Sunscreen that won’t make you ashy: Purito Centella Green Level Unscented Sun SPF50+

Your 30s are just so… delightful.

You’re still on the diet and lifestyle of your twenties but you’re finding out that hangovers are a multi-day thing, your metabolism starts taking days off and your skin begins to protest every little change in the environment. And your diet. Oh also your hormones. Probably even your career choices.

Having been blessed with generally good skin, I never paid too much attention to skincare when I was younger apart from trying to drink a lot of water (water = selfcare in your twenties). I thought I had a skin type (oily) and just used whatever products fell in that category.

Deep in my thirties, I developed rosacea out of seemingly nowhere. One day I woke up with red blotches on my cheeks (a month before my wedding), and my usual skincare routine started to burn. Not in that pleasant tingly way that implies a product is “working” but in that “I’ve-just-rubbed-a-cheese-grater-on-my-face” way.

After panic-Googling and visiting a dermatologist, it became evident that I was paying the price for not religiously applying sunscreen and giving much thought to what I was putting on my face. The day before my face became a tomato, I went on a monster hike in the Hong Kong sun (sans protection). I had also been using products with various skin-sensitizing agents. My dermatologist said I had developed sensitive skin, which accounted for the uncomfortable burning sensation on my face. She advised gentle, natural products, paying attention to my diet, and most importantly, never leaving the house without SPF. The latter genuinely surprised me: I was under the very misguided impression (pervasive inPOC communities) that melanin-blessed people do not need sunscreen. WRONG.

Melanin is not effective protection from harmful UV rays, which ages, damages and sensitizes skin. Sun exposure can also lead to hyperpigmentation and actinic keratosis. It’s always better late than never. But of course, wearing sunscreen should be a lifelong habit. Especially when it comes to skin, prevention is always better than the treatment.

The best type of sunscreen is broad spectrum, which protects against both kinds of UV rays (UVA and UVB). The problem for people with darker complexions is finding the right SPF product which does not leave a white pasty residue.Purito Centella Green Level Unscented Sun SPF50+ PA++++ is one sunscreen that will not give you a corpse-like pallor. Best of all, it is formulated for sensitive skin. Hyaluronic acid protects the skin barrier while niacinamide is a multi-tasker: it brightens dull skin, tightens pores and can even repair previous environmental damage.  Centella meanwhile has antibacterial and soothing properties.

By Anura Logan

"Hear hear! Anura definitely knows what she's talkin' about! Also, you can get this awesome sunscreen here (comes scented / unscented for our sensitive skin peeps) - Purito Centella Green Level Unscented Sun SPF." - Kellie x