4 Ways Acupuncture Can Improve Your Appearance

What is white cast?

White cast is the annoying grayish, white color that some sunscreens leave behind after you've applied them. And sometimes no matter how much you rub them in or blend them, it simply will not go away. Tosin Eyikogbe, MSN and skin expert gave us the full explanation on this. She says, "The active ingredients in mineral sunscreen, zinc and titanium oxide, are large rough, white particles. Because of this, when applied to the skin, traditional mineral sunscreen tend to leave an unwanted, ashy, white or grayish appearance."

Dr. Praveen Guntipalli also weighed in on this topic by saying, "These ingredients are effective at blocking UV radiation but can leave a visible white residue on the skin, especially if the particles are not finely milled or if the formulation lacks certain tinting additives that help the product blend into various skin tones." So, essentially, these sunscreens are working, but they end up leaving particles behind on the skin, ultimately causing a white cast to appear.

How can I avoid white cast?

There are a few ways to avoid this problem. You can try a different formula, stay away from certain ingredients, or just try to blend it in as much as possible. A different formula or type of sunscreen will definitely help with this, as mineral sunscreens are more likely to cause the white cast, whereas chemical sunscreens don't. Eyikogbe says, "Chemical sunscreens, which contain organic compounds that are absorbed by the skin then convert UV rays to heat that is released, are offered in a variety of formats and are often paired with moisturizers to increase a light weight feel."

We love the sound of that! She adds, "These formulas typically don’t leave a white cast, however chemical sunscreens aren’t ideal for all skin types, as they can clog pores and irritate the skin, and compounds including oxybezone and octinoxate are harmful to marine animals and can damage fragile coral reef ecosystems."

What ingredients should you look for in your sunscreen to avoid white cast?

If you have sensitive skin like me, then you know you always have to double check labels and look into ingredients lists before buying products; especially when it comes to sun care. I'm very sensitive to certain ingredients and perfumes so I have to look carefully. We asked skincare experts what their thoughts were on what ingredients to keep an eye out for and this is what they had to say!

Eyikogbe says,"Mineral sunscreens, which typically contain inorganic compounds, titanium or zinc dioxide, can traditionally leave the notorious 'white cast' due to the reflection of the metal oxides on the skin. But there are newer formulas that have eradicated the old-school white cast and provide excellent mineral protection without a white cast."

Board certified dermatoligst Dr. Divya Sachdev says, "I highly recommend tinted zinc oxide-based pure mineral sunscreens with an SPF of 30 or higher. These sunscreens are not only effective at protecting against UV rays but also include antioxidants like vitamin C, green tea, and raspberry seed oil that help combat free radicals from oxidative damage caused by sunlight."

What are some helpful tips for sunscreen?

If you're looking for something that will blend in seamlessly into your skin, and easily go into your daily routine then I'd really recommend tinted moisturizer with SPF or a CC cream. One of my favorites is the Tatcha SPF which really blends into the skin for a nice glow. I'd recommend using this daily!

Dr. Sachdev says, "Remember, it’s crucial to reapply sunscreen every 2-3 hours when spending time in the sun, wear sun-protective clothing such as wide-brim hats and sunglasses, and maintain a diet rich in antioxidants to enhance your skin's defense against sun damage." Duly noted, doctor!

Best Sunscreens Without White Cast To Shop Right Now

Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen

The Supergoop Unseen Sunscreen gives your skin the nicest glow, and it's the perfect base for your makeup. It's definitely a crowd favorite for good reason!

Blendability: 5/5 Doesn't pill and blends so nicely!

Underneath Makeup: 5/5 It's glowy perfection!

Protection: 4/5 It's lower in SPF, but still does the job!

EltaMD UV Elements

Dr. Divya Sachdev, "Favorites of mine include EltaMD UV Elements and Suntegrity 5-in-1 Natural Moisturizing Face Sunscreen, which avoid any white cast. These tinted formulations also contain iron oxides that provide additional protection against UV damage and blue light exposure." I'm a big fan of the EltaMd sunscreen, and feel like it always makes my skin feel light and not too heavy with products!

Blendability: 5/5 I love how creamy it is!

Underneath Makeup: 5/5 Feels like a moisturizer!

Protection: 4/5 A higher SPF is always better, but this is still great!

Summer Fridays SPF Milk Sunscreen

Another sunscreen that I looove is the Summer Fridays SPF Milk Sunscreen. Every time I let one of my friends use it, I never get it back because it is that good. Genuinely is so milky and smooth, and it looks amazing underneath makeup or other skincare products!

Blendability: 5/5 Blends beautifully!

Underneath Makeup: 5/5 Doesn't feel and works as a primer!

Protection: 3/5 It isn't as high in SPF as I would like, but it works nonetheless!

Innisfree Daily SPF Broad Specturm SPF 36

My personal favorite is the Innisfree Daily SPF, which blends in like moisturizer! It's genuinely so thin and creamy!

Blendability: 5/5 Blends into your skin within seconds.

Underneath Makeup: 5/5 Genuinely could be a primer for how well it sits.

Protection: 3/5 Wish it was higher SPF, but it's so thin, so it makes sense!

ColorScience Sunforgetabble Face Shield

We asked Tosin Eyikogbe, and she says, "My personal favorite at the moment is ColorScience Sunforgettable Face Shield Flex SPF 50, which contains all mineral active ingredients and comes in four shades that cover a wide range of skin tones. It has a light weight feel and provides a luminous and even skin tone. A lot of patients have told me it has replaced their need for foundation!"

Blendability: 5/5 Melts into the skin!

Underneath Makeup: 5/5 Blends in with your foundation and base great!

Protection: 5/5 It's high in SPF so definitely a winner!

@britandco these skincare products have me in a chokehold. link to shop them in our bio! ⭐️ COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser ($11) ⭐️ COSRX Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner ($13) ⭐️ The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid ($10) ⭐️ Dieux Air Angel Gel Cream ($44) ⭐️ innisfree Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen ($22) ⭐️Good Weird Cold Brew Undereye ($26) #glowyskin#skincareroutine#easyskincareroutine#affordableskincare#glowup♬ original sound - soph 🦷

This glowy skincare routine is everything to me. With only 6 products and a total of 10 minutes maximum every day, this glowy skincare routine is the key for healthy, youthful-looking skin.

I can’t gatekeep these products any longer. Let’s get into why these picks fit right into a glowy skincare routine and what they can do for your skin!

COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser

Clean skin sets the tone for glowy skin, so having an everyday cleanser in your skincare repertoire is crucial. I like this low-pH one from COSRX since it's very gentle. Though it takes it easy on my skin overall, I still feel a deep clean after I cleanse with it. The low pH makes this gel cleanser widely compatible for most skin types, plus you get lots of product for a low price.

The Good Morning Gel Cleanser is $14 on Amazon.

COSRX Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner

Toners can come in many forms (like exfoliating and brightening), but I find that I'm drawn to hydrating toners like this one from COSRX for my glowy skincare routine. Unlike the toners most of us grew up with – astringent, harsh, and drying – most toners on the market now are made to boost your skin's hydration! So, toners are friends, not foes.

This literally feels like my skin is chugging water when I put it on. I typically just apply it with my hands and press it in gently, so my face can absorb the most product. I'll also bring it down to my neck for added hydration. The propolis and honey extracts go easy on the skin, adding to the desired glow!

This Full Fit Propolis Synergy Toner is $13 on Amazon.

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid

Hyaluronic acid simply brings the moisture that's already hanging out in your skin forward, so you'll appear more moisturized and hydrated when you use it. I only use this before moisturizer when I feel like my skin is especially dry, and like the aforementioned toner, I press it in so my skin can soak it on up.

I enjoy a lot of things about this hyaluronic acid (like the ease of using the bottle, the simple ingredient list, and the elegant dropper), but I love the affordable price the most.

The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid comes in a bundle alongside the The Ordinary Niacinamide for just $17 on Amazon.

Dieux Air Angel Gel Cream

Oh, this gel cream moisturizer is sooo smooth. I've really never felt anything like it before! I genuinely feel like an angel every time I put Dieux's Air Angel on. I adore it because unlike other heavy cream or lotion moisturizers, it allows my skin to breathe. It goes on super lightweight so I'm not left feeling like I applied way too many layers of product.

It's also very easy to apply – the bottle has a convenient pump with a cap that makes traveling with it a breeze! Moisturizer is a total must when it comes to skin that glows, so don't sleep on product picks like this!

The Dieux Air Angel Gel Cream goes for $44 on dieuxskin.com.

innisfree Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen

Mineral sunscreen is that girl. As opposed to chemical sunscreen, mineral sunscreen contains actual physical barriers that protect your skin from harmful UV rays. That being said, this sunscreen does swipe on with a bit of a white cast, but it immediately blends out with the right amount of rubbing it in.

This SPF 45 formulation from innisfree (one of my fave affordable brands) has a color-correcting aspect to it, so it looks a tiny bit blue when you go to apply it. Once your skin's soaked it in, it leaves a creamy, satin finish that I think is perfect for a makeup base.

Think of this sunscreen as a preemptive measure towards the ultimate glowy skin routine – since you're protecting it from mass amounts of sun damage, your skin will look more youthful, hydrated, and even over time. And yes, you should be wearing sunscreen every day!

The innisfree Daily UV Defense Mineral Sunscreen is $22 at Sephora.

Good Weird Cold Brew Undereye

OMG. This is the first under eye cream that I found was actually effective. It's genuinely like a cup of cold brew for your under eye area – and mine tends to need that extra energy!

Formulated with caffeine to reduce puffiness and diamond powder to fill in fine lines, I saw results from the Cold Brew Undereye from Good Weird (read my full review here) within a few uses. The application is also unbelievably easy. It goes on very soothing since it has a metal application tip. I actually toss this skincare pick in the fridge so the metal can cool down, and ultimately soothe my tired eyes.

I think having a brightened-up under eye area contributes massively to my glowy skincare routine, since darker circles can bring the glow (and the overall evenness of my skin tone) down.

The Good Weird Cold Brew Undereye goes for $26 on Amazon.

"Ultimately I could love myself, or I could just be like, 'Here I am,'" Claudia Jessie says. "Most of the time, none of us know what we're really doing anyway. So I think I'm just letting go of any attachment of trying to feel confident."

"You should be confident because everybody loves you," Hannah Dodd counters. "Everybody's obsessed with you! I think, if you surround yourself with the right people as well, like my friends give me confidence, the right people, like your team and you guys."

"'How are you so confident to be so different?' I say at one point to Eloise," Jessica Madsen says. "And when I read that in the script, it was just like [how] I feel about you, and I really mean it...I remember saying it and really feeling like that was 100 percent true from me to you, [Claudia]."

The love is totally reciprocated, and when I ask what the three women would write in their own Lady Whistledown column, Claudia hypes up Jessica's love of music.

"I love music. I love making playlists," Jessica says. "I went through a little stage where Spotify was my everything. I wanted to be a DJ."

"You'd look great as a DJ," Claudia adds. "I don't know your DJ'ing skills yet, but you'd look amazing behind the deck like that."

Hannah adds that they talk a lot about their dogs, and books. "I do love books," Claudia, who just finished Travis Baldree's Legends & Lattes, agrees. "I'm a big reader. Basically I like things that don't mean I have to leave the house. I could talk about the inside of my flat thoroughly. I could write about that, my four walls."

Bridgerton season 3 opens after Eloise's discovery that Lady Whistledown is actually her best friend Penelope Featherington. The middle Bridgerton child has had to keep it a secret all this time, and Claudia Jessie admits she's a good secret keeper, just for a different reason: "I'm good because I forget them immediately," she says.

"I'm like the grave," Jessica Madsen promises.

"I wouldn't say I'm a grave," Hannah Dodd adds. "I just have a group of people that I'm like, 'They don't count.' I will not tell anybody. But like, except for these...one or two very trustworthy people."

In the show, multiple characters' trust in one another is threatened — learning about Penelope's secret identity challenges Eloise's trust in Penelope, and Colin's remarks that he'd never court Pen threaten her trust in him. While we see these relationships evolve in unexpected ways, we also see new sides to characters we thought we knew. Namely, Cresside Cowper.

"Other than, obviously the really sad passing of the Bridgerton dad, Eloise comes from an incredibly sheltered, privileged, happy, nourishing environment where they can all be themselves," Claudia says. "So I think it is really important to see just how different it is [from the Cowper household], cause it also informs us a bit more about how difficult the situation is for Cressida and why she might be colder or a bit closed off."

"[She's] very lonely as well," Jessica adds. "She's got nobody. Not her mum, and definitely not her dad. It's opposite ends of the spectrum."

And while season 3 of Bridgerton is just about to debut, Jessica Madsen, Hannah Dodd, and Claudia Jessie already have dreams for Bridgerton season 4.

"I'd love for Eloise to get political, do you know what I mean?" Claudia says. "I'd love that because there's so much room for Eloise to go there."

"She could be the first Prime Minister!" Jessica chimes in.

"I don't know for Francesca," Hannah says. "I'm so excited to see what the writers come up with. I just hope she steps into herself a little bit more and kind of goes after things that make her happy, and knows that she's deserving of that. But I'm new here. So, like anything they give me, I'm gonna be happy with."

Brit + Co Rapid Fire With The Bridgerton Cast

Brit + Co: We've talked so much about books, what are you all reading?

Claudia Jessie: I just finished a book called Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree. And it literally says on the cover "Low stakes, high cozy vibes"...It was beautiful. Really comforting. It was like a big hug.

Hannah Dodd: I'm reading Yellowface at the moment, and I just finished Lessons in Chemistry. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo [was] good. And that really took me a while to find another book that filled that hole.

Jessica Madsen: I have Dopamine Nation...I love audio books. So I actually have Viola Davis reading to me every night her autobiography, which is amazing.

B+C: What music is on repeat for you at the moment?

CJ: I'm listening to a band called Say She She. They're like three sexy, beautiful girls doing like funk, disco pop. Beautiful, cool stuff. And they're really, really cool.

HD: I'm less cool and very generic. Beyonce's new album and Ariana Grande's new album, and I'm obsessed with Noah Kahan at the moment as well.

JM: I'm a mixed bag. I've got a lot of different stuff that I love. Yeah, I've, I've been listening to a lot of Fat Freddy's Drop cause they've got a great summer vibe. Two Feet I really enjoy...I like jazz. Disco.

B+C: Bridgerton is our next watch, what's the last thing you binge watched?

CJ:Barry, which I think is the best comedy that's ever been written, ever. I know I'm gonna re-watch it as well cause it's just unbelievable. The amount of respect they show that comedy is so beautiful.

HD: I haven't binged anything in a while, but I'm really excited to watch Ripley. And I think the last thing I binged was One Day as well, which left me heartbroken.

JM: I just binge watched — I say binge gently — Yellowstone, so I want to be a cowgirl now, really badly. I want to live in denim for the rest of my life, in cowboy boots, badly. And then I just I always put Schitt's Creek on. I've watched it 10 times now, which is embarrassing. I love it. We need laughter. We need fun.

B+C: What's on your summer 2024 bucket list?

JM: I would love to get on a beach. I wanna be on a beach for a bit and just feel the sand and the sea.

HD: I'd just like to get through this part of my life, which is quite exciting and new for me and I don't know. I wouldn't say no to a beach either.

CJ: Just a load of iced coffees. That's great when that season comes around, you can have iced coffee. That's like my favorite cause I kid myself into thinking it's not the same amount of caffeine as a hot coffee, so I'm like 'I can have three!' and then I'm rattling.