Regardless of your age or gender, you need mineral sunscreen to provide protection against the damage caused by UV rays. But what about if you have darker skin? Doesn’t it leave super-obvious streaks behind after it has been applied?
Traditionally speaking, zinc oxide sunscreens would leave behind a white streak after application, no matter what color of skin you had. So, those streaks would be even more pronounced if they were applied to dark skin. However, that’s not the case with modern varieties.
Sheer Mineral Sunscreen Is The Way Forwards
Giants of the sunscreen industry, like Blue Lizard, offer sheer products that negate this problem entirely. That’s because while even modern mineral products are much better than they were decades ago in terms of not leaving behind white streaks, sheer products go on invisible.
This means that no one has to avoid wearing sunscreen, no matter how dark their skin is, and although there are still some people in circulation with darker skin types that don’t think they need it – the truth is quite different.
Dark Skin CAN Still Get Burned
No matter what anyone tells you, anyone with dark skin can still get burned by the sun. Of course, a certain amount of protection comes with increased levels of melanin, but it’s relatively minimal in the grand scheme.
The reality of the situation is that anyone can burn in the sun and then potentially have to deal with the issues of skin cancer, as well as the signs of ageing. As a result, anyone with darker skin should do what everyone does in the sun:
- Wear mineral sunscreen whenever outside (regardless of the weather)
- Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours (or more frequently if wet through swimming/sweating)
- Stay out of the sun during peak hours (10 am – 2 pm)
- Wear a wide-brimmed hat when out all day
The sun is something that needs to be respected, as you’ll only end up suffering with discomfort or worse if you expose yourself to it without the necessary care and attention.
Mineral Varieties Represent the Eco-Friendly Option
You may very well wonder why we’ve been banging on about mineral products without mentioning chemical brands. Well, if you have any sort of opinion on climate change, you’ll know that what we do impacts the environment in so many ways. The same thing can be said about chemical sunscreens.
Do a little research into it online and you’ll see that chemical sun protection is literally destroying the coral reefs around the world. In fact, so much of it is going into the oceans that it won’t be long until these amazing environments are gone for good – unless more people switch now!
Mineral Sunscreen Is Necessary For EVERYONE!
So, if you have brown or black skin, don’t be fooled into thinking that you’re somehow protected in a way that means you don’t need sunscreen. It’s simply not true.
Also, be sure to choose a mineral brand that doesn’t harm the planet and opt for a product that goes on invisible. That means aiming for a sunscreen that’s described as ‘Sheer’ or ‘invisible’. Then, you’ll get the best of both worlds.
