New and improved moistuizer: I’ve been in and out of the lab a few times and we’re making some fantastic progress. I’ll hopefully be sending out samples to moderators and product testers soon to see if they prefer it to the current moisturizer. I prefer it quite a bit myself. The samples I’ve been developing have no tack, take care of flakiness, and feel amazing.

Spot treatment: I’m on the second round of spot treatment now and I’ve sent it out to some moderators and testers to see what they think. I’ll let you know when I get a response from them. I’m not settled on this sample, but wanted to get some feedback before taking it back for improvements.

SPF: I’m waiting to nail down the new and improved non-spf moisturizer first in the hopes of using that base for the SPF. The SPF is still a ways away.

Picture me with my hands up by my shoulders, palms upward, with a silly frown on my face. That’s where I feel like I am with the whole SPF issue. I just don’t know where to go from here. I’ve tried tons of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide SPFs at this point, probably around 70 samples from our formulators and 10 over-the-counter products. Yeah, that’s pretty ridiculous. But it took me trying that many to realize zinc and titanium probably aren’t going to work for us. It turns out they are flake promoting ingredients, and I can’t seem to formulate the flakiness away.

So, what do we do? Well, one option would be moisturizing with a regular moisturizer first, and then applying a zinc or titanium SPF on top of it. That seems kind of annoying to me though. There are already three parts to the regimen and I’d rather not make it four. Plus, my gut says it will still cause flakes. But, it’s always something I could try, so I will try that out and let you know how that works. If you’d like to try with me, I’d love to hear your feedback.

So let’s theoretically say zinc and titanium are out. That would leave us with avobenzone as the only other broad spectrum SPF option. Any other SPF ingredients are not going to give us the UVA protection we want. But, avobenzone-based sunscreens tend to break me out. So, it’s time to look into this issue more deeply. Is it the avobenzone that’s breaking me out or other ingredients in avobenzone products I’ve tried? I’m going to delve into this and see what I can come up with. If we can make avobenzone work without breaking people out, it may be our best option.

In the meantime, I wear hats. I just wear a hat every day. It’s become part of my wardrobe. I put some zinc or titanium SPF on the back of my neck, throw on a hat, and I’m out the door.

My SPF of choice is just a wide brimmed hat. I like hats because they physically block the sun, and block it at 100%. Plus, I’m not putting extra ingredients on my skin this way. If you decide to use hats, just be aware that they can irritate the forehead area. Doing the Regimen up there should help you stay clear even if you use a hat.

Chemical exfoliants like retinoids (Retin-A, tazorac, etc.), alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic acid, lactic acid), and salicylic acid, can make your skin more sensitive to the sun. Be extra aware of sun protection if you are using any of these products.

It’s the first week of summer! Sun Week continues at Acne.org.

My SPF of choice is just a wide brimmed hat. I like hats because they physically block the sun, and block it at 100%. Plus, I’m not putting extra ingredients on my skin this way. If you decide to use hats, just be aware that they can irritate the forehead area. Doing the Regimen up there should help you stay clear even if you use a hat.

Chemical exfoliants like retinoids (Retin-A, tazorac, etc.), alpha hydroxy acids (glycolic acid, lactic acid), and salicylic acid, can make your skin more sensitive to the sun. Be extra aware of sun protection if you are using any of these products.

Come shopping with me today and we’ll take a look at SPF options down at my local Walgreens.

The video is super grainy. I’m not sure what’s up. I’ve been having huge problems with YouTube all week, so it’s a mystery. Anyway, I hope the information still comes through.

We only get our vitamin D from the sun and from dairy, so if you’re not getting a lot of sun and you don’t eat much fortified dairy, it’s a good idea to take a vitamin D3 supplement.