If we’ve caught you in between zoom meetings or just before your milk has finished frothing for your coffee, the short answer is: YES. If you’ve got some extra time to spare, stick around for a more in depth answer…
We know that we should be protecting our skin 24/7, 365 days a year. However, when daylight hours get a little shorter and the air gets a little colder, sunscreen tends to fall quite low on our list of skincare priorities. As we start our lazy morning skincare routine we question whether or not we actually need to put on our daily skin protector or if an indoor movie marathon really merits 2 fingers of your favourite SPF. Well, the answer is: YES IT DOES!
But, why?
Ultra violet (UV) rays can pass through glass windows (yes, that includes car windows too!). Whilst glass windows are strong enough to filter out UVB rays, UVA rays still penetrate through which causes hyperpigmentation and premature ageing to the skin’s surface. If you want to know more about the difference between both types of UV rays have a read of our previous blog here.
What about reapplication?
When you’re out and about in direct sunlight, reapplying a layer of sunscreen every two hours is an absolute must if you want your skin to be protected all day. However, a day inside may not call for the same level of attention, as long as you’re not sweating or doing any activity that may cause your sunscreen to rub off.
Okay, so what should I look for in my sunscreen for a day indoors?
Though you may not need SPF 50, you definitely want a sunscreen that offers broad spectrum protection, meaning it protects you from both UVB and UVA rays. If you want to give your skin some extra protection (also, if you are going to be working from home or a Netflix marathon!) you should also look for a product that has blue light protection to keep you shielded from the blue light being emitted from your screen.
It is also important to note that indoor pollutants are 5x higher than outdoor pollutants* so making sure your sunscreen has anti pollution would be beneficial to your skin health as well.
Our favourite sunscreens for indoors
Any of our face products are a great choice for indoors as they provide broad spectrum protection, blue light protection and anti pollution protection. If you’re unsure about whether you want to go for a synthetic or mineral sunscreen (because we have BOTH), you can read up a little more on them here.
*https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality