Blog: Everything Under the Sun
4 Winter Skincare Tips for Winter Sports Lovers
Battling dry skin in winter is a feat in and of itself. But for anyone who frequently enjoys hitting the slopes, whizzing their way around an ice rink or even just playing in the snow with their kids, dry winter skin is just the tip of the iceberg. Despite the skin challenges these more extreme conditions bring, the good news is maintaining your healthy, hydrated, glowing skin is easy with a few tweaks to your regular routine. Common winter skin conditions and how to ease them As refreshing and exhilarating as your favorite winter sports and activities can be, your skin is constantly getting hit with the short end of the stick. Windburn, chapped lips, chafing, intense UV exposure, and ‘maskne’ are just some of the most common winter skin conditions that can leave your skin feeling painfully dehydrated, cracked and red. So what’s the secret to keeping your skin in its best condition all winter long? Check out our 4 top winter skincare tips! Winter Skincare Tip #1: Amp up the hydration Everything from the dry indoor heat to the windchill outside can cause your skin to crack and dry out. So it’s best to hydrate in the morning, at night, before you head outside, after you come back inside… you get the idea! Our advice? Use a moisturizer with ultra-hydrating hyaluronic acid. This vital ingredient attracts and holds water to the skin. So you’re not just amping up the moisture barrier between your skin and the winter air, but ensuring your skin stays hydrated for longer. Our go to? Daily Perfecting Moisturizer SPF 30. It contains sodium hyaluronate acid, a water-soluble salt form of hyaluronic acid, meaning it can penetrate the skin better leading to increased effectiveness! Plus it has SPF, which leads us to our next tip… Winter Skincare Tip #2: Don’t skip the SPF While the need for SPF is more obvious in the summer, winter sunburn is much, much sneakier and just as harmful. For skiers, snowboarders, sledders and snowmen makers, your main source of UV exposure actually comes from the snow! Ever notice how blinding snow can be when the sun hits it just right? That’s because the snow is actually reflecting the sun’s UV rays, causing them to bounce back directly at you with a higher intensity. For hikers and mountaineers, the trouble comes with higher altitudes. For every 1,000 feet about sea level, UV exposure increases by 5%. That’s because the atmosphere is thinning and there’s less natural coverage protecting you from the sun. So before you head outside, we suggest applying Mineral Creme SPF 50 15 minutes ahead of time. For reapplying while you’re on the slopes, pack our Solar Stick SPF 40 or its tinted version. These portable tube fit perfectly in any pocket or backpack for protection on the go. Winter Skincare Tip #3: Pucker up for SPF + hydration Just like your skin, your lips are just as susceptible to dehydration and sun damage, resulting in chapped, cracked lips and hyperpigmentation. That’s why it’s essential to keep an ultra-hydrating lip balm with SPF on hand. Our fave? Hydrating Sheer Lip Balm SPF 30. Packed with shea, avocado and olive butters, plus fortified with avocado oil, this sheer-tinted, 100% vegan stick is packed to the max with natural hydrators, plus broad-spectrum protection. Swipe it on whenever you feel your lips starting to dry out to maintain their silky-smooth feel. If you use it regularly, you may never get ‘dry chapped lips’ this winter! Winter Skincare Tip #4: Don’t skip out on cleansing After spending the day with your face slathered in sunscreen, exposed to the elements, and (for any skiers and snowboarders) behind a mask, it’s vital you wash off all that grime. Not cleansing can leave your skin suffocated and pores clogged, resulting in irritation and acne. For a true clean that really washes away the day, we recommend Wash Away One Step Cleanser. In one step, its unique formula breaks down any water-proof barriers from makeup or mineral sunscreen, deeply cleanses pores, lightly exfoliates, neutralizes free radicals, hydrates and moisturizes. All without stripping your skin of essential moisture for truly clean, hydrated, plump, healthy results. Enjoy your time outside! For our best skincare routine recommendations, check out this blog.
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Make mornings simple: 2-step makeup routine
Mornings always rushed? Check out blogger @livingfrostly’s minimalist makeup routine that gets her ready in minutes. Plus, keeps her skin glowing and protected all day long! Step 1: MD Mineral BB Creme SPF 50 This whipped and creamy BB Creme with broad-spectrum SPF 50 provides light, tinted coverage to mask hyperpigmentation + discoloration without covering up your natural beauty. Available in 3 shades : Light, Medium and Dark. Step 2: Hydrating Sheer Lip Balm SPF 30 Add a dab of color and SPF protection to your lips, cheeks and eyelids with this ultra-hydrating lip balm. Made with shea, avocado and olive butters for all day moisture. Comes in 5 shades.
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Sports sunscreen for runners
If you’re a runner, then you know picking the perfect running shoe is essential to ensuring your body is properly supported and safe. Choosing a sports sunscreen is no different! Because running often entails going long distance, sweating and lots of sun exposure, it’s important to choose an SPF that can keep up. Namely, one that’s sweat-resistant for up to 80 minutes, won’t sting your eyes and absorbs quickly. That’s why former Division I Track Athlete Ashley Joi trusts Quick Dry Body Spray SPF 40 to keep her protected to the max all year round. Fast-drying and non-greasy, it goes on super lightweight with sweat-resistance for up to 80 minutes. Plus, its oil-free and fragrance-free formula prevents eye stinging while you run. Made with the safest ingredients on the market and infused with antioxidants - Vitamin C and Indian Gooseberry - it also nourishes while it protects, helping fight off free radicals and sun damage for a truly safe run. It's also a reef safe formula that is octinoxate free and oxybenzone free. “☀️🏃🏽♀️ Running and the sun! Two things that I LOVE and with @mdsolarsciences quick dry SPF40 body spray, I can enjoy both! While I’m focusing on my internal health, I trust @mdsolarsciences to protect my external health and my skin, with clean, safe formulas that are rigorously tested and made in small batches. With natural antioxidants that fight sun damage, the non-greasy, light-weight Quick Dry Body Spray SPF 40 lets me enjoy my run in the sun worry-free.” - Ashley Joi Watch Ashley in action to see how Quick Dry Body Spray holds up on her beach-side run!
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Our Sustainability Report: Good for you, good for the planet!
At MDSolarSciences, we believe that achieving healthy, glowy, youthful skin doesn’t have to come at the expense of our planet’s health. From recyclable packaging to safe ingredients to ethical sourcing, our team is dedicated to ensuring everything we produce is safe and effective for your skin AND our planet. Why? Because we think future generations - including our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren - deserve a better future. One not bogged down by dealing with waste, pollution and global warming. In an effort to remain totally transparent with you, we’re sharing exactly how we hold ourselves accountable with our ever-evolving sustainability practices. Recyclable Packaging The beauty industry has a bad habit: It produces 120 billion units of packaging annually, a lot of which is single-use, made from plastic, not sustainable, often isn’t recycled properly, and never ever breaks down. Often they end up where they shouldn’t. A staggering 91% of packaging from the beauty industry and beyond fills landfills and oceans, finding its way into the bellies and around the necks of innocent sea creatures. As a brand that prides itself on reef-safe, chemical-free and vegan formulas, it didn’t sit right with us knowing we could be killing nature in another way due to our packaging. That’s why in 2021, we made a change. If you’ve been with us for a while, then you probably remember our old packaging. As much as we loved our colorful tubes, they were only contributing to the problem. Which, in turn, made us part of the problem. Knowing this, we traded in our glam packaging for one that was much more Earth-friendly. Now, all of our tubes, sticks and bottles are recyclable. Our spray cans are made with 48% recycled aluminum, and our supplier is the only one in the US to incorporate recycled content in its cans. Our cardboard cartons carry the Forestry Sustainability Initiative seal, a world-renowned certificate that ensures our cardboard comes from responsibly managed forests. Even the shipping packing that gets delivered to your door is recyclable, from the cardboard shippers to the filler paper. All of this is to say… please be sure that when you’re done loving and using our products, you recycle them appropriately! This means not tossing them into the trash, but using proper recycling bins depending on your town/city’s requirements. Responsible sourcing Just as we take care in choosing the source of our packaging, we carefully source what goes in our formulas as well. For example, did you know we’re part of the Responsible Mica Initiative? Mica, an ingredient in our Daily Perfecting Moisturizer SPF 30, is coveted for giving skin a glowy, dewy finish, but is often sourced unethically. That’s why we partnered with the Responsible Mica Initiative in India to build a fair, responsible and sustainable supply chain. Clean ingredients, clean formulas It’s what’s not in our formulas that also makes us unique. Our formulas have received high ratings from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). This highly-regarded organization of scientists, policy experts, lawyers and data experts are solely dedicated to ensuring everything you put in or on your body is truly safe. Here are a few reasons why our formulas are deemed clean, natural and safe: We have always been + will always be reef-safe. All products are rigidly tested and formulated without oxybenzone, octinoxate, or aminobenzoic acid (PABA), commonly-used ingredients in sunscreens known for bleaching coral reefs. All products are 100% vegan. That means we don't use any animal-derived ingredients. Thankfully, due to an increasingly environmentally-conscious population, vegan cosmetics is growing exponentially and is projected to be worth $20.8 billion by 2025. We are proud to be at the forefront of such a massive change. We only use natural fragrances in our formulas. Many of our formulas are actually fragrance free but when we do use fragrances, they are natural, not synthetic. Synthetic fragrances can be dangerous to humans because the ingredients are undisclosed and can potentially contain dangerous carcinogens, or disrupt hormones. The only natural fragrance we use in a few products is a natural lavender essence. We make everything in small batches What goes into our products is one thing… how they’re made is a whole other aspect that often gets overlooked by most brands. It’s actually where our small size is hugely beneficial. We make everything in small batches. What does that mean? Compared to large brands that mass produce, small batch production allows for less over-manufacturing and waste. It also reduces our environmental impact. Less energy used means lower emissions. And lower emissions means less greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere to contribute to the rise of global warming. ---- While we’ve come a long way, there’s still work to do. Every initiative counts and the collective impact of our individual efforts adds up! If more brands continue to improve their sustainable practices , the impact on the health of our planet will be massive. It may be a more expensive way to run a business or a more difficult way to formulate products. No one said it would be easy. But if we can do it, so can anyone else! The truth is, it’s all up to us. The health of our planet, our own quality of life! If you’re here, it means you value healthy skin. But a huge part of maintaining healthy skin relies on the quality of air you breathe and water you drink and wash with. It’s all connected. WE’RE all connected in this world and we must all do our part in meaningful ways, big or small. It all matters. And we promise our team will work hard to continue bringing you the cleanest, safest formulas without sacrificing their luxurious feel and efficacy. To read more about our founder, check this blog.
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The best skincare routine for all skin types
When it comes to forming good skincare habits, a daily routine can majorly boost your chances of seeing real results. But what should my skincare routine be? Skincare is very personal and often confusing (we’ve all heard of 12-step skincare routines!). Which is why we worked with dermatologists to create clean and safe formulas that not only keep skincare simple but work for all skin types, even the most sensitive. How? By infusing them with skin-loving, nourishing and reparative ingredients for multitasking effects. But wait… there’s more! Thanks to our latest launch - Wash Away One-Step Cleanser - creating a simple and complete skincare routine using our formulas is now easier than ever. MORNING SKINCARE ROUTINE STEP 1: Cleanse + nourish with Wash Away Gentle on skin, tough on build up! This single-cleanse formula effortlessly washes away stubborn makeup, sunscreen and impurities. Packed with nourishing ingredients, such as powerful antioxidants, hyaluronic acid and Vitamin B5, this lightly-exfoliating and low-foam cleanser leaves skin feeling refreshingly clean, but never stripped or tight. It also leaves skin with the perfect clean and clear foundation for the rest of your routine to work more deeply and effectively. STEP 2: Restore + nourish eyes with MD Restore Eye Gel After cleansing, your next step is to give your eyes some love. A quick dab’ll do ya with our eye gel. Packed with an incredible 5 nourishing peptides plus caffeine and antioxidants, it helps reduce signs of sun damage while giving skin a firmer, more elastic appearance. It also continues to work throughout the day, releasing mega moisture, and niacinamide that keep working to reduce the appearance of unwanted baggage. STEP 3: Moisturize + nourish with Daily Perfecting Moisturizer SPF 30 We like to keep things simple. That’s why we combined a moisturizer and SPF in one! Its soothing, lightweight formula will give your skin a mega dose of hydration, antioxidants, restoring and calming ingredients (like hyaluronic acid, chamomile, caffeine and olive oils) and broad-spectrum SPF 30 protection for a dewy, youthful glow. Plus, this formula goes on clear and leaves no white cast, perfect for all skin tones. It's a solid makeup primer, or great to wear on its own as it leaves skin with a natural healthy glow. STEP 4: Protect + nourish with Mineral Tinted Creme SPF 30 This step is optional in the morning, thanks to our moisturizer with SPF. But because its tinted formula leaves a matte, filter-like finish on your skin, it’s great as a makeup primer or even on its own for that no-makeup look. Just like all our formulas, this multitasker comes infused with skin-loving ingredients, such as antioxidants, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, green tea, cranberry fruit and pomegranate extract. We recommend keeping this most-loved tinted formula on hand throughout the day for easy reapplication (even works over makeup!). NIGHTTIME SKINCARE ROUTINE STEP 1: Cleanse + nourish with Wash Away Always start your evening routine by washing away the day. Besides makeup and sunscreen, our skin gets exposed to dirt, grime, pollution, free radicals and whatever else is in the air. If left unwashed, it can leave skin looking aged, tired, dull and lackluster. Wash Away quickly and easily removes all of this build up in a single step for skin that’s more receptive to the rest of your evening routine. STEP 2: Restore + nourish eyes with MD Restore Eye Gel Just as you did in your morning routine, follow your cleanse with our ultra-soothing and nourishing eye gel for skin that looks brighter and younger, and feels firmer and more elastic. This is especially essential after a day in the sun to help reduce any sun damage. Our Eye gel is fragrance free, which can be important for anyone with fragrance sensitivity. STEP 3: Moisturize + nourish skin with MD Revitalize Retinol Serum Last step before you catch some Zzz’s! At night, our skin switches into repair mode to recover from the day. Which makes it the perfect time to use our nighttime serum with encapsulated + stabilized retinol. This lightweight formula helps reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles and pores while you sleep for skin that looks brighter, youthful and radiant in the morning. Worried about your skin’s sensitivity to retinol? Unlike traditional formulas, our encapsulated retinol is able to delicately move its way deeper into the skin before it's activated. This helps to avoid the side effects of dryness, peeling, and irritation that you may get from traditional retinols. For more information on our products' formulas and skin-loving ingredients, check out this blog.
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The science behind Wash Away’s super-clean feel
We always knew that one day we’d create a face cleanser to complete our collection. But we didn’t want to add yet another face wash to an already oversaturated market just to say we did it. We wanted to go deeper (literally!) without complicating your skincare routine. Given our commitment to skin health and sun protection, it only made sense for us to formulate a cleanser that could effectively remove impurities AND sunscreen. But rather than going the typical route of creating an oil-based cleanser to remove sunscreen and a water-based cleanser to clear the rest, we thought… why not combine them into one? So we did! The result is a cleanser that’s tough enough to remove makeup, impurities, and sunscreen (even mineral sunscreen!) without stripping your skin or messing with its PH. It’s also fragrance- and irritant-free, making it the ideal cleanser for even the most sensitive skin types. Ready to meet your new cleanser? Let’s dive in! How does Wash Away’s “one step” formula work? What makes this cleanser truly amazing is its ability to wash away mineral sunscreen with ease, and without double cleansing. When you apply a mineral sunscreen, two things happen: First, its main protective ingredients, Zinc Oxide and Titanium Dioxide, settle on top of the skin to protect your skin from damaging UV rays. Then, a typically silicone-based (aka, oil), water-resistant barrier sits on top of those ingredients, making sure the sunscreen does not run when you’re sweating or swimming. Necessary for protecting your skin… but a pain to try and wash off later, especially if your cleanser is solely water-based (because, as we all know, oil and water don’t play well together!). In order to truly clean your skin, you need to first be able to break down the water-resistant barrier, then you can get to the zinc, titanium dioxide and grime underneath. That’s where Wash Away comes in! Here’s how it works: First, gentle, sulfate-free surfactants (cleansing agents) break down the water-resistant barrier. From there, the oils - grape seed and argan oil - are no longer obstructed from going in and loosening up any zinc, Titanium Dioxide, dirt, makeup (even mascara!) and other impurities your skin picked up over the day, for ease of washing off. While you wash, your skin is also soaking in major goodness. Like all MDSolarSciences formulas, Wash Away also pampers and nourishes your skin as it cleanses. Light Exfoliation This low-foam formula contains pineapple and apple extracts, which provide very mild, surface-level exfoliation to help remove any dead skin or trapped minerals. Fruit-based Antioxidants Pomegranate extract, green tea extract, and grape seed oil all help in neutralizing any damaging and dulling free radicals your skin picks up from the sun. Grape seed oil also provides the highest level of linoleic acid from a fruit - aka, major anti-aging benefits such as an increase in ceramides. Moisturizing AND Hydrating Agents Both of these are required to keep skin plump, free of fine lines and rosy! The hydrating agents - Panthenol (Pro Vitamin B5), Glycerin, Hyaluronic acid - attract and hold water to the skin, while the moisturizing agents - Argan oil, Squalane, Grape seed oil - leave a thin “barrier” that prevents water from evaporating. So skin stays hydrated and plump all day! How to add Wash Away to your regular routine Because of its super gentle, non-irritating formula, this cleanser can be used twice a day to wash away your day… and night! A.M. Routine - Wash Away + MD Restore Eye Gel + Daily Perfecting Moisturizer SPF 30 P.M. Routine - Wash Away + MD Restore Eye Gel + MD Revitalize Retinol Serum To learn more about skincare routines in the Fall and Winter, check out this blog.
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Do I still need to wear sunscreen after Summer?
For most of us, Summer and SPF go hand-in-hand. But what about SPF in the Fall or even Winter? Do you still need to wear sunscreen after Summer? Short answer: Yes! Just because your skin doesn’t feel like it’s burning in the colder months doesn’t mean it isn’t at risk.
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5 simple tips for beautiful skin from the inside out
The key to beautiful skin? It starts from within! If your goal is to have smooth, even skin that looks healthy, young and glowy, then taking care of your body is a must - both inside AND out! Inside, check out our 5 tips for improving skin naturally.
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SPF 101: The right way to apply sunscreen in 4 critical steps
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again… and again until the end of time: There’s no part of your daily skincare routine more important than sunscreen. Incorporating any kind of protection into your routine - whether it’s a dedicated SPF or a multitasking formula - can save you loads of trouble down the line (aka, burns, hyperpigmentation, fine lines, wrinkles, melanoma). But as with most things, there is a wrong way and a right way to apply sunscreen. The wrong way? Applying it like you would make up - lightly, selectively, only on your face, as if it’s a highlighter (if you know, you know). The right way? We’re going to break it all down for you! Here’s our ultimate guide to applying sunscreen the right way, in 4 critical steps. Step 1: Choose the right sunscreen First things first, make sure you’re using a broad-spectrum formula with at least SPF 30. This ensures you’re protected from both UVA and UVB rays. Next, decide if you want a dedicated SPF or a multitasking formula. We get a lot of questions about whether or not using a multitasker makes the SPF less effective. The answer? Nope! As long as it has at least SPF 30, you’re good. And as long as you apply enough of it (more on that later). It can save you a couple of steps in your routine. We particularly like using a multitasking daily moisturizer, like our Daily Perfecting Moisturizer SPF 30. Its ultra-hydrating formula comes packed with antioxidants and nutrients that help reduce signs of UV-induced damage. It also helps smooth fine lines and wrinkles, for a dewy, youthful glow from AM to PM. We suggest using it under your makeup as a primer! Step 2: When to apply Our golden rule: Always apply at least 15 minutes before sun exposure. This is especially true for chemical formulas, which require at least 15 minutes to absorb into the skin and become effective. SPF should also always be the last step in your skincare routine, unless, again, you’re using a chemical formula. This is because products like moisturizers can act as a barrier to chemical sunscreen, causing it to become ineffective. Step 3: Make sure you’re applying enough + applying everywhere According to the American Academy of Dermatology, most people only apply 25-50% of the amount of sunscreen recommended. In order to ensure you’re covering every inch of skin that needs it, follow these two rules: For your face, follow the 2-finger rule: Cover the length of two fingers with sunscreen, then apply for optimal coverage. For your body, follow the shot glass rule: For maximum protection, your body needs 1.5 oz of sunscreen, which is the exact amount of a shot glass. Make sure to really rub it into and all over your skin to ensure you’re covering every inch. And don’t forget those hard-to-reach and forgotten spots, including your hairline, under eyes, top and back of ears, neck, jaw and lips. We love to use our Solar Stick SPF 40 or Tinted Solar Stick SPF 40 for this. Its easy-to-grip design and rounded top makes reaching these spots effortless. Just remember, if it feels excessive, you’re doing it right! Step 4: Reapply, reapply, reapply We can’t stress this one enough. Make sure to read the back of any sunscreen bottles you use to know how often you have to reapply. For most sunscreens, it’s around the 2 hour mark, especially if you’re spending the day outside, swimming or sweating. Even if they’re water-resistant for up to 80 minutes like most of our formulas, you still need to reapply. Wearing makeup? No problem! Our formulas work either under or on top of your makeup without messing up your look or leaving a white cast. Check out our tinted formulas for reapplication that also provides a matte, glowing finish and blurs imperfections like an Insta filter! ---- When it comes to sun care, there’s literally no such thing as being overly-cautious or over-applying!
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