I have been threatening for years to run for president on the single issue platform of catching America up to the rest of the world when it comes to sunscreen. Make America Pale Again? That one actually sounds really fucked up out of context. We’ll work out my slogan later.
And maybe I won’t need to run for office because about a week ago, after 25 years, the FDA approved the first new sunscreen active ingredient, bemotrizinol (BEMT, with the brand name PARSOL Shield), for use in the United States, maybe as soon as this summer.
This is huge for someone like me whose only beauty secret is wearing sunscreen. I grew up on the beach, with benign neglect, and skin that can second degree burn in less than an hour. I was in charge of my own sunscreen. I wore a lot of Zinka fluorescent colored zinc during my years as a Junior Lifeguard and then Clinique’s City Block daily when I was in high school through college. Sunscreen is a necessity but not something I relish. The texture isn’t exactly elevated, the reapplying annoying, the smell often questionable. You get it. This will be lighter and more effective and feel like skincare more than the alternative. The best sunscreen is the one you will actually use. (Also a reminder that everyone can get skin cancer and have shitty, aging skin no matter their level of melanin.)
First, I have my sunscreen wardrobe of different ones for different routines. All are out, all can be obtained in the United States depending on how hard you wish to work. Then an interview with a doctor who can explain what BEMT is and why it’s important from a more scientific and administrative perspective. A vibes and experience-based guide
Daily, for the face, wear it year-round, and works as a makeup alternative (or as a primer)
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