For a long time I used to jealousy all those girls that look like mammy water. You know the girls I'm talking about. The ones wey their face fresh die as if no be the same sky we dey walk under. All that jealousy was before my eye start to tear small small. Now I know the secret. Na pancake! Don't be deceived, if you too read enough Vogues and Maire Claires you'll walk out of your house everyday looking like a she-god from outer space. Yes I know some of you will argue that some women are naturally born like that, well I can tell you that only very few are like that and for them I will continuously turn into a green monster. However for the rest of the mammy water looking female population, I know your secret - make up! But sha, I recently discovered another secret that black folks are not really into - SUNSCREEN. Yes I repeat, SUNSCREEN. No, don't look at your rich mocha skin and declare me crazy. You have to admit that your face does not look fresh like the lady that stays at home all day and doesn't have to run a million errands cause there's' someone to do them for her. Though we may not be naturally prone to sun burn, over time, daily sun exposure begins to take its toll on our beautiful faces and one clear evidence of this is: Dullness. So, to protect your skin against dullness and what not, a good place to start is sunscreen {well, you can add drinking lots of water too}.
1. The traditional method i.e. sunscreen lotion/cream-The darker you are the lighter SPF levels you can use. However, try not to go below 15 and for my light skin sisters try not to go above 50. I hear those are the safe limits. Don't worry about oil on your skin cause of the extra product, a lot companies make the sunscreen come in a matte formula like the Clinique one in the pic. I think that's a good product and its also good for sensitive skins too. If you're acne prone you can try something from a brand like Neutrogena that specializes in acne issues. Try: Clinique City Block Sheer Oil-Free Daily Face Protector Broad Spectrum SPF 25 or Neutrogena Ultra Sheer dry-touch sunscreen in SPF 30 or 45.
2. Face primer-If you can't leave your house without your primer on, this is an opportunity to sun protect. A growing number of established beauty brands now make face primers with sunscreen. All you Mac cosmetics lovers will be glad to know that they have a primer that comes with SPF 50 called Prep + Prime face protect.
3.Your foundation-Many of our favourite beauty brands are now making foundation that come with some sun protection usually in SPF 15 but can go up to 30. Mac, Iman, Bobbi Brown, for example.
4. Face powder-If you don't clog your pores up with foundation everyday and are more of just a powder person, your choices here are quite limited. The powders with SPF are rare. You'll have to shop around a bit to find what you're looking for. You might be lucky to find your shade from Bobbi Brown's Skin foundation mineral makeup SPF 15 (try finding that in Nigeria!).
If you step out of your house each day, trust me you need sun protection. Between dashing in and out of your office, getting stuck in traffic and what not, you're bound to get at least 30mins worth of UV rays on your pretty face. So don't punish your skin. There's so much to choose from, go get some sun protection and keep looking fresh till you're 80!
*Image taken from: http://www.marcydolapooni.com/bio.html
Thanks for the advice Coco. Very helpful. A friend of mine has been forcing me to buy sunscreen and I'd be yabbing her for being pretensious. Lol. Will go get my SPF 30 ASAP - Sweet Pea
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