The summer months are almost upon us! The sun worshippers amongst us wait for them year-round. We all know that it's important to protect our skin, but many of us don't incorporate a good SPF product into our daily skincare routines. With many vegan SPF products available we wanted to look at how they can fit into our busy schedules.

We have learned that it's important to include ideally a minimum of SPF 30 into your skincare routine every day to minimise your exposure to harmful UVB rays, but is SPF 30 enough? It seems that SPF 30, when regularly applied, will block almost 97% of rays, whereas SPF 50 upgrades that protection to 98%, meaning that when generously and regularly applied SPF 30 will certainly provide enough protection for an adult. Still keen to learn more about different products we can use and where to find the best vegan SPF products, we've enlisted some help! 

Demi Colleen, award-winning blogger and influencer has shared her skincare tips on her Instagram and TikTok from affordable, cruelty-free products to more specialist skincare reviews and insights into her daily routine. She has kindly set aside some time to talk to us about the importance of using a good vegan SPF.

V-Land UK (V-L): Why is SPF so important?

Demi Colleen (DC): SPF is what protects our skin from harmful UV rays. These rays can damage skin cells’ DNA and cause them to age. We see this in the form of sagging and wrinkling. UV rays can also cause skin cancer. Whilst ageing is inevitable, we can slow down the process by protecting our skin with sunscreen on a daily basis - yes, even if it’s cloudy!

V-L: What does your daily skincare routine look like?

DC: It’s actually relatively straightforward! I focus a lot on hydration as my skin is dry and dehydrated. I will wash my face in the morning and then apply a humectant like hyaluronic acid before applying a brightening serum such as vitamin C, moisturising and then slathering my face in SPF. I top up my SPF throughout the day with an SPF spray. At night, I always double cleanse and then I tend to use exfoliating products or actives such as BHAs, AHAs or retinol. I will also include hydrating products as well as a thick moisturiser and occasionally treat myself to an oil or overnight balm if I’m in the mood!

V-L: Have you always had a good skincare routine? How do you stay motivated to keep up with it?

DC: Not at all! A few years prior to starting my blog, I used to wash my face and wear coconut oil and nothing else, I don’t think anything makes me cringe more than that! I definitely have evenings where the last thing I want to do is spend time in the bathroom rubbing products into my face, but I have many a photo of my skin before I started caring for it and that is all the motivation I need. Skin issues may not be fixed overnight, they can take a lot of time, effort and money and so I never skip a day. However, if I’m really not feeling it I just strip my routine right back to a cleanse and moisturiser and leave it at that!

V-L: What is your favourite vegan SPF?

DC: Absolutely impossible to pick, I have so many favourites for many different reasons! The current stand outs for me are Biossance Squalane and Zinc Sheer Mineral Sunscreen, Nip + Fab Illuminate SPF and Hello Sunday ‘The Every Day One’.

V-L: We love your unique, colourful style, it brings the sunshine to our screens, is summer your favourite season?

DC: 100%! As soon as I can stop wearing a jacket, I am on a constant high throughout the season. Everything small and mundane suddenly becomes exciting and like a treat. Walking down the road with an iced coffee with the sun shining gives me a skip in my step - winter could never.

V-L: As we mentioned earlier we love your skincare content and we love your fashion content too. Do you have any new projects coming up? 

DC: I sure do! My influencer career started with an actual physical blog, which I adored - and whilst I adore visual content I craved to start writing again. My website will be launching very soon, with more in-depth looks into fashion, homeware and beauty (SPF included, always).

If you're interested in finding out more about vegan SPF, you may like to read our article about best vegan suncreams. You can find skincare, fashion content and more from Demi on Instagram and TikTok.