Lifestyle

Why You Shouldn’t Use Spray Sunscreen

by Ally Batista
Stocksy

It’s summer time and while you may be cooped up inside your office all day, out of the sunshine, I know that you look forward to the weekends in anticipation of bronzing up that skin that’s been way too pale all winter.

Lying out in the sunshine is great. Trust me, I would do it all day, but we all know that it’s not particularly good for our skin. UV ray exposure causes cancer, dark spots, and wrinkles. Generation Y has absolutely no place for this, so sunscreen application is crucial.

It’s still possible to get tan with sunscreen on, so never neglect applying it for fear of missing out on your coveted bronzed skin. Protect your skin, but also, protect it in the right way.

A lot of sunscreen companies have converted their products into aerosol spray-on cans. This method may enhance convenience and speed, but you should really go the alternative route. Use a lotion sunscreen instead of a spray can version. Why?

Spray sun block always goes on patchy. Have you ever sprayed sun block on yourself only to later realize that you have random squares of sunburn on your body? If your sun block isn’t applying evenly, it’s not protecting you evenly, and skin cancer can form anywhere.

Secondly, sunscreen sprays in an unruly way, and often times gets in your face. We’ve all experienced a slight coughing fit after spraying sunscreen on us, and that’s because you’re inhaling it. Even if you keep your mouth shut and don’t breathe in through your nose, the sunscreen lingers in the air and the human lungs were not intended to inhale all of those chemicals.

Finally, for all of our environmentally conscious readers out there, aerosol cans used for spray sunscreen are bad for the environment and the ozone. You wouldn’t want to simultaneously harm your skin and the planet, would you?  I didn’t think so.

Photo Credit: Getty Images