Summer Skin Playbook: Smarter Habits for Everyday Sun Protection
Protecting your skin doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s about making smart swaps, building better habits, and keeping SPF within reach. By optimizing your routine and making sun-smart daily choices, you can stay covered without extra effort.
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Sun protection isn’t just for summer — it’s an everyday habit that pays off year-round. But with summer fast approaching, now’s a great time to optimize your routine. Longer days, stronger sun, and more time outdoors make it even more important to build smart habits now -- habits that will keep your skin protected this summer and long after.
This is a skincare playbook designed to help you make smarter decisions about sun protection by focusing on your daily habits and routines. By optimizing your approach now, you’ll create an effortless system that keeps you covered all year-round.
Keep it Simple: Give Your Routine an SPF Upgrade
The simplest way to optimize your routine for maximum protection is to make smart swaps — instead of adding newskincare steps, you can just upgrade the ones you’re already taking. Take a look at your routine and ask: does an SPF-enabled version of this product exist? If so, making the switch can keep your routine simple while ensuring you're getting some sun protection baked in.
- Add SPF where you’re already moisturizing: Post-shower body lotion? Swap it out for one with SPF. Moisturizing with SPF ensures you’re covered even when you forget a dedicated sunscreen layer.
- Consider SPF-enabled makeup: While I have some thoughts on SPF makeup, I think it's a great starting point if you have a solid re-application strategy. SPF-enabled foundations and lipsticks are great ways to start baking in SPF daily.
- Upgrade your lip balm: Dry lips are common, but burned lips are avoidable. An SPF lip balm is a small swap that can make a big impact -- not to mention that lips are an often overlooked sunburn spot, right next to the neck and ears. Stay covered!
Making the SPF upgrade will keep you covered for the first 90 minutes of your day, but reapplication is what ensures lasting protection. It's easy to forget this step — a morning application can feel like enough until you're hours into your day, unknowingly exposed. This is where optimizing daily touchpoints comes in.
Create Your SPF Stash: Stay Covered Wherever You Go
Sun protection fails when it’s treated as an afterthought. The key is reapplication, and this is where even the best SPF routines tend to fall apart. The solution? Create an SPF stash. By stashing away sunscreens, lotions, and SPF sticks in key locations such as your car, your desk, or your gym bag, you’ll always have coverage when you need it. Think about your daily routine and identify the best spots to keep SPF within reach, so you’re never without protection.
- Stash SPF in the car: This is a big one because driving typically means prolonged exposure to the sun through the driver-side window. (It may seem small, but with my hour-long LA commute, staying covered is essential.) I prefer keeping a mini SPF stick or spray on-hand to avoid mess; both fit perfectly in the glove compartment or side pocket.
- Stash SPF at work: If most of your day is spent at the office, then the next logical place to stash your SPF is at your desk. That way, if you decide to step outside for lunch or a coffee break, you're covered.
- Stash SPF in your gym bag: After a workout, you may already in the habit of showering and changing — this is the perfect moment to reapply SPF. Toss a mini lotion or stick into your bag so it's always part of your post-gym routine.
- Stash SPF in your personal bag: Treat SPF like an everyday essential: phone-keys-wallet-SPF. A mini sunscreen mist or stick is small enough to keep in your bag at all times, giving you no excuse to skip protection when you're out and about.
Your SPF stash should be lightweight and practical, so leave your bulky full-size bottles at home. For on-the-go coverage, travel-sized lotions, sprays, and sticks are your best bet. They're compact, convenient, and easy to grab when you're in a rush.
Everyday Choices That Protect Your Skin
Comprehensive sun protection isn’t just about what lotions you apply. It's also about how you move through your day. Everyday moments like outdoor brunch, grabbing a window-seat, or driving with the top down may seem harmless, but these choices add up.
By being mindful about where you sit, walk, or relax, you can make a big difference. Small, intentional choices can reduce your UV exposure without changing your lifestyle.
- Out for a walk? Rethink your route: What does your daily walk look like? Are you always going for the sunny side of the street? If so, try switching to shaded routes whenever possible — it’s an easy way to reduce exposure without changing your plans, and you may even get some more steps in.
- Patio brunch? Grab a shady spot: Brunch is a West Coast essential -- enjoy it! But see if you can get a spot in the shade to minimize direct exposure.
- Wear smarter clothes: A lightweight long-sleeve shirt, or a baseball can both be great additions to your SPF stash, giving you additional options to cover up with when you're outdoors longer than expected. Not only that, UPF-rated clothing can provide elevated protection sewn into your daily wardrobe.
Remember: the goal isn’t to avoid outdoor activities! It’s to be intentional about where you spend time and how you protect your skin in the process. Small changes like choosing shade, switching your walking route, or tossing on a hat can go a long way.
Build a Sun Protection System that Works for You
Your sun protection routine doesn’t need to be complicated — it just needs to be consistent. Start by choosing one small change today, whether it's adding SPF to your morning moisturizer, tossing a mini sunscreen in your bag, or picking the shady side of the street on your next walk. These small steps add up, and your skin will thank you later.