The trial
Researchers in Queensland, Australia, followed 903 adults aged under 55 for 4.5 years. One group applied broad-spectrum sunscreen daily. The other used it only when they chose to. Skin aging was measured from silicone impressions of the back of the hand. The daily-use group showed no detectable increase in skin aging over the trial, and had about 24% less aging than the discretionary group (Hughes et al., 2013).
Food and skin color
Skin tone also responds to diet. In a six-week study, people who ate more fruit and vegetables developed a more golden skin color that observers rated as healthier looking (Whitehead et al., 2012). It is a small, slow effect, which is why it belongs in a daily habit and not a quick fix.
The minimum effective routine
- Morning: gentle cleanser, then broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher on face and neck every day, including cloudy days.
- Reapply every two hours if you are outdoors for long.
- Evening: cleanse, then a plain moisturizer.
- Eat a fruit or vegetable at every meal for six weeks.
- Track it: scan weekly and watch your skin quality score and evenness over time.
Our full skin quality guide covers each step in more detail.
Track it with Hexum
Hexum scores skin as part of its 34 metrics, so you can see whether your routine is working. Hexum users average a +35% improvement in Overall Score from first scan to week 6.*
References
- Hughes MC, et al. (2013). Sunscreen and prevention of skin aging: a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine, 158(11):781-790. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-158-11-201306040-00002
- Whitehead RD, et al. (2012). You are what you eat: within-subject increases in fruit and vegetable consumption confer beneficial skin-color changes. PLoS ONE, 7(3):e32988. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032988
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