Beauty fix: Should I be wearing more SPF and are chemical sunscreens safe to use?
'I'm still shocked by how people are so misinformed about sun protection, or else they don't want to know,' says Eavanna Breen, aesthetician and clinical director of Eavanna Breen Skin & Laser Clinic.
We all know, of course, that we should be wearing sun protection all year round. A remarkable number of us don't however, and particularly not in winter, but when summer rolls around, we try to get sun-smart again.
Breen backs up the message that SPF is not just for summer. Filtering out the sun's UVA rays that cause damage and ageing and UVB rays, the ones that burn, is crucial all year for both health and vanity.
I keep hearing that chemical sunscreens are bad for us, is this true and what are they?
'This is absolutely not true,' says Breen. 'The rigorous testing before a product is deemed safe is incredible. People who think that they're dangerous are just not reading the evidence. But one thing goes viral and then people are scared.'
Chemical sunscreens most often contain ingredients such as avobenzone, octinoxate or oxybenzone, which create a film that absorbs UV rays.
It is her bread and butter to have done the research and, says Breen, there is no concern around the body absorbing chemical sunscreens.
Then what are physical sunscreens?
Physical sunscreens typically contain ingredients such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which do not absorb but sit on top of the skin, reflecting the rays away.
These are the ones that don't sink tracelessly into the skin and sometimes lend a white caste, which often puts people off.
'These days,' says Breen, 'the better products are those that contain a combination of both chemical and physical ingredients. Also, the formulations are getting better all the time and tend to be lighter and don't give that white caste. The combination of both chemical and physical ingredients means you get good coverage and it's nice to use.
I know I have to reapply regularly on holidays, but what about at home?
'On holidays, you absolutely have to reapply every two hours,' says Breen, 'but on a nice day in Ireland, you also need to reapply.'
'SPF breaks down throughout the day,' Breen explains. 'So when you put your SPF50 on at 7am, by 11am that's probably back down to a 30. And by 1pm, when you're going to sit outside with your sandwich it could be down to a 20. So you need to reapply.'
Is the SPF in my moisturiser, primer or make-up sufficient?
'It's not that they offer less protection, it's just that people don't put enough on to get the protection they need. You need two fingers' worth of SPF to get enough cover. But if you put on two fingers of foundation, it looks ridiculous. Nobody puts on that amount, so they're not getting enough SPF from it. The same goes for moisturiser.'
However, Breen agrees, with one finger's worth of moisturiser and then one finger of primer or foundation, all including a good SPF, then you're 'just about' getting enough.
Can I use a hydrating sunscreen instead of my moisturiser?
'All sunscreen sits on the surface layer of the skin and doesn't go too far down in to the skin and there are some that are hydrating, but not as hydrating as a moisturiser, so it doesn't replace one for most people."
If you find SPF plus moisturiser too much, she suggests using an antioxidant serum like vitamin C and then sunscreen on top of that.
But what about getting my vitamin D — doesn't SPF block it out?
'No,' says Breen, who says she was shocked by how many messages she received about this after a recent TV appearance.
'You can still get vitamin D through SPF50. It won't be quite as much as if you had no sun protection on, but if you want to top up your vitamin D, get outdoors before 11am for five to 15 minutes twice a week, and that's enough to get your levels up. But please wear your sunscreen.'
Skinmade Protect and Care Sun Oil SPF50, €47, eavannabreen.ie
An oil product that does not feel oily, this chemical sunscreen goes on after serums, but before creams. High in antioxidants from red algae, it also helps protect against inflammation and ageing free radicals and includes ceramides, to boost the skin barrier and promote smoothness.
NeoStrata Skin Brightener SPF35, €42.95, selected pharmacies nationwide
This is a moisturising and sun-protecting product that is rich in antioxidants and also contains NeoGlucosamine, a non-acid light exfoliant that helps to reduce pigmentation. Take care to use enough product that you're well covered for sun protection.
Rosalique 3 in 1 Anti-Redness Miracle Formula SPF50, €34.95, pharmacies nationwide
For skin prone to redness or any inflammation, this is a hardworking SPF that calms, covers and protects from damaging rays. A physical sunscreen with titanium oxide, it is less likely to irritate sensitive skins. It also has redness-reducing ingredients and a green tint to counter any redness.
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Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Perimenopausal and menopausal skin: How to tackle the most common problems
The dawn of my 40s has brought plenty of welcome changes, but along with the good, there have been a few unpleasant surprises, many of them showing up on my skin. My once occasional hormonal breakouts are, annoyingly, more frequent. Stubborn spots, often deep, painful ones, congregate around my chin and jawline, immune to my usual quick fixes, and my skin feels more prone to dullness than ever before. What is going on? I asked Eavanna Breen, aesthetician and clinical director of Eavanna Breen Skin and Laser Clinic to break down exactly what's happening to our skin during perimenopause and menopause – from dryness and dullness to breakouts and pigmentation changes – and what we can do about it. Why does it feel like our skin changes overnight during perimenopause and menopause? Because in many ways, it does. Hormonal shifts, particularly the drop in oestrogen, impact multiple systems at once, and skin is often the first place women see those changes. It's not your imagination – what used to work suddenly doesn't, and skin can go from stable to reactive, dull, dry or breakout-prone seemingly overnight. What is happening in the skin? Oestrogen plays a huge role in skin health. It regulates collagen production, moisture retention, wound healing and skin thickness. As oestrogen declines, so does the skin's ability to stay firm, hydrated and resilient. Cell turnover slows down, skin barrier function weakens and inflammation becomes more likely. Everything becomes just a bit more delicate. READ MORE What about collagen loss – does it speed up? Yes. The numbers are stark. Women lose about 30 per cent of their collagen in the first five years after menopause. After that, collagen continues to decline at roughly 2 per cent per year. This loss is one of the main reasons for accelerated signs of ageing, such as sagging, fine lines and thinner, less elastic skin. Eavanna Breen, aesthetician and clinical director of Eavanna Breen Skin and Laser Clinic What does that look like in the mirror? In clinic, the two most common concerns I hear are: 'My face looks like it's dropping' – a result of volume loss and skin laxity, and 'My skin looks dull and dry, no matter what I use' – due to impaired barrier function and reduced oil production. You mention 'impaired barrier function' – does that mean our skin becomes more sensitive? Absolutely. As oestrogen drops, so does the production of lipids and ceramides, otherwise known as the 'glue' that holds your barrier together. This makes skin more reactive, more prone to redness and less able to bounce back from irritation or environmental stress. What about pigmentary changes – is it common to see patchy, uneven skin? Yes. Melanin production becomes irregular, often leading to age spots, melasma and uneven tone. 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Irish Independent
4 days ago
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Beauty fix: Should I be wearing more SPF and are chemical sunscreens safe to use?
'I'm still shocked by how people are so misinformed about sun protection, or else they don't want to know,' says Eavanna Breen, aesthetician and clinical director of Eavanna Breen Skin & Laser Clinic. We all know, of course, that we should be wearing sun protection all year round. A remarkable number of us don't however, and particularly not in winter, but when summer rolls around, we try to get sun-smart again. Breen backs up the message that SPF is not just for summer. Filtering out the sun's UVA rays that cause damage and ageing and UVB rays, the ones that burn, is crucial all year for both health and vanity. I keep hearing that chemical sunscreens are bad for us, is this true and what are they? 'This is absolutely not true,' says Breen. 'The rigorous testing before a product is deemed safe is incredible. People who think that they're dangerous are just not reading the evidence. But one thing goes viral and then people are scared.' Chemical sunscreens most often contain ingredients such as avobenzone, octinoxate or oxybenzone, which create a film that absorbs UV rays. It is her bread and butter to have done the research and, says Breen, there is no concern around the body absorbing chemical sunscreens. Then what are physical sunscreens? Physical sunscreens typically contain ingredients such as zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which do not absorb but sit on top of the skin, reflecting the rays away. These are the ones that don't sink tracelessly into the skin and sometimes lend a white caste, which often puts people off. 'These days,' says Breen, 'the better products are those that contain a combination of both chemical and physical ingredients. Also, the formulations are getting better all the time and tend to be lighter and don't give that white caste. The combination of both chemical and physical ingredients means you get good coverage and it's nice to use. I know I have to reapply regularly on holidays, but what about at home? 'On holidays, you absolutely have to reapply every two hours,' says Breen, 'but on a nice day in Ireland, you also need to reapply.' 'SPF breaks down throughout the day,' Breen explains. 'So when you put your SPF50 on at 7am, by 11am that's probably back down to a 30. And by 1pm, when you're going to sit outside with your sandwich it could be down to a 20. So you need to reapply.' Is the SPF in my moisturiser, primer or make-up sufficient? 'It's not that they offer less protection, it's just that people don't put enough on to get the protection they need. You need two fingers' worth of SPF to get enough cover. But if you put on two fingers of foundation, it looks ridiculous. Nobody puts on that amount, so they're not getting enough SPF from it. The same goes for moisturiser.' However, Breen agrees, with one finger's worth of moisturiser and then one finger of primer or foundation, all including a good SPF, then you're 'just about' getting enough. Can I use a hydrating sunscreen instead of my moisturiser? 'All sunscreen sits on the surface layer of the skin and doesn't go too far down in to the skin and there are some that are hydrating, but not as hydrating as a moisturiser, so it doesn't replace one for most people." If you find SPF plus moisturiser too much, she suggests using an antioxidant serum like vitamin C and then sunscreen on top of that. But what about getting my vitamin D — doesn't SPF block it out? 'No,' says Breen, who says she was shocked by how many messages she received about this after a recent TV appearance. 'You can still get vitamin D through SPF50. It won't be quite as much as if you had no sun protection on, but if you want to top up your vitamin D, get outdoors before 11am for five to 15 minutes twice a week, and that's enough to get your levels up. But please wear your sunscreen.' Skinmade Protect and Care Sun Oil SPF50, €47, An oil product that does not feel oily, this chemical sunscreen goes on after serums, but before creams. High in antioxidants from red algae, it also helps protect against inflammation and ageing free radicals and includes ceramides, to boost the skin barrier and promote smoothness. NeoStrata Skin Brightener SPF35, €42.95, selected pharmacies nationwide This is a moisturising and sun-protecting product that is rich in antioxidants and also contains NeoGlucosamine, a non-acid light exfoliant that helps to reduce pigmentation. Take care to use enough product that you're well covered for sun protection. Rosalique 3 in 1 Anti-Redness Miracle Formula SPF50, €34.95, pharmacies nationwide For skin prone to redness or any inflammation, this is a hardworking SPF that calms, covers and protects from damaging rays. A physical sunscreen with titanium oxide, it is less likely to irritate sensitive skins. It also has redness-reducing ingredients and a green tint to counter any redness.
Irish Daily Mirror
25-05-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Skin expert slams worrying sun cream trend - 'Beyond shocked'
One of Ireland's leading skin experts has revealed a worrying trend that some people are ditching sun protection as they believe it's dangerous. Eavanna Breen said she was shocked to learn that despite continuous campaigns on the importance of SPF, some think it's a hoax. After appearing on Virgin Media's Ireland AM this week to speak about sun safety, the skin expert was flooded with social media comments deterring people from using sunscreen. She told the Irish Mirror: 'It really only came to light for me after Ireland AM posted on their Instagram a clip of my interview. The amount of comments in it saying that sunscreens are toxic, that they contain chemicals that cause cancer and that we shouldn't be using them. 'Some people were even suggesting to make their own. I was just beyond shocked at the volume of people that believe that sunscreen is bad for them.' The chemicals in sunscreen that cause concern include oxybenzone, retinyl palmitate and parabens. However, none of these chemicals have been classified as a cancer-causing substance by any major scientific organisation. Oxybenzone gets the worst reputation, due to concerns that it might act as a hormone disruptor - a chemical that has the ability to interfere with the body's natural hormone production. One study which used rats found it disrupted their hormones, however, the rodents were fed oxybenzone; it wasn't placed on their skin. The Journal of American Academy of Dermatology found it would take an individual 277 years of sunscreen use to achieve the equivalent systemic dose that produced effects in these rat studies. Eavanna said she thinks there's a bit of 'tin foil on the head' with people who are rejecting sun protection. She added: 'People are so disillusioned with governments and scientists, and since the pandemic, there's just a huge lack of trust out there. 'I think that's what it's about. They just don't trust the scientists. They don't trust science. And, yeah, it's just this growing conspiracy theory that we're not being told everything that we need to know.' The skin expert said it's 'worrying and upsetting' that people believe this, as skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Ireland. This country also has the highest incidence of skin cancer in Europe. According to the Irish Cancer Society, there are almost 12,000 cases of skin cancer diagnosed in Ireland every year, with nine out of ten being caused by ultraviolet radiation (UV rays) from the sun or sunbeds. The owner of the Eavanna Breen Skin Clinic said she believes the prevalence is high because we are less educated than other countries, and Irish people are 'obsessed' with getting a tan. She continued: 'I think that that culture comes from the fact that we don't have a lot of sunshine, we're not as educated about it. 'In Australia, they know the drill. They know because it's constant. The message is there constantly, the facts, the science, the government guidelines, they're always being bombarded with how to manage and how to cope but we just don't have that here in Ireland.' Eavanna said the best tan is from a bottle, and that people don't need to worry about harmful chemicals in self-tanners. She added: 'Within the EU consumer safety they monitor toxins so closely in skincare. 'So within any skincare product, all the ingredients are measured for their toxicity, so anything that you buy that's made in the EU is pretty safe. So for people to say that they're full of chemicals in the same way they would say that about sunscreens, it's just not true. 'Yes, there are chemicals, but they are chemicals in safe doses that won't cause cancer and don't disrupt your endocrine system. So they are safe.'
