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Sunscreen has its benefits, but it can play havoc with the moisture levels of the skin. According to HonestyforyourSkin, If you have a mineral sunblock, then it is 99.999999% likely to contain a big dose of zinc oxide. Zinc oxide is amazingly good at physically blocking UV rays from your skin, it is the best physical sunblock ingredient… that we currently know of (us scientists are always discovering new shizzle, so I’m legally obliged to leave that 0.0000001% disclaimer open *winks*).
Zinc oxide could also be the cause of your dry skin because it has a second skill… it’s also an astringent.
How to Tell If Your Sunblock Contains Zinc Oxide
This is a very easy find because zinc oxide doesn’t have any other fancy nicknames. This guy is straight forward. Zinc oxide is all you need to look for on the ingredients list.
Not only that, but usually a sunblock ingredient list will show you the key ‘active’ sun blocking ingredients at the top with the % of them right next door.
Also… ‘technically’ as zinc oxide physically blocks out UV rays, it gets named sunblock instead of sunscreen. Clever that ‘eh. We’ve got some fancy quotation marks around that ‘technically’ as not all sunblock’s are properly christened.
What Can You do If Sunblock Is Drying Your Skin?
…because giving up on sun protection is not a valid solution ‘eh! It’s not only a life saver but it’s also going to keep ageing sun damage at bay. If your skin is suffering from sunblock induced dryness, try one (or more). Always use moisturiser before a mineral sunblock. That sounds super simple, but sometimes. You can be tricked into thinking you don’t need to use a moisturiser because there’s moisturising ingredients in the sunblock. The key is this, yes there are moisturising ingredients and yes they are helpful, but they aren’t enough for your skin – sunblock is designed to sit only in the top layers of your skin.
Or you can use a sunscreen that has a high moisturising content like Guinot Lait Solaire Hydratant – Moisturizing Sunscreen SPF15. This lotion protects the skin from the sun’s harmful effects and helps to build a gradual tan. This light and creamy lotion moisturises and soothes the skin.