What you used to do: You were diligent about applying sunscreen...when you were on sun-filled vacations. Day-to-day, not so much.
Why that's a bad idea now: It's never too late to prevent sun damage, but waiting much longer than your mid-30s to make it a part of your daily routine just adds to the wrinkles, sagging skin and sun spots you'll want to erase later on. And don't get us started on the skin-cancer risk, because we will lecture you if necessary. If you want to protect your skin against all of those problems, making sunscreen part of your morning routine is the number one thing you can do, says Tanzi.
What to do instead: Yes, we're telling you to use sunscreen every day. (We know. You're shocked.) Remember that your hands, neck and chest are probably exposed to the sun just as often as your face is, so give them a good coating too. If you need motivation to apply it every day, there's new research in
Dermatologic Surgery suggesting that daily sunscreen application may not just prevent UV-induced skin aging, but it could help improve issues like pigmentation and wrinkles on sun-exposed areas.
