My Mineral Super Heroes
Winter’s weather is finally breaking its grip so everyone in New York is flocking outside to feel the sun on their face.
It’s a ritual that, on the surface is healthful and like everyone else, I’m enjoying taking a stroll during the day to shake off what’s left of the winter. The difference for me is that I’m protected. I have a mineral force field over my skin. When I was researching the ingredients to include in the day cream I was creating for the French Secret® line, I knew it should include a sunscreen, which of course I wanted to be as natural as possible.
During my research, two things astonished me. One was the amount of chemicals that are used in most mass-market sunscreens. The second thing was how the skin reacts to chemical sunscreens vs. sunscreens that use minerals to block the sun. This mechanism of action for mineral-based sunscreens is actually described as a ‘physical’ sun block as opposed to a chemical sunscreen. Minerals that are used in sunscreens sit on top of the skin to form what is best described as a ‘shield’ that reflects the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays.1 The skin reacts quite differently with chemical-based sunscreens – drinking in the chemical ingredients that are used to screen out the sun.
I like to think of the minerals I selected for French Secret® Crème Sérénité™ as my own personal Super Heroes because they provide me with peace of mind (“sérénité” in French). I chose two minerals to use so both UVA and UVB rays would be blocked. UVA rays are the most damaging and aging rays, and as it turns out, they are the ones a lot of sunscreens don’t block. Crème Sérénité™ has a broad-spectrum sunscreen (protects against both UVA and UVB) and it has a SPF #15, which is perfect for daily use because the ultraviolet rays are always there whether the sun’s out or not.
As great as it feels to have the sun on your face – especially after a long winter, I find it a bit concerning that so many people don’t use a sunscreen. It’s no wonder that the rate of new melanoma cases among American adults has tripled since the 1970s.2 Of course, my other concern is that so many people use a sunscreen full of chemical that are absorbed through the skin – the largest organ in the body.
I want to share the power of my Super Heroes, which is why I am delighted that Crème Sérénité™ is finally available as a new addition to the French Secret® line. And it comes in a tinted glass jar to protect the cream so it won’t oxidize from the light or won’t be in contact with harmful plastics. I use it on top of the Serum, to “sit” above a well moisturized skin. Time to get your own force field and enjoy that feeling of the sun on your face.
1)Environmental Working Group. http://www.ewg.org/2014sunscreen/faqs-your-sunscreen-questions-our-answers/
2)National Cancer Institute. http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/melan.html