Yet again your work is so important, thank you so much. I feel like every week I want to throw a parade in your honour but perhaps that’s wandering into “weird territory”! All this is to say I just love everything you write, and with such heart. ❤️
This might be one of the loveliest comments I’ve ever received. I want to print it out and frame it. You keep wandering into weird territory 😂 Or at least keep reading anyway, THANK YOU!
So glad to hear of this, it's much needed. People's attitude to sun is baffling to me.
The effectiveness of shade, hats and clothing (in addition to SPF) is massively overlooked especially in day to day life rather than on holiday. I'm frequently one of only a few people wearing a hat out and about on days like we're due to have this weekend. It's so simple and means if you've missed a spot with your SPF you've got back up cover.
On sunscreens, Shiseido is really nice but expensive. The gel sticks by them and Hello Sunday (only SPF 30) are my emergency stand bys so useful when you have no time or need a top up.
I love a big hat - am rarely without one in the summer. Am increasingly seduced by sticks after what you and Alice d P said (although foolishly gave the small child my Caudalie one to take to school and I fear he’s lost it already 🙄)
This is brilliant, Claire – thank you so much for writing, all you have done and are doing on this. And oh my goodness re: that advertising (takes me back to late 80s sunscreen – or not – ads. Have we learned nothing? Gah!)
Loved this Claire, and massive congratulations on the report too. I too wear SPF50 every single day (interesting, like you, mostly out of vanity as my hyperpigmentation is so dreadful and horribly ageing - from years of rotisserie-chicken tanning that I deeply regret now - and I don't want it to get worse). I picked up a P20 all-day SPF50 (discounted with Nectar points at Sainsbury's!) and I was so surprised by how sophisticated, dewy and glowy the formula is now. I expected a rather dry and putty-like texture, but it's SO much better than previous iterations. I'm also a big fan of Clinique DDML SPF50, and, on colder/dryer days, I load up on La Roche Posay Cicaplast SPF50, which feels like delicious goose fat on my shrivelled skin. Any of these above that you don't rate / think are rubbish? I have to say one of the most successful 'holiday' SPFs for face I've ever used is the Clarins gel-stick in the orange twisty device. I use it on the kids too, and we scribble our faces with it; none of us has ever burnt or tanned with it, and once it's on the skin it absolutely stays put so it doesn't crawl into eyes and make them sting. Phenomenal stuff. I stock up every year and we're never without it - also excellent for drawing on arms/shoulders if you're caught in a restaurant terrace only halfway under a parasol! Christ on a bike I could talk about SPF for HOURS. Geeks unite!
I LOVE talking SPFs - I am really intrigued by P20 because I just can't get my head round the stability of UV filters for the length of time that they talk about — AND I know that "once a day" claims on sunscreens are banned in Australia but maybe I need to deep dive into it as I feel like their formulations have definitely evolved. We are huge Cicaplast fans in this house although I haven't tried the SPF 50 but I do know that Clarins one but haven't used it as extensively as you - I think I worried that as you don't know how much you're putting on, it wouldn't be enough but maybe I shall revisit...
Thanks for this article, from one of those outdoor workers you mention. I’m a Fitzpatrick I/II type who works in the plant area in a garden centre. My employers, despite me raising it every year, offer nothing in the way of sun protection, other than a bottle of factor 30 for us to use. I wear a hat, sunglasses and UV T-shirt under my uniform, but a lot of my colleagues don’t bother. I genuinely think it’s a class action waiting to happen!
Wow, the more I talk to people the more staggering I find it. In Germany (from memory) the sun is now considered an occupational hazard and I think outdoor workers who get skin cancer can claim on their company’s insurance. Glad you are keeping yourself safe
ps: do you have any strong feelings about bases such as the merit SPF 50 the uniform being adequate as sunscreen and coverage? I’d be curious to know – Bobbi used to do an excellent SPF tinted Extra balm back in the day which was a 50 and I wore non-stop – i’ve not tried the merit but I’m tempted for summer. 🤷♀️
I've written a bit about this in my Space Geekery newsletter (https://www.beautygeekery.com/p/space-geekery) - the tldr version is that I don't think you'll put on enough Merit to get the coverage that you ought to have, but what I tend to do is put on around half as much as I *should* of a normal SPF50 and then put the Merit on top and, between them, I reckon I probably get close to 2mg/cm2 which would give me the full protection.
Yet again your work is so important, thank you so much. I feel like every week I want to throw a parade in your honour but perhaps that’s wandering into “weird territory”! All this is to say I just love everything you write, and with such heart. ❤️
This might be one of the loveliest comments I’ve ever received. I want to print it out and frame it. You keep wandering into weird territory 😂 Or at least keep reading anyway, THANK YOU!
Oh, you’re very welcome Claire xx
Wowowow what a great, great piece of writing, and so incredibly fantastic that you wrote that report too. Sorry for the superlatives. Just v impressed
Never apologise for using superlatives to praise my writing, Grace. Never. (Thank you XXX)
So glad to hear of this, it's much needed. People's attitude to sun is baffling to me.
The effectiveness of shade, hats and clothing (in addition to SPF) is massively overlooked especially in day to day life rather than on holiday. I'm frequently one of only a few people wearing a hat out and about on days like we're due to have this weekend. It's so simple and means if you've missed a spot with your SPF you've got back up cover.
On sunscreens, Shiseido is really nice but expensive. The gel sticks by them and Hello Sunday (only SPF 30) are my emergency stand bys so useful when you have no time or need a top up.
I love a big hat - am rarely without one in the summer. Am increasingly seduced by sticks after what you and Alice d P said (although foolishly gave the small child my Caudalie one to take to school and I fear he’s lost it already 🙄)
Hard agree on both the Beauty of Joseon SPF and new Cerave one, both really good and matte
This is brilliant, Claire – thank you so much for writing, all you have done and are doing on this. And oh my goodness re: that advertising (takes me back to late 80s sunscreen – or not – ads. Have we learned nothing? Gah!)
Well quite, it's SO retro — and not in a good way
Loved this Claire, and massive congratulations on the report too. I too wear SPF50 every single day (interesting, like you, mostly out of vanity as my hyperpigmentation is so dreadful and horribly ageing - from years of rotisserie-chicken tanning that I deeply regret now - and I don't want it to get worse). I picked up a P20 all-day SPF50 (discounted with Nectar points at Sainsbury's!) and I was so surprised by how sophisticated, dewy and glowy the formula is now. I expected a rather dry and putty-like texture, but it's SO much better than previous iterations. I'm also a big fan of Clinique DDML SPF50, and, on colder/dryer days, I load up on La Roche Posay Cicaplast SPF50, which feels like delicious goose fat on my shrivelled skin. Any of these above that you don't rate / think are rubbish? I have to say one of the most successful 'holiday' SPFs for face I've ever used is the Clarins gel-stick in the orange twisty device. I use it on the kids too, and we scribble our faces with it; none of us has ever burnt or tanned with it, and once it's on the skin it absolutely stays put so it doesn't crawl into eyes and make them sting. Phenomenal stuff. I stock up every year and we're never without it - also excellent for drawing on arms/shoulders if you're caught in a restaurant terrace only halfway under a parasol! Christ on a bike I could talk about SPF for HOURS. Geeks unite!
I LOVE talking SPFs - I am really intrigued by P20 because I just can't get my head round the stability of UV filters for the length of time that they talk about — AND I know that "once a day" claims on sunscreens are banned in Australia but maybe I need to deep dive into it as I feel like their formulations have definitely evolved. We are huge Cicaplast fans in this house although I haven't tried the SPF 50 but I do know that Clarins one but haven't used it as extensively as you - I think I worried that as you don't know how much you're putting on, it wouldn't be enough but maybe I shall revisit...
Thanks for this article, from one of those outdoor workers you mention. I’m a Fitzpatrick I/II type who works in the plant area in a garden centre. My employers, despite me raising it every year, offer nothing in the way of sun protection, other than a bottle of factor 30 for us to use. I wear a hat, sunglasses and UV T-shirt under my uniform, but a lot of my colleagues don’t bother. I genuinely think it’s a class action waiting to happen!
Wow, the more I talk to people the more staggering I find it. In Germany (from memory) the sun is now considered an occupational hazard and I think outdoor workers who get skin cancer can claim on their company’s insurance. Glad you are keeping yourself safe
Thank you! So important.
Such vital work thank you for this. With three skin cancers on my face so far, despite always wearing spf, I am a slatherer all the way.
So interesting! Thank you for your work!
ps: do you have any strong feelings about bases such as the merit SPF 50 the uniform being adequate as sunscreen and coverage? I’d be curious to know – Bobbi used to do an excellent SPF tinted Extra balm back in the day which was a 50 and I wore non-stop – i’ve not tried the merit but I’m tempted for summer. 🤷♀️
I've written a bit about this in my Space Geekery newsletter (https://www.beautygeekery.com/p/space-geekery) - the tldr version is that I don't think you'll put on enough Merit to get the coverage that you ought to have, but what I tend to do is put on around half as much as I *should* of a normal SPF50 and then put the Merit on top and, between them, I reckon I probably get close to 2mg/cm2 which would give me the full protection.
Oh, this is gold, thank you so much, Claire.