine).

Aging must be stressed and noted as a natural, beautiful process, that to a certain extent is beyond our control. However, ‘a study involving 298 white women aged 30–75 years concluded that exposure to the sun may cause around 80% of visible skin ageing,’ Jones. Therefore, the application of sun cream to your neck is critical in trying to reduce the visible ageing process, to not only your face but beyond to other areas which are seen on a daily basis.

As loud as the facts and figures speak, below is a case of a 92 year old woman, who for the last forty years had applied sun cream only to her face…..

Here, we can see the beautiful youthful skin texture on the lady’s face, which has been well protected by the sun’s UV rays. When looking at her neck, we can see how it has been neglected and simply not loved within her sun cream application.

If the facts and figures hadn’t convinced you enough, I strongly believe this picture will convince you to apply sun cream all the way to your neck.

AVAILABLE SPF’S ON THE MARKET

• CeraVe Hydrating Sheer Sunscreen SPF 30 for Face and Body
• Olay Complete Daily Defense Daily Moisturizer With Sunscreen SPF 30
• Neutrogena Healthy Defense Daily Moisturizer SPF 50
• La Roche-Posay Toleriane Double Repair Face Moisturizer UV SPF 30
• Supergoop! Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40

Important: when buying a suncream for your face and neck a SPF 30 or 50 is highly recommended. With a SPF 30, 97% of UV rays will be prevented from reaching your skin and with an SPF 50 this number increases to 98%, Didonato.

To conclude:

Maybe you can relate to the 56% of Americans who claim to have used sun cream twice in the past year, as a study in 2023 showed us, or the 35% of American who claimed to NEVER have used sun cream, or maybe you are a religious sun cream user (well done!).

Regardless of where you sit in these categories, the facts remain the same:

Daily use of sun cream can reduce skin cancer risks by 40%!

So by preventing premature ageing, wrinkles and fine lines on your neck, you are most importantly reducing your chances of skin cancer by a staggering percentage, The Derm Review.

References

Rao, 2024 11 Reasons Sunscreen Is Important For The Skin & How To Use It (stylecraze.com)

Jones, 2023 Sunlight and aging: Signs, pictures, and treatments (medicalnewstoday.com)

56% of Americans Rarely or Never Use Sunscreen (thedermreview.com)

Didonato,2023, 11 Tips for Choosing a Sunscreen, Directly From Dermatologists (byrdie.com)