It was recently announced that Maria Sharapova, the four-time Grand Slam tennis champion from Russia, has become the new co-owner of a skin care company. Its name: Supergoop!
This rather silly name belies the importance of the product line, which focuses on preventing the damage caused by sun exposure. The 27-year-old Sharapova, who has been playing tennis since the age of four and moved from Russia to Florida at the age of nine, certainly knows the importance of protecting skin when spending a lot of time in the sun.
It seems like a match (no pun intended) made in heaven. Sharapova claims to have been a long-time fan of Supergoop! before she ever met their founder and CEO, Holly Thaggard, who says she was looking for a broad-reaching voice to help her spread her company's mission. Together, they will spread the word about the importance of making a daily habit out of sun protection.
On the Supergoop! website, Thaggard says that if she could speak to her 16-year-old self, she would say, "Stop sunbathing and put on more sunscreen!" — a sentiment that has been strongly echoed by our own Truth In Aging community.
Truth In Aging founder Marta Wohrle went out on a limb recently to question the wisdom of a daily sunscreen, rain or shine. Saying that studies reveal a lack of evidence that modern sun protection products can actually prevent melanoma, Marta recommends choosing "sunscreens that are pioneering new actives and that back up their actions with antioxidants."
Taking a look at Supergoop! super broad spectrum sunscreens, I was pleased to see their recognition that "Antioxidants have now shown to neutralize and deliver a second line of defense against photodamage and accelerated skin aging." Their line of sunscreen, including products such as Supergoop! SPF 50 Antioxidant-Infused Sunscreen Day Cream and AcaiFusion SPF 30 Lip Balm, count olive oil polyphenols, pomegranate, green tea extracts and acai superberry among their antioxidant ingredients. Supergoop! sunscreen products do not contain parabens, oxybenzone, or synthetic fragrances, are gluten-free and are not formulated with any animal byproducts. The company does use the chemical dimethicone, which helps their sunscreen evenly spread Zinc Oxide on the skin. One of the most widely used ingredients in cosmetics, dimethicone's use as a "skin protectant" has been approved by The Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
May is Melanoma Awareness Month, so what better time to think about incorporating sun protection into our lives? Check out Truth In Aging's recommended mineral sunscreens for body and for face, as well as these safe sunscreen alternatives with antioxidant power.