If there is only one thing I can teach my daughters about beauty, I would tell them the importance of sunscreen. Why? Because beauty starts from having healthy skin. Also because I took sun protection lightly when I was younger and now have to live with pigmentation. Yes, yes, there are products that lighten them but I’m gonna quote the cliche ‘Prevention is better than cure’ in this case.
 

Did you know?

– Protecting your skin during the first 18 years of life can reduce the risk of some types of skin cancer by up to 78%.
– Severe sunburn during the first 15 years of life can double the risk of skin cancer.
– You can get sun damaged even on a cloudy day! Up to 80% of the sun’s rays can penetrate light clouds, mist, and fog.

Yikes! And so, I now use broad spectrum sunscreen on my face/neck/chest every single day. To stop sun damage. Premature aging. And to stop pigmentation, in its tracks. Or worst, skin cancer. Especially since we live in a country that has summer all year long.
 

Which sun protection should you use?

It is entirely up to you but here are some facts about suncare to help you make the right decision:

Sun Protection factor (SPF)
Measures how long you can stay in the sun without the sunscreen before getting burned.
For example – Applying a sunscreen with SPF 30 means it will take 30 minutes longer for your skin to get burn.
PF protection alone is not enough as it measures the protection against the sunburn caused by UVB rays only – not UVA.

PA rating
A sunscreen with a PA rating means it blocks UVA rays.
The more the “+” signs it has, the higher the UVA protection.
Protection against UVA rays is important because UVA rays have a longer wavelength and they penetrate deeper into the skin, contributing to premature aging and skin cancer.

Today, I’m reviewing 2 sunscreen from #1 Dermatologist-recommended brand, Neutrogena that fulfill all the conditions above Neutrogena Ultra Sheer UV Waterlight and Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch, both with SPF 50+ and PA rating of 3 +’s.

Both sunscreen comes with Helioplex™.

What is Helioplex™?

To protect skin from the harmful effects of UV light, Neutrogena has introduced revolutionary HelioplexTM technology that contains FDA-approved sunscreens covering the full UVA and UVB spectrum.
Though many sunscreens offer protection from UVA rays, this protection starts to break down when your skin is exposed to the sun. HelioplexTM prevents this from happening by stabilizing UVA protection so that even under highly intensive sunlight, you can be assured that your sun protection does its job more effectively over a longer period of time (up to 5 – 6 hours).
 

My verdict

One of the reasons I skip sunscreen when I was younger was that I hated the stickiness that comes with most sunscreen. They tend to make my face looks shiny and leaves a whitish tint on my face.

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer UV Waterlight and Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch however are very lightweight and matte. Both smell very fresh, and absorb into the skin quickly without any trace of stickiness.
 

The difference between the two is that Neutrogena Ultra Sheer UV Waterlight is for face and Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch can be used on your face and body.
 

 

 
I swapped baby Geogia’s sunscreen with the Ultra Sheer Dry Touch when we attend her swimming lessons now. The instructor told us NOT to put any sunscreen on our babies because they may be slippery and hard for us to hold on to our babies. But with the Ultra Sheer Dry Touch, it doesn’t feel like I applied anything on Georgia at all and I can get a strong grip on her. So yes, it is really thaaaat dry, perfect for hot and humid Singapore.