If your eyes are the window to your soul, you don’t want your eyes to look drab, tired and lifeless.

But how do you choose between the thousands of eye creams that are available? Here you will find some of the most effective ingredients to get rid of dark circles, fine lines, skin that sags and skin that puffs so that you can shop for an eye cream like a seasoned professional.

Matrixyl 3000

Although its name might sound like something you would find on a space shuttle rather than something you would find in your cosmetics bag, Matrixyl 3000 is one of the most powerful peptides to rejuvenate old and tired skin.

By increasing the skin’s firmness, Matrixyl 3000 can help your skin look like it is full of youthful collagen and restore elasticity to skin that hangs off your facial bones.

Eyeseryl

Also a powerful peptide, Eyeseryl fights the inflammation that causes puffy and swollen under eyes. By preventing fluid buildup, Eyeseryl helps prevent the pooling of liquids under the delicate tissues beneath the eyes.

Syn-Coll

Although Matrixyl 3000 simulates the effects of collagen, Syn-Coll actually works to help your body produce more of its own collagen. Since your body slows down its own production of collagen as early as 30 years old, many people think the only option is to get expensive and dangerous injections of synthetic collagen.

However, Syn-Coll has been shown to increase collagen production by 120 percent in most patients.

Caffeine

While you may know the caffeine in your coffee can help you feel brighter and happier, you might not know that caffeine can do the same thing for your skin. When applied topically, caffeine has been found to increase the mobility of water in your cells.

This means that caffeine can temporarily dehydrate your cells, helping to get rid of fluid that causes your under eyes to look swollen and puffy. Even though caffeine is just a quick-fix, it can be just what you need after a long night.

Vitamin C

Remember when you used to lay out in the sun for hours on end? Well now you have to pay for that reckless abandon with the damage that UV rays have wreaked on your skin. Vitamin C works to get rid of damaged cells and protect the skin from future damage.

Also, vitamin C has been shown to protect the skin from free radicals that can cause deep wrinkles as well as fine lines.

Peption-5

This powerful peptide has been shown to reduce the neuron excitability in the face that can cause the small muscles underneath your skin to consistently contract, causing the creases that we call wrinkles.

With Peption-5, those muscles relax, helping smooth the appearance of your skin.

Oligopeptide-29

Another potent peptide, Oligopeptide-29 is one of the fundamental precursors to the production of collagen, and when absorbed through your skin can give you the building blocks necessary for the synthesis of new collagen.

With more collagen your skin will look fuller and more energetic, helping you present a more lively version of yourself to the world around you.

Don’t be fooled by fancy advertisements or expensive packaging anymore. Let this inside look at some of the best under eye cream ingredients help you separate the best eye creams from the rest.

“Part of choosing a diet for good looking skin is just eating to keep yourself healthy because your health is reflected through your skin,” says dermatologist Joely Kaufman-Janette, MD. She then goes on to recommend the following 5 foods that are good for your skin and your health.

1. Avocado

Avocadoes are rich in fats. Not the kind of fat that expands your spare tire. These are fats that are essential for a healthy complexion and young-looking skin. In fact, avocado oil is actually patented as a treatment for some types of dermatitis!

Avocados also have a lot of vitamin A and C. You won’t find many vitamins that do more for your skin than these two. Vitamin A prevents your skin from becoming dry and scaling. Vitamin C has been proven to stimulate collagen production. The antioxidants in both these vitamins prevent free radicals from damaging your skin and speeding up the aging process.

You can make a facial mask out of avocado, but making it into guacamole is a better way to get the benefits. “Masks with avocados can cause clogged pores,” cautions Kaufman-Janette. “Definitely avoid them if you are acne prone.”

2. Blueberries

No list of “foods that are good for your skin” could be complete without blueberries. They are by far one of the best sources of antioxidants. Besides neutralizing the free radicals that cause skin cell damage, the antioxidants in blueberries can prevent wrinkles and dark circles; and repair skin. For best results, eat 1 cup of fresh blueberries a day, or half a cup of frozen or dried berries.

Fun Fact: studies have shown that blueberries can boost cardiovascular health and prevent age-related memory changes. That’s why they’ve been nicknamed “brain berries”.

3. Fish

It’s not the salmon and trout you eat that are good for your skin; it’s the omega-3 fatty acids inside them. Some people cut fat from their diets thinking that it’s to blame for their weight problems.

However, a diet that is low in healthy fats can lead to skin that looks dull and dry.

One gram of omega-3 fatty acids is the recommended daily dose. To get this from your fish, Dr. Andrew Weil, MD, suggests eating 2 to 3 servings every week. Wild Alaskan salmon is the best source of omega-3s at 2 grams per every 3 ounce serving.

4. Oranges

An orange a day can keep wrinkles, dark circles, and age spots at bay. Oranges are high in vitamin C, antioxidants, and skin-rejuvenating potential. Numerous studies have shown that the vitamin C in oranges can prevent and repair skin damage, protect skin from the sun, and promote healthy skin growth.

Eating a single orange can give you anywhere from 77-93% of your Daily Value of vitamin C. Another great way to get the benefits of this vitamin is with 7 Second Eye Lift. This top-rated wrinkle cream features vitamin C as a main ingredient; alongside clinically-proven peptides. Click here to learn more about 7 Second Eye Lift.

5. Yogurt

Yogurt is a great addition to any diet because it is full of healthy bacteria. These healthy bacteria, or probiotics, promote digestive health and strengthen the immune system.

By easing digestive troubles, the probiotics in yogurt “can improve related skin conditions such as rosacea or skin inflammation,” says Kaufman-Janette. By boosting immunities, yogurt can relieve eczema and bacteria-related conditions like acne.

There isn’t a recommended amount of yogurt that you should eat to get the benefits of probiotics, but 1 cup or eight ounces a day is probably enough to do the trick.

A Healthy Diet for Healthy Skin

According to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the cost of a single Botox treatment is around $394!

Rather than denting your savings to erase wrinkles, you could just eat more of the foods that are good for your skin. They can help reduce wrinkles, dark circles, and skin conditions. They’re affordable. They taste delicious. And these foods are good for your overall health.

Most of the conditions that cause people to look older affect their skin; for example, wrinkles, lack of elasticity, and age spots. To look younger, all you have to is reverse and prevent these skin conditions.

It may sound challenging, but with the right tricks, this is actually a lot easier than it sounds.

1. Eat an Orange a Day

An apple may keep the doctor away, but oranges keep wrinkles and dark circles away. A juicy, fresh orange has up to 70 mg of vitamin C (the recommended daily dose for women and men is 70 and 90 mg, respectively).

This essential vitamin is brimming with antioxidants that eradicate free radicals. Free radicals are toxins that damage and destroy healthy skin cells; resulting in skin that looks dull, aged, discolored, and wrinkles. Eliminating these harmful substances can rejuvenate your skin for now, and it fortifies your skin for the future.

Vitamin C has also been proven to stimulate the body’s production of collagen, which is the substance that makes up your skin. When you have more collagen, you also have skin that is full, smooth, and looks younger.

2. Skips the Sweets

What do you love more, sweets or your skin? Unfortunately, if you want to look younger, you can’t always have both. Too much sugar can extinguish your skin’s natural glow and speed up the formation of wrinkles. This is because of a process called glycation where sugar molecules damage protein and eventually cause your skin to become less firm and elastic. Glycation is the reasons why diabetics’ skin often shows early signs of aging.

3. Infuse with Moisture

Your skin needs to be hydrated from the inside and the outside if you want it to look young and healthy. Drink 8-10 glasses of water every day. Each morning and night apply a moisturizer that is compatible with your skin type.

If you have dry skin, you’ll need a heavy moisturizer to get a healthy, natural glow.

If you have oily or combination skin, go for a lightweight moisturizer. Heavy hydration could cause your skin to look greasy and dull.

4. Apply the Right Cream

Not every cream that promises to reduce the signs of aging can actually do so. Only scientifically proven ingredients like peptides, antioxidants, vitamins, and natural moisturizers can protect, regenerate, nourish, and repair your skin.

Peptides are probably the most beneficial ingredient because they can stimulate collagen production. After using a peptide-based wrinkle cream like Oxytokin for a few weeks, your skin should look younger, fuller, and smoother. There are also peptides like Argireline NP, which have been proven to reduce wrinkles instantly. Click here to learn more about Oxytokin and what types of peptides it uses.

5. Do Your Cardio

That flushed look you get on your face after exercise is a sign that your skin is getting the nutrients and oxygen that it needs. Perspiration during exercise is also good because it clears your pores and flushes impurities out of your skin.

Make time for cardio exercise at least 3 times a week for 30-45 minutes a day. The workout should be intense enough that you work up a sweat; but not so intense that you can’t carry on a conversation.

Youth is no longer something that only the young get to enjoy. By utilizing these easy tricks, you can make your skin look smooth, firm, and evenly-toned. In turn, your healthy, beautiful skin will help you look younger.

If you, too, are concerned with the aging process and how it will affect the way that you feel and look, don’t worry!

Following these great anti-aging tips will help you maintain your youthful vibrance for a long, long time.

Tip 1: Stay Hydrated

One of the most important things you can do to keep yourself looking and feeling young is to drink plenty of water.

For starters, since the human body is 60% water, your system can’t function properly if it doesn’t get enough water. According to the experts at WebMD.com, drinking water will help your body by:

• balancing your bodily fluids, such as the ones that run your digestive and circulatory systems
• reducing your calorie intake by suppressing your appetite by helping you feel fuller for longer
• enhancing your kidney health, thus helping you efficiently flush impurities out of your system
• providing your muscles with the energy that they need

Drinking water is also crucial to maintaining young-looking skin because of its ability to enhance your skin’s collagen production, increase the oxygen flow to your upper epidermis, boost your elastin production, and cleanse your pores of irritants and toxins that will age your complexion–all processes that will keep your skin firm, smooth, and bright.

Tip 2: Guard Your Skin from the Sun

Another vital anti-aging tip is to use proper sun protection. If you don’t shield your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays, it will cause premature wrinkles, lines, and crows’ feet.

Experts say that when you overexpose your skin to the sun without using any SPF protection, the UV rays in the sun damage your skin’s collagen fibers and cause them to be rebuilt. When you keep neglecting your skin in the sun, your healthy collagen fibers become damaged over and over again, causing solar scars that eventually lead to wrinkles and age spots.

There is an easy way to stop the sun from aging your skin: sunscreen. You should be using a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. However, if you have sensitive skin or are worried that heavy sunblock lotions will clog your pores, try a noncomedogenic moisturizer that includes SPF protection.

Tip 3: Choose the Right Makeup

Makeup can work wonders in keeping your face looking young and fresh, but if you’re not careful, it can also work against you and make you look older.

If you use powder cosmetic products like foundation or blush, first of all, you need to invest instead in creamy makeup. Products in powdered forms do not do you any anti-aging favors: they give your face a harsh, matte look when you should be aiming for a glowing, moisturized texture that is much more natural.

You still have to be cautious with cream foundations, however, because as the day goes on, the excess makeup can fill the lines and wrinkles in your face, drawing more attention to them. This can be prevented, however, by sweeping a clean cosmetic sponge and lightly blending the foundation after you apply it.

Following these makeup tips will keep your face looking young and bright–even when you have a few wrinkles.

Tip 4: Use an Eye Cream

One of the most effective anti-aging products you should own is an eye cream.

The best eye creams on the market use peptides to boost your skin’s collagen production around the areas that are the thinnest and most prone to wrinkles: the skin around your eyes. As you increase your collagen levels around your eyes, your skin will stay firm, smooth, and supple, helping fight off crows’ feet and keeping you looking young.

One of the most highly rated eye creams beloved by both consumers and experts is 7 Second Eye Lift. Designed with your extra-sensitive skin around the eyes in mind, this eye cream will really give you the anti-aging results that you need while smoothing and rejuvenating your entire face. To learn more, visit the official website at www.7SecondEyeLift.com.

Start Your Anti-Aging Routine Today!

It is never to early to begin preventing the aging process: implement these tips in your daily beauty regime now!

Most skin care products will mainly focus on treating each of these types of blemishes, and amidst all the hype you can easily forget to look for signs of healthy skin.

Though each pimple, freckle, or wrinkle is easy to fixate on, experiencing a few of them is not necessarily something to obsess or worry about.

It may actually be better to gauge the health of your skin by looking for good signs.

Moisture

As is often discussed, water is essential for so many body processes and proper function of pretty much everything that goes on in your body. It’s also a big part of skin health.

Being dehydrated can reduce elasticity and cause itchiness or flaky skin, but drinking enough water can help to moisturize your skin and cut down on the oil that your body feels it needs to produce, as well as naturally flush out toxins.

Not only does this mean that you are less likely to get acne, but also that your skin will stay supple and smooth.

Sensitive or thin portions of skin are those that will show signs of dehydration first. Chapped lips are the biggest tell-tale that you need to start drinking more water.

Those that live in dry climates may have a harder time retaining the moisture in their skin because the air sort of sucks out moisture, but combining adequate water with good moisturizers can help to retain the beauty of your skin.

Minimal Blemishes

Zits are the bane of nearly everyone’s existence, but experiencing a few of them may not be a result of dirt or excess oil on your skin.

Obviously, those are the biggest contributors to acne and blemishes, but seeing a few pimples may also be a sign of hormonal changes within you.

For example, women can experience breakouts just before their periods because of the way the menstrual cycle affects the hormone levels in the body.

Also, if you don’t experience major breakouts on a regular basis, seeing a few pimples here or there is not too big a deal and may only be a result of pollutants in the air or similar situations.

Minimal blemishes can also be a sign of your skin getting rid of toxins or fighting against the bacteria in your pores, so seeing only a few of them simply means that your body is working as it should.

Even Tone Everywhere

When mentioning even skin tone, it is natural to think first of skin on your face. It is the most commonly exposed portion of skin and is most directly influenced by weather, climate, and pollution. As a result, most makeups, creams, and other skin care products focus on evening the tone of your face.

However, even tone exhibits itself all over your skin. Those portions, such as stomach, legs, and even arms, that are not as often exposed to the sun can give you an indication of the state of your skin as a whole.

In this way, you are better able to gauge how your body is doing on the inside by whether your entire body has even tones. Looking for signs of health can be greatly encouraging to all who are looking for good skin.

As it turns out, most of what your skin needs comes from inside you. Whether you’re fighting acne, reducing the signs of aging, or simply working to gain health inside and out, you should put the right things in and keep the wrong things out.

This includes eating nutrient-rich foods and ridding your body of toxins.

Skin Enhancers

Some of the best ways to retain skin elasticity, improve overall health, and give your skin the help it needs is to take in the right nutrients.

A lot of nutrients can be helpful for overall body function, but there are five main ones that specifically cater to the function and health of your skin.

One of the main nutrients is zinc. Zinc is used by the skin to help heal blemishes and fight off the formation of new ones. Versions of zinc are commonly used in acne treatments because of these properties, but it provides ways for the skin to fight back against aging as well. Zinc is found in eggs, ginger, pecans, oats, and similar foods.

Vitamins C, E, and A are often grouped together when it comes to skin care because they provide similar benefits. When gotten from whole food sources, Vitamin C can aid in sun protection and enhance the effects of sunscreen, thus helping the skin to retain its health and minimizing the chances of skin cancer.

Vitamin E also helps to reduce the effects of sun exposure and works with Vitamin A to prevent cancers as well. To get these nutrients, you should look for foods like sunflower seeds, carrots, apricots, tomatoes, peaches, and other foods that have the same types of textures and colors.

Skin elasticity is essential for maintaining a youthful and healthy appearance, which is where Silica comes into play. Silica helps to strengthen many areas of the body, such as muscles, tendons, hair, etc, and is vital in order for the body to heal wounds and maintain skin health. A lot of fruits and vegetables, especially brightly colored ones like strawberries and asparagus, are rich in silica.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids can reduce the effects of whiteheads, blackheads, and dry or inflamed skin. They help to retain moisture in the skin and must be supplemented in the diet through foods like fish or flax seeds.

Selenium works to prevent cell damage as well as retain skin elasticity. It often works with other vitamins that help to prevent skin cancer. It can be found in tuna, garlic, eggs, brown rice, and whole-wheat bread.

Detoxifiers

One of the best ways to get all the benefits of these nutrients and help your skin to be at its best is to make sure to get rid of toxins in your body.

Foods like those mentioned above are often rich in antioxidants, which reduce the cancer-causing free radicals in your body and translate into healthier and more vibrant skin.

Combining these skin-helping elements gives your skin a boost and can help the function of all those skin creams and products mentioned earlier. All in all, eating a balanced diet and finding a variety of foods and flavors is the best way to make your skin healthy, youthful, and radiant.

With Botox injections, microdermabrasion, and chemical peels topping the list as some of the most common procedures, it is clear that many women are concerned with figuring out how to look younger.

However, you don’t have to take such drastic measures to do so: there are actually a lot of simple ways that you can restore your face’s youth and vitality without having to get any sort of surgery.

Protect Yourself From the Sun

One of the easiest and most important things you can do to look younger is to properly protect your skin from the sun.

When you frequently go out in the sun without wearing any sunscreen, your skin is much more prone to getting wrinkles, fine lines, and discolored spots–all of which will age you significantly. You are also putting yourself at an increased risk for getting bad sunburns or skin cancer.

To preserve both the health of your skin and your youthful appearance, invest in a facial moisturizer that contains SPF to protect you from the sun’s harmful UV rays.

Find the Right Eye Cream for You

You can also subtract years from your face by using an effective eye cream, which will go a long way in making you look years younger.

The ideal eye cream is full of peptides, which help stimulate your body’s collagen production. Collagen is made up of proteins and chains of amino acids, and it is responsible for maintaining your skin’s firmness, smoothness, and elasticity.

However, due to factors such as aging, toxins in the air, free radicals, and the sun’s UV rays cause your skin’s collagen to break apart and become ineffective, causing dark circles, wrinkles, and fine lines–all of which make you look a lot older. It is thus extremely important to keep your collagen levels up with a cream rich in peptides.

Re-Think Your Makeup Strategy

You can subtract a good number of years from your age just by making smart changes to both your makeup regime and your makeup itself.

For starters, if you are using powder foundation or blush, change to a creamier texture. When you use too much powder makeup, you risk giving yourself a very matte, dull finish when what you want is a more natural, glowing sheen that will look refreshed and youthful.

If you suffer from dark, discolored spots in various places on your face, invest in a concealer that is slightly–at the most two shades–darker than the color of your foundation. Take a concealer brush and lightly dab it onto the spots, following the concealer with a bit of your foundation. Expert makeup artists say that this will effectively even out your complexion.

To prevent makeup from filling in the fine lines around your mouth and eyes, after you are done applying your makeup, experts advise taking a clean makeup sponge and lightly smoothing and blending your makeup. This will stop that excess foundation from accentuating your wrinkles later in the day.

Turn Back the Clock!

Maintaining your youth doesn’t require an appointment with a cosmetic surgeon–if you take the right preventative actions and invest in the right products, you will love the way that you look!

Getting an inadequate amount of sleep has more ramifications, however, than simply making you feel drowsy throughout the day; a proper amount of rest actually helps keep your skin and thus you looking and feeling your best.

Sleep’s Effect on Your Skin

You have seen what can happen when you get a bad night’s sleep on your face: puffy eyes, a pale tone to your skin, etc. Did you know, however, that a lack of sleep can actually lead to other ugly consequences, such as fine lines, sagging, and wrinkles?

According to Dr. Phil Gehrmann, PhD, CBSM, from the University of Pennsylvania, it is due to your body’s hormone levels. When you do not get enough sleep, your levels of the stress hormone cortisol and human growth hormone can get wildly out of sync.

When you sleep less, your cortisol levels increase, which causes a breakdown of your skin’s collagen. Collagen is a protein that maintains your skin’s smoothness and elasticity, so when you have less of it, your skin begins to sag, wrinkle, and crease.

Additionally, as your cortisol levels go up, the extra stress causes your oil production to increase, and you guessed it–a spike in your skin’s oil production results in a higher likeliness of acne breakouts.

A lack of rest also causes problems for your levels of human growth hormone, since “it’s during deep sleep–what we call slow-wave sleep–that growth hormone is released,” Dr. Gehrmann has said. Human growth hormone is vital to the health and appearance of your skin because it has the ability to increase your collagen production and further restore and regulate the smoothness and firmness of your face.

Ways to Get Your Proper Beauty Sleep

One of the best ways to maintain a regular sleep schedule is to get regular exercise. Getting at least half an hour of physical activity a day will help you feel ready for bed at an appropriate hour, and it will actually help improve the appearance of your skin as it increases your blood circulation and provides oxygen and essential nutrients to your skin cells.

Another way to ensure a good night’s sleep is to give yourself a bedtime. Experts say that when you go to bed and wake up at the same times every day, you will dramatically improve your quality–and quantity–of sleep. Your body will get accustomed to retiring and rising at those times, eliminating restless nights where you can’t fall asleep and dreaded mornings where you sleep through your alarm.

You can also improve your quality of sleep by keeping your nighttime routine calm and quiet. If you are listening to music, choose soft, calming songs. Keeping the temperature of your room relatively cool is also conducive to a good night’s sleep, since according to a survey by the National Sleep Foundation, most people sleep better when their bedrooms are kept between 75 and 54 degrees.

Rest Your Way to Healthy, Beautiful Skin

If you follow these tips and make sure to get at least seven hours of good sleep, you will see a serious difference in the quality of your skin as your complexion looks brighter, smoother, and healthier.

However, did you also know that it can also be a sign that your diet needs a little work? It’s true: the right foods can actually get rid of dark circles, so if you know which ones to eat–and which ones from which you should stay away–you can always look refreshed and well-rested.

Foods That Aggravate Your Skin

Toxins are one of the biggest perpetrators of dark circles. You don’t have to look very hard to find them either. They’re in the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the processed foods you eat.

Processed foods are loaded with refined grains, unhealthy fats, and other artificial ingredients. Still don’t know what processed foods are? If it’s canned, dehydrated, fried, or has added chemicals; it’s processed.

The processed foods you want to avoid have palm oil, shortening, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, artificial colors, MSG; and white flour, rice, and pasta. Besides having little nutritional value, these foods welcome hundreds of toxins into your body through the front door. Click here to find more information about processed foods.

It’s not very hard to tell if someone eats too much processed food. Just look for the permanent dark circles around their eyes.

Foods That Sooth Irritated Skin

No matter how permanent your dark circles seem to be, you can reduce them by eating the right foods. Luckily, finding the right foods is almost as easy as finding the wrong ones. Just keep an eye out for antioxidants.

In the fight against dark circles, you can’t lose when you have antioxidants on your side. These are powerful substances that destroy toxins, repair skin cells, and reduce dark circles. Where can you find antioxidants? In foods that have vitamins and minerals.

Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Zinc, Selenium, and Iron are filled with toxin-fighting antioxidants. Many foods have these vitamins and minerals; but if you want to reduce dark circles with food, only the best will do.

The best sources of antioxidants are berries, beans, fruits, vegetables, green tea, nuts, herbs, grains, and dark chocolate.
To learn more about these foods click here.

Eating fruits and vegetables is the tastiest way to get your daily dose of antioxidants, but it’s not the only way. Since antioxidants are recognized as powerful dark circle-fighters, many eye creams use them. The ingredient you’ll see used the most often is Vitamin C because it is very potent and supported by scientific research.

What’s in Your Diet?

What does your skin say about you? If your diet is built on a foundation of processed foods, it will be apparent in the dark circles and puffiness around your eyes. On the other hand, if you eat antioxidant-rich foods, your skin will be bright and clear.

No matter how permanent the problem seems to be, you can always reduce dark circles with food that are high in antioxidants.

Sun damage causes wrinkles, accelerated aging, age spots, dark circles, and skin cancer. The purpose of a good sunscreen is to protect your skin from the sun and keep it looking healthy.

Not all sunscreens will provide your skin with the care and protection it needs. By understanding what the best facial sunscreen should do, how it works, and where to find it; you’ll be able to avoid sunburns and preserve your beautiful skin for many years to come.

What Should It Do?

The sun sends out two types of ultraviolet light: UVA and UVB. UVA rays can penetrate the layers of your skin and suppress your immune system; resulting in weaker skin, more skin problems, and wrinkles. UVB rays are the ones that burn your skin. If you get too much exposure to either of these ultraviolet rays, your chances of skin cancer and accelerated aging go way up.

The best facial sunscreen is supposed to protect you from harmful UV rays. Not only does this protection prevent sunburns, it prevents long-term skin problems and the signs of aging.

How Does It Work?

Every facial sunscreen has a Sun Protection Factor (SPF). This is the measure of how much the UVB rays will be deflected by the sunscreen. Unfortunately, there isn’t a standard for measuring protection from UVA rays yet. SPF compares the amount of time it takes for protected skin to burn versus the time it takes for unprotected skin to burn.

SPF numbers are actually not as easy to understand as some people think. Contrary to popular belief, the number is not an amount of time. Some people assume that SPF 30 is going to be twice as strong as SPF 15, but that’s not true either. According to Dr. James M. Spencer, SPF 15 blocks 94% of UVB rays, SPF 30 blocks 97% of UVB rays, and SPF 45 blocks 98% of UVB rays.

If you use the right amount of a facial sunscreen, and apply it often, SPF 15 could be better for your skin than SPF 45. Higher SPF sunscreens have more chemicals and they don’t offer a significantly higher percentage of protection.

Which Ones are Best?

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends facial sunscreens that use the following ingredients:

• Avobenzone
• Cinoxate
• Ecamsule
• Menthyl Anthranilate
• Octyl Methoxycinnamate
• Octyl Salicylate
• Oxybenzone
• Sulisobenzone

You can easily find these ingredients in most facial sunscreens, and even in some eye creams.

Finding the Best Facial Sunscreen

As you’re shopping for the best facial sunscreen, look for one that protects your skin from UVB rays; and UVA rays if possible. Keep in mind that, if applied properly, an SPF 15 or SPF 30 sunscreen could be better for your skin than a higher SPF sunscreen. Look for sunscreens that use the recommended ingredients.

Have fun in the sun this summer, but take adequate measures to protect your skin, so you keep it looking young and beautiful!