4 Ways to Promote the Benefits of Sunscreen to Your Clients
With melanoma rates rising, it’s time to get real with your clients about the overall benefits of applying sunscreen to their face every day. From anti-aging to life saving, if you aren’t talking to them about using sunscreen to protect, nourish, and strengthen the skin, it’s time to start. As the most crucial last step in any facial treatment, make sure they leave their appointment with their skin feeling hydrated and also protected from those harmful UVA/UVB rays every time.
1. Get Real About the Facts
These three little words have so much meaning—practice safe sun—all day every day. Take a few minutes to talk to your clients about the realities and dangers of sun damage. Don’t be afraid to scare them a little with these facts:
- Melanoma is the deadliest of skin cancers, and the rates of diagnosis for the disease are outpacing almost all other cancers.
- Today, Melanoma is one of the most common cancers found among young adults in the U.S.
- One person dies of Melanoma every hour, every day.
- Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is typically related to UV-induced damage. This includes tanning beds and the sun. Sunburns, especially at a young age, are also linked to melanoma.
2. Teach Them How to Work it Into Their Skincare Routine
One of the biggest questions you might get from clients about sun protection is when to work it into their skincare routine. As the finishing step in their morning skincare routine, sun protection is applied after their moisturizer, right before makeup. For added protection from the sun, have them use a vitamin C serum before their moisturizer. Vitamin C will not only protect the skin from further photo damage caused by ultra-violet rays, but it will soften the appearance of lines and create firmer, smoother skin.
3. Emphasize Anti-Aging Benefits
As a skincare professional, you should stand firm with your clients on the use of sunscreen. In fact, studies show that people who use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher daily show 24% less skin aging than those that don’t. Depending on where their skin is with the aging process, you can recommend an anti-aging moisturizing sunscreen or the use of a moisturizer first, then sunscreen. The truth is we know conclusively that sunscreen can help prevent photoaging or premature aging caused by the sun, which is why it’s never too soon to start using sunscreen.
4. Give Them a Product They’ll Love
Recommend a product with SPF 30 that will deliver broad-spectrum protection while moisturizing and protecting with ingredients such as green tea and vitamin E. This will not only protect their skin from harmful UVA/UVB rays but will help prevent premature aging caused by sun exposure. Based on their skin type, recommend either oil-free (for combination, oily and acne-prone skin), or regular formula (for dry or mature skin). Let them know that “season and reason” also matter when choosing a sunscreen formula. If they are headed to a humid location, they should use the oil-free formula—no matter what their skin type. Are they living or traveling to colder climates? Recommend using the regular formula designed for dry skin. Also suggest they keep both products on hand, so they are never without the best sunscreen for their skin depending on when and where they are.