Guide 3 min read
Do you need sunscreen with retinal and vitamin C? We do not sell one, so yes.
Yes, every morning, and more so with those two. Retinal increases photosensitivity, so daytime protection matters more with it, not less. The vitamin C, E and ferulic acid system reduces oxidative damage after ultraviolet exposure but absorbs no ultraviolet light; the 2008 human study frames it as complementary to sunscreen. We do not make one. Use one you will actually wear.
Does retinal make skin more sensitive to the sun?
Yes. Retinoids increase photosensitivity, which is one of the two reasons Coming of Age is a night product; the other is that retinal degrades in light. Nothing about that changes with a gentler retinoid. The 1998 trial found retinaldehyde better tolerated than prescription retinoic acid, and the 1994 tolerance series found 0.1% usable for up to three years, and in both cases daily sunscreen was part of how that use was possible. Retinal at night, sunscreen in the morning, all year, including the summer you were thinking of stopping.
Does a vitamin C serum replace sunscreen?
No, and the people who made the formula said so. The 15% L-ascorbic acid, 1% vitamin E, 0.5% ferulic acid system roughly doubled photoprotection in the 2005 study, from about 4-fold to about 8-fold, and in 2008 it gave significant protection on human skin against erythema, sunburn cells, thymine dimers and p53. That protection is antioxidant: it reduces the oxidative damage that ultraviolet light causes after the light has arrived. It absorbs no ultraviolet light and has no SPF. The 2008 paper describes it as complementary to sunscreen. Serum, then sunscreen, is the combination that was studied.
Where does sunscreen go in the routine?
Last, every morning, over Baby's Bottom. Cleanse, vitamin C, peptides, barrier cream, then SPF, with a minute between the serums and a moment for the cream to stop feeling wet. The vitamin C studies built up protection over four consecutive days of daily application, so the serum is a habit, and the sunscreen on top of it is the same habit.
- Clean Slate, Bright Side, Mixed Signals, Baby's Bottom, sunscreen.
- Sunscreen is the only step we do not make.
- Reapply if you are outside; a morning application is not a day's protection.
Which sunscreen should you use?
We do not sell one, which means we have no reason to steer you. Broad spectrum, an SPF you will actually apply generously, in a texture you will wear every day. The best sunscreen is the one that is on your face, and the second best is any other one. Ask a dermatologist for a brand; ask us for the routine it goes on top of.
What we made with it
Bright Side is the antioxidant layer that goes under sunscreen in the morning. Coming of Age is the retinal that goes on at night and makes the next morning's sunscreen more important. Baby's Bottom is the barrier cream the sunscreen sits on. The routine has a slot for SPF and nothing of ours is pretending to fill it.
Related questions
Do I need sunscreen if I only use retinal at night?
Yes. The photosensitivity does not wear off by morning. Retinal at night is the right schedule precisely because you then wear sunscreen by day. Skipping the sunscreen undoes the point of choosing a night product.
Does vitamin C add to my sunscreen's protection?
That is the combination the studies support. The C, E and ferulic system reduces the oxidative damage that gets past the sunscreen; the sunscreen blocks the ultraviolet the antioxidants cannot. The 2008 human study describes them as complementary. Serum first, sunscreen on top.
Why do you not make a sunscreen?
Because five products is the line and a sunscreen is a different kind of product, with its own regulation and testing. We would rather tell you to wear one you like than make one badly.
Sources
- Murray JC, et al. A topical antioxidant solution containing vitamins C and E stabilized by ferulic acid provides protection for human skin against damage caused by ultraviolet irradiation. J Am Acad Dermatol 2008;59:418-425. PMID 18603326
- Lin FH, et al. Ferulic acid stabilizes a solution of vitamins C and E and doubles its photoprotection of skin. J Invest Dermatol 2005;125:826-832. PMID 16185284
- Creidi P, et al. Profilometric evaluation of photodamage after topical retinaldehyde and retinoic acid treatment. J Am Acad Dermatol 1998;39:960-965. PMID 9843009
- Saurat JH, Didierjean L, et al. Topical retinaldehyde on human skin: biologic effects and tolerance. J Invest Dermatol 1994;103:770-774. PMID 7798613