Published: May 15, 2025
Thinking of simplifying your skincare routine? This has become a popular move lately, with more and more people recognizing the benefits of not overloading their skin with too many products.
With that said, while stripping back your skincare routine could do your skin the world of good, there’s one skincare product that should never be cut out: your sunscreen. This is, without a doubt, the most important skincare product to use on a daily basis, 365 days a year. Keep reading as Bionyx explains why this is, before sharing some tips on how to ensure that you’re getting the most out of your sunscreen.
Why is Sunscreen the Most Important Skincare Product in Your Routine?
There are so many environmental aggressors out there that can harm your skin, but the sun is the most dangerous. The damage that those UV rays cause to your skin cells runs deep, to the point where it even affects the DNA that lies at the heart of each cell.
What does this mean for your complexion? Allowing your skin to be damaged by the sun will lead to the following:
- Sunburns, with each sunburn significantly increasing your risk of developing skin cancer.
- A breakdown in your skin’s protein fibers. This speeds up the onset of fine lines, wrinkles, and loose skin.
- Dark spots and discoloration due to the excess melanin the skin produces when exposed to UV rays.
- A rough texture.
- Dullness and a lack of radiance.
- Dehydrated skin.
No matter how good your skincare routine may be, you won’t be able to keep your skin looking and feeling healthy unless you’re also protecting it from the sun.
How to Choose the Right Sunscreen for Your Skin
With sunscreen being the single most important skincare product in your routine, it’s vital to ensure that you pick the right formula for your skin.
The first thing to consider is SPF. This indicates how well a sunscreen will protect against UVB rays. Ideally, you should be using a sunscreen with a minimum SPF of 30. Yes, there are higher-rated products out there but these aren’t drastically better unless you happen to have very sensitive skin.
Next, ensure that your sunscreen is a broad-spectrum formula. While SPF tells you that a skincare product will protect against UVB rays, you also need to make sure that your sunscreen will shield your skin from UVA rays too. Look for a product that has at least four stars on the UVA star rating system. This is something that should be displayed on the packaging of a broad-spectrum sunscreen.
Finally, decide whether you want to go for a chemical or a mineral sunscreen. Both are effective at safeguarding the skin from sun damage, but they each work in different ways. Experiment with both to figure out which suits your skin best.
Making the Most of Your Sunscreen
Once you’ve found a sunscreen that you enjoy using, it’s time to ensure that you’re using it in a way that will bring you maximum benefits:
Know Where Your Sunscreen Fits Into Your Skincare Routine
Although many sunscreens have a creamy consistency, most won’t be capable of replacing your moisturizer. Instead, you’ll still need to moisturize, in addition to applying a sunscreen. The big question is: should your sunscreen go over or under your moisturizer? Get this wrong and your sunscreen won’t be as effective as it should be.
The answer lies in the type of sunscreen you’re using. As we mentioned earlier, chemical and mineral sunscreens work in different ways. Since mineral sunscreens deflect UV rays, they should lie on the outermost layer of your skin. This means applying a mineral sunscreen after you moisturize. Chemical sunscreens, on the other hand, tend to work better when sitting nearer to your skin. Therefore, they should be applied before you moisturize.
One extra tip: to prevent your skin from feeling greasy or heavy with both a moisturizer and a sunscreen, pick a lightweight moisturizer to use during the day, like the Bionyx Rhodium Essential Day Cream.
Apply Vitamin C Underneath Your Sunscreen
While SPF 30 blocks around 97% of the sun’s UVB rays, this still means that 3% will get through, even when your skin is covered with a sunscreen. Yes, a higher SPF will provide a little more protection, but there’s no skincare product out there that will protect you from 100% of UV rays.
This is why it always pays to take additional measures to save your skin from the appearance of sun damage, one of which would be to apply vitamin C underneath your sunscreen. Why? Because research shows that this keeps the skin feeling additionally protected from UVB damage, with vitamin C working synergistically with UV filters.
The best way to do this is with a serum that contains the antioxidant, such as the Bionyx Alloy Platinum Synergizing Serum. In addition to vitamin C, this serum also contains sodium hyaluronate, collagen, and peptides, which will help to counter some of the other ways in which the sun damages the complexion.
Reapply Your Sunscreen Every Two Hours
While there may be some great sunscreens out there, you won’t find a single SPF skincare product that will provide all-day protection. Instead, every sunscreen will need to be reapplied throughout the day, usually every two hours. If you’re sweating or swimming, you’ll need to reapply it even more often.
Why? Because the effectiveness of a sunscreen declines as the minutes go by. UV rays break active ingredients down, sweat and water wash them away, and touching your face displaces the product.
The only way to ensure that your skin remains sufficiently protected is to religiously reapply your sunscreen every couple of hours.
Cleanse Your Skin Before Applying SPF
While you won’t be able to cleanse your skin each time you reapply your sunscreen throughout the day (not only would you end up spending a large chunk of each day cleansing, but over-cleansing can really damage your skin), this is something that’s definitely worth doing properly in the mornings.
Even if you’ve cleansed your skin the night before, oil, sweat, dead cells, and more will still have appeared on your skin’s surface, as well as in your pores, by morning. These will all hinder the performance of your sunscreen.
Ideally, use a gentle cleanser that will leave your skin feeling strong and resilient, just like the Bionyx Rhodium Mousse Cleanser. This decadent formula contains coconut-derived cleansing agents, amino acids, and other skin-loving ingredients.
Be Generous With How Much Product You Use
One mistake that’s easily made when applying sunscreen is not using enough of the stuff. A sunscreen will only provide the SPF rating that’s promised if you’ve applied a sufficient amount of the skincare product.
So, how much sunscreen should you be using? Go with the two-finger rule. Hold out your middle and index fingers and apply a line of sunscreen across them both. Then, spread that amount over your face and neck.
Prevent Sunscreen Residue From Building Up
Of course, using generous amounts of sunscreen multiple times a day means that sunscreen residue can quickly build up on the skin and in the pores. A quick cleanse in the evening may not be enough to clear all of this away. This will then leave your skin congested the next morning, preventing your sunscreen from working quite so well that day.
What should you do instead? If you’ve applied a large amount of sunscreen over the course of the day, you may need to double cleanse your skin. Start with an oil-based cleanser and then follow up with a water-based cleanser to ensure that all traces of SPF are removed.
Exfoliation will also remove any sunscreen buildup from within your pores. A peeling gel, like the Rhodium Complex Facial Peeling from Bionyx, will do the job efficiently without harming your skin’s natural protective barrier. This formula is gentle enough to be used a few times a week.
Keep Your Skin Protected While You’re Indoors Too
Think you can skip sunscreen because you plan on spending the day indoors? Think again. As we’ve said from the start, sunscreen is the one skincare product that you should never skip. Sure, you may not be outside under the direct sun, but the sun’s UV rays can still penetrate through glass. Unless you’re going to spend the day in a dark room, you’ll need sunscreen.
It’s also worth noting that some sunscreens can also help to protect against the appearance of blue light damage, which comes from digital screens. This can be further enhanced by adding plenty of antioxidants to your skincare routine. A product like the Bionyx Platinum Transformative Cream will ensure that your skin has access to some of the best antioxidants around!
Don’t Forget About Your Body
While all of our tips so far have been focused on the face, don’t forget that the skin on your body is susceptible to sun damage too. Although it may not be as thin as facial skin, it will still discolor, wrinkle, and sag the more it’s exposed to the sun.
While your clothing will provide a good amount of protection, any exposed areas of skin, from your neck and chest to your hands and feet, should be covered with sunscreen. Follow the same rules as when applying sunscreen to your face, meaning use plenty of product and reapply it every two hours.
Summary
There’s no denying that cleansers, moisturizers, and more are all essential skincare products. However, when it comes to keeping your skin safe and healthy, nothing quite compares to the importance of sunscreen. This is the one skincare product to really dedicate yourself to. Ensure that your sunscreen efforts are up to scratch as much as possible and you’ll be rewarded with skin that looks bright, smooth, and youthful well into the later years of your life.
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