Sunscreen – What I Use After Melanoma

In the comments of my rainy post, Ms. Mississippi Meow and I had an exchange about sunscreen. It made me think that others might have some questions on what sunscreen I use and my daily regime.

First of all, let me tell you that once I received my melanoma diagnosis, I went out and bought all of those high SPF sunscreens, thinking that my previous usage of SPF30 wasn’t good enough. I fell for a marketing ploy, basically. According to pretty much every expert in the field, SPF30 is appropriate for most people in daily usage. The higher SPF sunscreens may, in fact, not be as advertised; the ingredients may be actually harmful; or may fool people into thinking that they can spend much more time in the sun. The EWG has an interesting article explaining why higher SPF sunscreens are not all they claim, if you’re interested in more details.

So, after having a discussion with my dermatologist, she explained that SPF30 is appropriate for someone who’s had melanoma excised. The key, and I think every dermatologist will tell you, is to reapply often. And that’s something that I know most of us fail to do. We think, one and done, we’re good until we see our flesh getting burned. And that’s not the way to safely use sunscreen.

In the morning, I get out of the shower and put on all these serums and creams to my face to at least slow down the aging process. And then because of my psoriasis, I use a body lotion with lactic acid, which is great for exfoliating off the plaques I develop, but not so great in that is does make your skin more sensitive to the sun. I have to ensure that any flesh gets a good dollop of SPF after my lotion is absorbed. Yes, it takes extra time in the morning, but I am really not looking to get a matching scar somewhere else on my body.

You may be using a facial exfoliator with retinol (in the evenings, of course). You may read those warnings that usage may make your skin more susceptible to the sun. Take them seriously. You all, regardless of vanity, should be using sunscreen on your face as well. After all of my other potions have absorbed, I put on the final layer – facial sunscreen. Well, I should say layers because I put on CeraVe facial moisturizer with SPF30 and then I add a tinted BB cream with SPF30 over the top of it, almost like a foundation. And then I put my makeup on. I am aware that the 30+30 doesn’t equal 60… I use both because one is a moisturizer for sensitive skin and the other helps even out my skin tone.

If I’m going to be out and about, I actually carry sunscreen with me now in my bag. I have a small sunblock facial stick to reapply to my face; and if I am fully made up and don’t want to completely jack up my makeup, I have started carrying the Supergoop Setting Spray with SPF. (If anything, it does refresh me when it gets crazy sticky hot.) And I do carry a small tube of body sunscreen with me as well.

Speaking of which, I don’t buy super expensive sunscreen, either for my face or body. I look for ingredients in the sunscreen instead. For someone like me with skin sensitivities, I look for titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, which are actually used in a lot of babies and children’s formulations. Yes, they can sometimes make you look a little chalky, but the newer ones seem to have gotten better at absorbing into your skin. There’s a facial SPF that my dermatologist’s office sells, Elta MD, that is primarily zinc oxide that doesn’t make you look ghostly and comes in a tinted formulation as well – but it is expensive, even buying it online. So, I try to find other options that have zinc oxide as the primary ingredient for both my body and face.

And of course, the most important thing I do is try to stay out of the sun when the UV index is the highest, generally between 11am – 3pm, which is when I’m usually in the office anyway. I find as much shade as I can, and I started investing in cute hats. I also bought a rash guard for extra protection if I’m going to be in the water. And I set a timer to reapply my sunscreen when I’m going to be outside for long stretches at a time. At least the iPhone apps are good for something!

Let me know if you have discovered a great sunblock ingredient or a novel way to protect your skin from the UV. I’m always on the lookout to find something that works.

(And the brands that I mention in this post, I’m not being paid or given product to promote them; I just figured that it might be good for others to check out their ingredient lists to see if there’s some formulation out there that may work for you. But I didn’t link to them because I definitely don’t want y’all to think I’m some sort of shill…This blog is my therapy.)