Beauty & Health

My obsession with sun care

2 July 2013

Sun care is something very close to my heart. To the point where some people might think of it as being a little extreme.

For example…
Where possible, I never leave house until the sun goes down.

I never leave home without sunscreen, and at least an umbrella. Sometimes it’s sunscreen + cap + sunglasses + umbrella. I used to take oral sunscreen pills too, but I can’t get them in Japan so I had to give that up :(

Curtains are drawn all the time in the house. My curtains are made of UV protective fabric. They block out more than 90% of UV rays. After that, I have another layer of curtains.

I feel supremely uncomfortable if the sun gets on my face. I think I know how vampires would feel if they existed, and if they were afraid of the sun.

There was once I shielded myself from the rising sun on the TV screen out of reflex. Yes, I realize how absolutely retarded that sounds. But I think it’s the same way how we would be scared by a horror movie, even though we know that the ghost is only confined to the screen?

The reason I’m so fanatical about sun care is mainly because of my DAMNED FRECKLES. God, how I hate them! It makes the skin look “dirty”. Being so OCD about cleanliness, how could I tolerate having my face look like I didn’t clean it?!?!

If you don’t have as many freckles on your face as I have on mine, please don’t patronize me by telling be how cute freckles are, etc. I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT!!! Arrrgghhhhh! Makes me feel even more frustrated that people who like them don’t have them, and yet they’re spawning all over face like it’s free!

What I dream of is to have crystal clear and radiant skin like Song Hye Kyo’s! (she’s the face for Laniege)

Skin still looks excellent under the harsh flash!

Still gorgeous without makeup

Dunno what she’s pouting about with skin like hers. Maybe she’s tired of all the attention?

Ahhhhh, she’s so pretty!!! Go google her name and be dazzled by her skin!

Unfortunately, I know this dream will a remain a dream. My skin will never be like hers :( I’ve gone for laser, I’ve seen a famous dermatologist for prescriptions. But inherently, it’s because it’s already encoded in my genes.

My mom has fair, clear skin.
My dad has dark, freckled skin.

Me?
I ended up with fair, freckled skin. T_T

IT’S ALL MY DAD’S FAULT!

Sigh, even though it can’t get better, the least I could do is to stop it from getting worse.

Apart from my freckles, there’s another reason why I strongly advocate sun care!

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows what sun damage can do to your skin.

This guy drove a truck for 28 years, and the right side shows the damage accumulated after all those years of driving!

 

Although most people won’t have skin like that (unless they’re a truck driver, I suppose), but it shows that the sun DOES damage your skin!

So please, don’t go out in the sun without some kind of sun protection!

If you use sunscreen, what brand do you use and why? I’m always interested to learn more about different brands! On that note, I will review the sunscreen I use/have used soon!

17 Comments

  • Reply Kelly Grainey 2 July 2013 at 2:58 pm

    Rin,

    You should check out this site if you haven’t discovered it yet. They proclaim the are a resource for Japanese cosmetics and beauty. Anyway she reviewed her favorite sunscreen for the spring and summer of 2013. I’ll enclose the link.

    http://www.ratzillacosme.com/2013/top-6-japanese-sunscreens-for-spring-summer-2013/

    To get that fair skin that Song Hye Kyo has, I don’t think you can achieve it with cosmeceuticals.

    Here’s an article on Tiffany of SNSD, So Nieu Shi Dae, or Girls’ Generation, whatever you want to call them, on how she lightened her skin.

    http://www.skincaretalk.com/t/27929/skin-whitening-lightening-in-south-korea

    It’s a procedure called “Vitamin C Iontophoresis”. So you would need to seek a health professional for this if you’re curious.

    Hope this helps

  • Reply Veron Chew 3 July 2013 at 8:57 am

    Hey gal, is me.and was reading your blog on the way to work..here thanks for entertain me..as SG sun are very power..recently I change my sunblock to Kiehls UV Sunscreen.. I had used alot of sunscreen previously but dun suit me as oily based. I discovered this sunscreen when following a blogger in instagram. So decide to give it a try.well I found it good..is not oily and moisture base. I quite like it.

    Veron

  • Reply Rin R 4 July 2013 at 12:38 am

    Hi again Kelly!

    I’ve not come across ratzilla before, so your introducing me to it is very helpful! (although potentially devastating to my wallet…)

    Ah yes, I’ve vaguely remember reading about Tiffany’s skin whitening, but didn’t think much of it nor thought to research it at that time. But looking at the before and after, I realize how stark the differences are!

    I’ve actually done the procedure before – it’s one of the steps that is done before the IPL is carried out on the freckles. In general, my spots did lighten, but because I have so much freckles, it still seems like alot :(

    But maybe Korea has some new secret reformulated technology since they’re so advanced in esthetics, so I think I will properly look into this again!

    Thank you for taking to comment and look up the links (for my sake! :’) ♥

  • Reply Rin R 4 July 2013 at 12:47 am

    Hey Veron!

    Haha, glad to entertain ;D

    Ah yes, I know of Kiehl’s sunscreen! You’re talking about the Ultra Light Daily UV Defense? It sounds good (SPF 50, PA+++, light texture) but I didn’t choose it mainly because it’s a chemical sunscreen, and I’m more the physical sunscreen school of thought person haha. It’s also quite pricey, right?

    Btw, I keep wanting to tell you about the Alice in Wonderland restaurant (that you commented on in Instagram previously) but kept forgetting -_-;;

    You might have seen it already, but just so I can finish what I set out to do, let me post the link here anyways haha! http://triplerin.com/2013/05/alice-in-wonderland-fantasy-dining.html

  • Reply Veron Chew 4 July 2013 at 9:36 am

    Haha, seriously I never look into details when I bought.haha I should say vain.. Yes it not cheap as it cost almost $100 plus for a sunscreen :( therefore I use it together with another sunscreen my skin doctor had prescribe to me.
    Previously I had tried Laniege.. all the skin care from langiege is good but the sunscreen was no no..was too oily. :( maybe it suit song hye kyo. Lol.

    Haha thanks for the link.. have not read the post yet.

  • Reply AnonBlogger 21 August 2013 at 7:27 am

    I do all the things you do too! The sun is my enemy and i will do everything i can to stop it from hurting me!

  • Reply Rin R 22 August 2013 at 4:28 pm

    @AnonBlogger:
    I KNEW I AM NOT ALONE IN THIS WAR!!!

  • Reply Oh happy days! - tripleRIN 22 August 2014 at 11:08 am

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  • Reply Review: Kanebo Allie Sunscreens • tripleRIN 7 November 2014 at 7:02 am

    […] a fanatic about suncare; This post explains it all. Therefore sunscreens are a staple product for my skin. I can go out without […]

  • Reply jina 28 April 2015 at 2:12 pm

    Hi Rin, i am also obsessed with sun care. I do the same thing with the curtain and my family doesn’t understand and always open the curtains again.T.T
    My skin is light but once i get tanned,its really hard to get it back. Can you recommend sunblock/suncreen(i also like natural non chemical one) that prevents tanning? Do you know any korean brand sunscreen that’s good? Thank you ^.^

  • Reply jina 28 April 2015 at 2:37 pm

    Oh sorry,forgot to ask. You said something about sunscreen pill. What brand did you buy before?Thanks again

    • Reply Rin 28 April 2015 at 4:08 pm

      Hi Jina,

      My favorite sunscreen at the moment is this pink Kanebo one.

      I’m not well-acquainted with Korean sunscreens though, so I’m unable advise :/

      As for the sunscreen pills, it’s a brand called Heliocare. You can see the info and read the reviews of others here.

      • Reply jina 29 April 2015 at 6:27 pm

        Hi Rin,
        Thanks so much for replying so fast! i’ll be sure to try the Kanebo sunscreen and the sunscreen pills. Thanks so much,Rin. I will be following your product reviews.

        • Reply Rin 29 April 2015 at 10:22 pm

          You’re welcome :)
          I hope you can achieve and maintain the fair skin that you want!

          Thank you! Hope to see you around ^^

  • Reply Annabell 4 June 2015 at 8:33 am

    It sounds liek you hate dark skinned people D:…..or you think that dark skin is ugly…

    • Reply Rin 4 June 2015 at 12:34 pm

      It sounds like you didn’t even read my post.
      Nowhere in my post did I say I hate dark skinned people or say that dark skin is ugly.

      I did, however, mention several times that I hate freckles. Specifically, MY freckles.

  • Reply elisabete 22 June 2017 at 10:11 am

    Hello!!! I really admire your discipline to take care of your skin… And your skin is fabulous, wonderful ! I really mean that.
    But I think it is impossible to achieve this kind of perfection living in my country, Brazil rsrs. Although bronze skin is considered very beautiful here, we love the Japanese girls skin
    I also see freckles as something unique and charming. There are so many beautiful models with freckles.

    Please, if possible, I would like to know your opinion about the sunscreen Bioré.

    Have a nice time!!

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