“Everything becomes a little different as soon as it is spoken out loud.” Hermann Hesse

This is probably my most given answer to the most asked question: What helps to prevent skin aging? There is only little so effective but accessible to the public and for every income bracket than sunscreen. Really, you can ask every professional dermatologist on this planet, a good sunscreen is the best protection against skin aging. Some scientists even photographed twins side by side, with one twin being more exposed to the sun than the other, the one with higher sun exposure looked visibly aged compared to the other (see here). I will stop preaching now but I feel like this is the only true advice I can give to the many, many people asking me for skincare advice. Of course a little Sunday Riley, SK-II and MD Perricone make your skincare routine a bit sweeter but sunscreen literally is the bread and butter if you fear wrinkles. It gives me the creeps when I see raw, vegan, ‘chemistry-is-bad’ moms rubbing their baby in coconut oil and letting them roast in the australian sun. Be conscious! So to break down the topic I split it up to the 5 most given objections I received against daily sunscreen:

A good daily sunscreen is expensive:
If approximately 10 USD for a decent daily sunscreen, which protects you from wrinkles and skin cancer, is not worth to you I don’t know what to say. Better prevention than cure, right? I think Shiseido Senka (link on the right bar) is very affordable and does a good job. Also, if you live in Europe you can look out for the next Lidl Supermarket near you, I found out they have a very nice Anti-Aging creme with effective sunscreen for 3 EUR! No joke. Get it.

But there is no sun in my country, so I don’t need sunscreen to safe my skin from aging:
Photostress is everywhere you have sunlight and skin damage accumulates over time which is called Photoaging. It is still the biggest skin aging factor next to chronicle aging and while the other is inevitable you can take photoaging in your own hands and protect yourself. (1, 2, 3).

I don’t understand the long chemistry name labels on most sunscreen products, so I don’t use them:
Okay, I hear that alot. This is a look at the INCIS of my daily spf-creme favorites (see right bar for exact product) and what you mostly find in other, similar sunscreen:

Paula’s Choice
active sunscreen agent: Zinc Oxide
The only thing you should fear in Zinc Oxide sunscreens is the white cast and that’s where the other ‘long-named’ chemistry compounds come into play: to help to perfectly contribute it all over your face. And most of the other long-chained inorganic compounds won’t even do a thing but be a) occlusive b) like a sebum sponge or c) an antioxidant imbedded matrix. I like this sunscreen because it’s so feathery, lightweight and semi-matte.

Aveeno
active sunscreen agent: Oxybenzone, Avobenzone, Homosalate, Octisalate and Octocrylene
Sunscreens like this are always a combination of UVA- and UVB-protecting chemical agents. They protect you by converting UV radiation to heat. Nowadays it is still the most effective sunscreen compared to amount of application and whitecast comfort and I find this one gives me a nice strobe glow and moisture. Yes, there are controversies and concerns with chemical sunscreen agents like Avobenzone and Homosalate, which are claimed by some to act as endocrine disruptors (stuff that messes with your hormone system). Paula’s Choice has a good list of all agents like the ones mentioned above, if you are concerned, too (see here) and wrote an extensive article with emphasis on cancer protection or cancer cause by sunscreen (read here). And while there is little evidence it is more harmful than helpful (it is still the most effective sunscreen for every wavelength) I would rather use this as a daily moisturizer than to take a swim in the oceans, because recent research suggests it causes decline of coral reefs, which makes sunscreen agents like this not your first choice when step into the ocean.

Shiseido Senka
active sunscreen agent: Octinoxate, Parsol XS, Ensulizole, Uvinul A Plus
Octinoxate and Parsol XS (Avobenzone) can be put in the same category as Aveeno’s mentioned above. Ensulizole is a UVB-protecting agent that needs to be combined with an UVA-protecting one like Avobenzone and usually finds a spot in formulations that should give a matte skin appearance. And that’s what I like about Shiseido Senka and all other japanese daily sunscreens, full of mattifying polymeric compounds like cyclomethicones and crosspolymers, they give such a matte finish they make you look like a porcelain doll.

All natural sunscreen is giving me a white cast and daily sunscreen is to oily for my face:
Particles for good natural (physical) sunscreen like ones with Zinc Oxide are nowadays usually very small, so it looks a bit white when you make flash pictures with your camera but not in everyday life. Don’t worry, if you already think about harmful nano particles, the ones here are still too big to do any harm. And also modern daily sunscreens have little to do with your remembrance of oily faces in the summer when you applied body sunscreen on your face. Unless you do exactly that you can be sure Zinc Oxide based sunscreens come in a mattifying medium like silicones or powdery textures.

I want a deep, dark tan. I cannot get a good tan without the sun:
Check out my take on the perfect self tanner application (click here). None of the Victoria Secret angels sizzle in the sun to get a tan, they rather have a visit by an Airbrush specialist who applies self tanner all over their body. Do they look orange? No. Because new self tanners have a smart blend and give you a nice glow. Many come with tint, so you know where you applied them. Yes, there are ‘natural’, organic options (check out LUSH’s sesame suntan, which is full of juglon-rich Walnut extract). No, you won’t suffer Vitamin D deficiency if you maintain a healthy diet. Be smart and fake tan if you prefer darker skin! Old ladies who where sunbathing their whole lifetime remind me of my velour minnetonka boots. Just don’t.

Pheew, what a long read. Sorry for the rant undertone. I hope many of you start to use sunscreen more frequently, if not already. Stay safe and be smart, Ea Birkkam.

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today: monochromatic beach + sunscreen favorites

“For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?” 2 Corinthians 2:15, Bible

Did you know the world’s first considered chemist was a female perfume maker from mesopotamia? The close link to the limbic system (brain location of emotions and memory functions) gives a hint on where to look for the cradle of perfumery because in this combination the sense of smell (also called Olfaction) is a shortcut link to our emotional past and future. Practical uses of pleasent odors in form of personal fragrances can be traced back almost simultaneously to the beginning of religion around 3200-3300 BCE, that’s about 5300 years from now! Frankincense, calamus, cedarwood and myrtle were used as offerings for the old mesopotamian gods and until now I think everyone who has visited a church (or mekka) associates frankinscense with sacrality and divinity. Since each religion has its own fragrances I break it down to my two favorites this time: frankincense and calamus.

Frankincense (or Olibanum) is the resin of the Boswellia tree. Especially used as an incense it has always fascinated me. Frankincense Oil is indeed a quite complex fragrance (esp. It is a mixture of hundred different olfaction-important chemical compounds. The exact composition of fragrant relevant chemicals depends on weather, region and time of harvest and the amount of harvests that have already taken place before. The most abundant molecules found in frankincense resin are boswellic acids. Boswellic acid has a similar structure to hormones like testosterone. Apart from that there are variable terpenes present like alpha- and beta-pinene and limonene, that give frankincense its signature smell. Numerous pharmacological uses like antriathritic, anti-inflammatory and according to latest research it can be considered as an anti-depressant. Even the euphoric feeling during acts of worship is a result of its chemical structure, which I find quite interesting.

Calamus (or Sweet Flag) is a plant called Acorus Calamus with a thick root that occurs in the edges of streams or other half-aquatic areas. Its Oil has like frankincense hundreds of compounds, but the most important ones to mention are phenylpropanes, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenoids. The oil of tetraploid Calamus is high in the carcinogenic beta-asarone, so it should be used with caution and in moderation. The medicinal usage has evolved quite independently thousands of years ago in ancient egypt, china, rome and greek. The oil of sweet flag is said to have antibacterial, antifungal, and antiamebic properties and it’s therefore used as a natural antibiotic. It was used as a allegedly strong aphrodisiac in early Europe and China which stands quite in contrast with the other use of early North America, New Guinea to induce abortion (read more more). There are manuscripts that suggest it is an important constituent of various religious Temple Oils and anointments and this, I would say, was the beginning of the olfactoric use (for the alchemists and esoterics upon us it was used in the infamous Abramelin Oil, too, which became especially important via Aleister Crowley). I particularly like the scent because it smells like the sacral sister of cinnamon. Very woody-balmy!

I hope you enjoyed this introduction to fragrance chemistry and I will do an entry like this more often in future. It was part of my final coursework in school so it has a special place in my heart. It is hard to control my wish right now to shop a few new resinous fragrances like 03. Apr. 1968 Rundholz with frankincense or Etat Libre d’Orange Dangerous Complicity with Calamus. As you might have noticed I am a fan of niche fragrances like this. Best, Ea
 

today: worship – white silk, black leather