How I'll look in 20 years if I don't wear sunscreen

What’s your beauty blind spot? For most of us, it’s SPF. We may apply serums, go for facials and spend sofa-worthy amounts on tweakments, but we skip the one product that will slow signs of ageing and improve our dermis.

A new report by No 7, which landed in my inbox this week, says only 26 per cent of us wear SPF daily. And even when we do apply it, we don’t use enough: Dr Mike Bell, Boots skincare scientific advisor, says, ‘It’s important to apply a teaspoon of product to your face and neck to achieve the labelled protection.’ I use a broad-bean-sized amount.

Sometimes you need to hear the stats on sun exposure again to prompt you into action. No 7 took a good look at scientific studies and concluded, ‘Those who have more sun exposure and do not use sun protection will display signs of ageing far before those who use protection regularly and manage sun exposure.’ Also, that sun is the number-one cause of premature skin ageing – 80 per cent of premature ageing signs are caused by sunlight. And 40 per cent of annual sun exposure happens outside the summer months, showing the importance of wearing SPF every day.