Sunscreen still essential even if you’re stuck at home amid coronavirus – advice from Australia, the home of suncare
- You may be indoors, but UVA rays are pouring through your window and damaging your skin, says the co-founder of an Australia suncare producer
- High consumer standards have made Australia a global leader in SPF suncare. We’ve got the skinny on five Australian sunscreen brands to have on your radar
Ava Matthews, co-founder of Australian sun care brand Ultra Violette, is adamant that even if you are stuck at home, you must still wear sunscreen every day.
“We’re still getting lots of UVA damage through any windows in our house – these aren’t the cancer or burning rays, but have the most impact in terms of ageing and skin damage,” she says. And, as Matthews notes, some people are working outdoors on their balconies (or getting some fresh air), which exposes them to UVA and UVB rays.
Matthews says now is not the time to be skipping the sunscreen. “Daily SPF use should be a habit,” she says. (SPF stands for sun protection factor.) And it’s not just UV light we should be worrying about – blue light, emitted by the sun and by our phone screens, could be damaging our skin.
Matthews says that, while there’s still much research to be done around the impact of blue light on our skin, Ultra Violette’s sunscreens, which are infused with antioxidants such as vitamin C, ward off blue light damage too.