Everyday skincare – Botanics Hydrating Day Cream SPF15

In my last post I explained the different kinds of skin-harming UV rays and took you through a couple of the most commonly used protective agents. If you haven’t seen it why not check it out to get up to speed with the science behind sun protection? In this post I’m going to take you through a recent purchase, Boots Botanics Hydrating Day Cream SPF15 and see if it really does what it claims to! As a scientist I am constantly in an environment where I have to question everything. Just because another lab publishes something doesn’t mean that their data is necessarily correct so when I buy a beauty product I can’t just take what it says on the bottle as a fact, I like to do my homework and know EXACTLY what I’m putting all over my face!

Firstly then, this moisturiser has UVA and UVB protection which should help prevent premature aging and skin cancer which can be caused by UVA rays and sunburn from UVB rays. This protection comes from the bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine (what a mouthful!) which absorbs both UVA and UVB rays and octyl salicylate for extra UVB protection. I think it’s a great idea to use a daily moisturiser with UV protection for both health and beauty benefits in the long term!

The ‘natural AHA’s’ from the hibiscus flower are said to boost brightness and act as mild exfoliators. AHA stands for alpha hydroxy acid which includes glycolic acid. Glycolic acid promotes exfoliation as it reduces the adhesion of the cells in the top layers of the skin, allowing the cells to come away and reveal shiny, soft new cells underneath. When used daily it can reduce wrinkles and photodamage by promoting cell renewal and increasing collagen production. What’s not to love?

Botanics Hydrating Day Cream also contains hyaluronic acid (HA to us scientists). HA is one of my favourite molecules so I got a bit excited in Boots when I saw this! My lab works a lot with HA and there will be posts explaining the science behind its use in skin care coming very soon on The Scientific Beauty so stay tuned! For now all you need to know is that its great for keeping skin hydrated and providing elasticity to skin.

So there we have it! A sound product from the scientific point of view! Great in all this sunny weather we’ve been having! In terms of use, I found the product quite oily on my already oily skin, so it is perhaps more suited to those of you with dryer skin though a little will go a long way. Why not share your favourite daily SPF cream? I’d love to find one that is more suited for my skin type! Let me know what you think!