on my face, neck, and hands. Daily.

But this started moreso as a vanity/anti-wrinkle/anti-aging measure than a cancer protection measure (though, as I've learned more about oncogenesis and by losing a friend to cancer when I was younger, I def view the protection as a meaningful benefit nowadays). I also admired the complexions of my darkskinned friends and family members, and concluded I'd need to put in major effort to come anywhere close to aging/glowing as beautifully as they do lol.


The challenge is finding a formulation that doesn't look ashy on our individual skintones. I recently switched to this one from my old brand tho and really, really, like it (happy to give a review if anyone's interested):

https://www.amazon.com/Ombrelle-Complete-Sensitive-Advanced-SPF/dp/B07L4MKT5N/


Because my sunscreen kick started so young, I often wondered whether it was making any difference besides preventing sunburns. But at my old laser clinic (that I could afford before temporarily caregiving in poverty/under strict income-restrictions to help my fam *cries*), you had to receive an advanced skin analysis with one of those big ass machines before getting anything done (can't remember if it was this one, but similar output: https://silklaser.com.au/skin-treatments/observ-520/). And the dermatologist was quite encouraged that I only had a sprinkling of UV damage around the underside of the tip of my nose (so basically the area I often missed during rushed sunscreen application).

In contrast, it's wild how different one's skin can look on one side v. the other (e.g. truck and rideshare drivers with asymmetrical sun exposure through their various windshields; workers in offices who sit with one side exposed to a big window, etc), or even between identical twins with same genes but different sun exposure:

https://curology.com/guides/skin-health/3-photos-that-will-convince-you-to-wear-sunscreen-every-day/