Category: ‘Sun Protection’

With each passing day, I’m just a little closer to 30. And while I’m not dreading the big birthday, I’m noticing the small ways that I’m turning into my mother. The latest are my hands— they’re looking more like hers every day, with wrinkles and freckles and veins. In a vain attempt to slow time’s passing, all my hand lotion has to have SPF, like these:

HissyFit’s Handy Work ($39) is a luxurious SPF 30 hand cream that has soothing aloe and vitamin e, and smells of orangey mint. Between fighting age spots and smelling amazingly good, this is one of my new favorites.

Sephora’s BODY Nourishing Hand Cream ($15) has anti-UVA and UVB filters giving it an SPF 10 protection as well as moisturizing shea butter and sweet almond oil. In other words, the formula soothes, protects and moisturizes all at once.

Rich Girl Hand Cream SPF 25 ($24) doesn’t come with a big price tag, but it does have a long list of UVA/UVB filters and moisturizing oils that work to firm skin and fight the signs of aging. The mild floral scent is fresh too.

Last fall I spent a month in rural Africa. Loaded up with antibiotics (for malaria prevention), I was told to stay out of the sun. Right.

By the time I came home, the combination of antibiotics and direct sunlight made my faint freckles morph into gnarly brown blotches, also known as melasma. Common among pregnant women, it can also come from birth control pills or the combination of some topical antioxidants or antibiotics and sunlight. But whether it's the flip side of your pregnant glow or it's the result of too many days at the beach, it's definitely not hot.

Below are some safe, effective products that will treat your skin and get you back on track. 

Best Skin Care Regimen: I love Murad's Essential-C Regimen ($163). It started toning down the blotches quickly, and it includes sunscreen.

Best Mask: If you don't want to change your skin care routine or add another step, Mario Badescu's Whitening Mask ($24) can be used 2-3 times a week. Instead of  alpha-hydroxy acids, it uses natural ingredients like kojic acid, licorice, and mulberry so it's safe to use on skin with acne.

What: Bioelements Urban Detox, $37

Why: Because I live in a city where I get dirty just leaving my apartment and walking to the subway. Because I feel the need to wash my face the minute I escape the urban jungle at the end of the day. And because everyone needs to detox — country and city-dwellers alike. 

Bioelements Urban Detox protects your face against damage caused by the environment – specifically a bustling one. It creates an extra barrier against smog, dirt, and all the nasty stuff that just seems to sit in the air in the city, and can also reverse some damage already caused. Plus Urban Detox 'boosts the efficiency of your sunscreen'.  Now I don't know if that's true, but it couldn't hurt to add an extra layer between the sun and my face. 

Bonus: Put in the fridge and then use under your eyes as a cooling eye gel. Amazing.  

Get Yours: amazon.com

Dr. Zein Obagi, creator and namesake of ZO Skin Health, a new skincare line, was not the chit-chatty, complimentary presenter we are used to encountering at press events. He basically told us most women treat their skin all wrong, and just about shot down a reporter when she challenged one of his points.

I was wondering if his PR folks knew about this sort of performance before it happened, so I scoured the press materials afterwards. And there it is, in paragraph three of a sheet called THE VISIONARY: “outspoken and almost evangelical in style.” Ok then. Evangelical. Moving on.

He said moisturizer ruins skin by making it weak, and that skin cells “become lazy and slow down” as we age. He said lots of companies buy dermatologist endorsements and twist around lab data (ok, that one I definitely believe).

He said his products have the highest concentration of wrinkle-fighting retinol available over the counter, and basically that they’ll make you look younger, longer, and they’re what we should be putting on our faces.

I didn’t try the hardcore anti-aging stuff (but Product Fiend really liked it); I did use the Oclipse Sunscreen + Primer SPF 30 ($85) and the Offects Exfoliating Cleanser ($45).

The primer is great. It’s tinted and provides just a tiny bit of coverage, plus the silicone-based formula melts right into skin – Obagi used the word “velvety,” and I’d have to agree. Makeup goes on beautifully on top of it, and my skin looks a whole lot more even at the end of the day.

The exfoliator is ok – not quite rough enough for me, but I understand that my addiction to ground pumice and chopped-up seeds isn’t necessarily good for my face. Still, I’m not sure it’s $45 good. If you’re going to spend more money than you should on a ZO product, I’d stick with the primer – or try your luck with that $325 face cream and get back to us.