Suncare Secrets: The Best Sunscreens and After-Sun Products
How to Prevent—and Heal From—Sunburn!
Yay summer! The season you’ve likely been waiting for! Time for the beach complete with drinks with little umbrellas in them. With all this excitement, do not forget about sunscreen! It’s easy to do, especially at the beginning of the season. I, more often than I care to admit, get an early summer sunburn… not this year! I’ve finally learned from all my mistakes and perfected my sunscreen arsenal. It’s a few weeks into June, and I’ve had a few outdoor location shoots with not so much as a small ear sunburn. Yes, I’m proud of myself.
In this letter I’ll tell you all my suncare secrets. We’ll start with prevention, then explore some of my favorite healing secret weapons so you too can be set up for summertime skin success!
Lily McInerny in Flaunt magazine, shot by Sophie Elgort. One of my favorite outdoor shoot pics I’ve ever done.
PREVENT
I wear the ISDIN sunscreen every day. This one has a light watery consistency that layers under makeup seamlessly—no grease, no pilling, no drama. It’s micronized zinc for you to get all the benefits of the physical, non-chemical block without the white cast. Every dermatologist I’ve ever spoken to about sunscreen (I know a lot of derms—occupational hazard) has recommended this sunscreen.
This is the best sunscreen for body I’ve ever used. It’s saved my mega-sensitive skin on many NYC rooftop photoshoots, and is a kit non-negotiable for summer. It’s nasty chemical free, benzine free (really), reef safe, and has an amazing three-year shelf life. No other sunscreen can do that! I have the bad habit of buying a sunscreen in the summer, not finishing it, then realizing it’s expired the next summer when I need it… no longer an issue thanks to Bask. You can also choose between SPF 30 spray and SPF50 lotion. I love having options.
Supergoop Lipscreen Sheer SPF 30
Sunburned lips are no fun. Learn from your sun mistakes of yesteryear and protect that pucker! The Supergoop Lipscreen Sheer SPF 30 is a clear, hydrating lip balm that is super sleek and can go with you anywhere. Great alone or under your lipstick.
Pro tip—many medications can increase your sun sensitivity. Be sure to check the label if you’re taking any! I’ve made the mistake about not being careful in the sun on antibiotics and got the worst sunburn of my life! Never again will I not check a prescription label.
RE -APPLY
Naked Sundays SPF 50+ Hydrating Glow Mist
We’ve all heard over and over that reapplying sunscreen is important… the tricky part is how, right (especially if you’ve already applied your makeup for the day)? That’s where the easy-to-use Naked Sundays Hydrating Glow Mist comes in! It’s designed for over-makeup sunscreen reapplication. It’s SPF 50 and is totally invisible. Perfect for your purse for on-the-go anything.
RECOVER
Sunburns happen. They are never fun, but the following glam buddies have made a real difference for me. I stock them all year round, but are must-haves for the summer months.
I love this cream. I first received it as a sample from Sak’s and have been obsessed with it ever since. It’s a thick cream but don’t be scared, it absorbs really quickly. My skin loves it. It’s amazing for both dehydrated and damaged skin; however, my favorite thing about it is that it is incredible for sunburns. This cream absolutely soothes and helps heal the burn quickly. True story, I once was outrageously sunburned (yes, this is a continuation of the story in which I didn’t read my medication label) on a job in Portugal. We were shooting outside for five days. My small sunburn got worse and worse each day until we finished on Friday evening. Turns out all the pharmacies in the town we were in closed at 4:00pm. So, disappointed—and basically Scarlet by Crayola—I started to dig though all the options I had and came across this cream. It was an absolutely magical result. If you’re sunburned, this is THE cream.
Bynact Reverse Sun Radical Recovery Serum
This wonder serum does its best work at night. It works with your body’s natural rhythms to combat the signs of photo-aging and sunburn by utilizing a unique combination of free-radical counteracting ingredients. I love it after a day in the sun. Great alone and even better with a moisturizer on top.
Lilfox Blue Legume Soothing Hydration Mask
This bright blue (literal Smurf vibes, it’s fun) mask is deeply hydrating and full of all the things you want in your face post outdoor adventure. You can either wear it for 15-20 minutes then remove, or keep on overnight (don’t worry, the blue disappears as you leave it on). I do this mask instead of just aloe (there’s aloe in it). A few if its soothing power ingredients are: shiitake, reishi mushrooms, micro algae, violet, aloe, and agave.
Pro tip: Cleansing is really important. Sounds obvious I know, but on days when you wear sunscreen, be sure to really take the time to deeply cleanse your skin. I love the Retrouve Luminous Cleanser. It’s a single cleanser that does the job of a double cleanse. It leaves your skin squeaky clean but nourished.