We challenge you to wear SPF 30 every day

You have heard it many times--from us, from dermatologists and other doctors--you need to wear SPF 30 every day. While sunscreen is extra important in the summer and on the beach, it truly should be part of your daily routine. Many people believe that it already is, they wear a moisturizer, foundation or tinted moisturizer that includes sun protection. While that is a wonderful first step, there are two important factors to consider: first that moisturizers, foundations and the like usually don’t have an SPF of 30. And second, if you are outdoors, you need to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours, especially if you are using a product with chemical active ingredients (oxybenzone, avobenzone, homosalate, and more).

As we enter the final stretch of summer, a time when you have probably been pretty good about wearing sunscreen, we’d like to challenge you to build and keep the daily SPF 30 habit for the full year. (And August 18 is known as “Never Give Up Day,” so it seems extra fitting to start today!) You’ll make your doctor and dermatologist happy, and ultimately, your skin will be happier, because UVA rays (the ones that cause photo-aging) are present on even overcast days. Protected skin stays healthy and younger-looking longer.

Introducing the #365SPF30Challenge

This is our challenge to you…wear SPF 30 every day for 30 days to start, and then 60, 90, on up to 365! We’ll be supporting you for the next 30 days with social reminders, a contest and this blog post to give you some tips on how to build the habit!

How to build a habit

There are many pieces of advice on building good new habits, with checklists ranging from 4 to 9 steps. Most habit-building advice says that it takes anywhere from 18 to 254 days to create a new habit, but the way you incorporate it into your life has a good deal to do with how long it takes. Here are the 4 steps that we think are most important, especially as they apply to this particular habit.

1. Don’t go too big. Just like a large goal, taking on a huge change all at once can be discouraging, so the advice is to break down large habits into smaller chunks. But wearing sunscreen daily is not a huge new habit, and you have probably already started over the summer. So you can check that one off your list!
2. Every day, without fail. In the beginning, you just can’t allow yourself to miss a day, regardless of how good your reason is. Let’s say you run out of Brush On Block on day 18 (we can make sure that doesn’t happen, but more on that later). Do you skip a day, or a week, while you place an order? You simply can’t afford to miss days, because the do stretch to weeks and even months, so be sure you have what you need before you begin.
   
3. Make it easy to build it into your life. We always like to say “Brush your teeth, wash your face, Brush On Block,” and it really is that easy. Keep one in your bathroom, and whether you’re a wash-and-go type of person, or a full face of makeup person, make it the last step before you head out.
4. Reward yourself. This is a critical step in habit-building, so be sure to build it in to your plan. Maybe your reward for 30 days is coffee with a friend, or a small but useful item you’ve been needing. Then for 60 days, lunch with the friend, or something a bit larger. Keep rewarding yourself at regular intervals so that you have something to look forward to in addition to healthy skin!

How can we help you?

As mentioned earlier, we’ll be posting on Instagram with the hashtag #365SPF30Challenge for the next month, and we hope you will, too. It will not only encourage you to follow-through, but everyone else who wants to build the sunscreen habit. Not only that, but if you use the hashtag and tag us in an Instagram post, you will be entered in a random drawing to receive a Brush On Block prize package worth $268. (Prize includes one each of Brush On Block Translucent, Brush On Block Touch of Tan, Brush On Block Eco-Friendly Refill, SPF 30 Mineral Sunscreen Lotion, Protective Lip Oil SPF 32 Nude Tint, Protective Lip Oil SPF 32 Coral, Protective Lip Oil SPF 32 Fig, Nobody’s Perfect Daily Repair Oil, Perfect Pencil Lip Liner, Pout Prep tool, canvas makeup bag and branded Flip & Tumble tote.)

The habit that pays you back

Once you are in the habit of daily SPF 30, it may take a while, but you'll start to notice that your skin looks better and more healthy than the skin of your friends that don't use sunscreen. They will wonder what you secret is, and you can just tell them that daily use of sunscreen is one of the best things you can do for your skin and overall health, and that sun exposure is responsible for 90% of visible changes to skin. They may not mind melasma, freckles, broken blood vessels, actinic keratoses, uneven texture and skin cancer, but you certainly don't want those things! SPF 30 every day means you can avoid them.