Used SPF 50 properly for 60 days after years of SPF 30
PSA- I don’t have before/after pictures because IT JS SCARY but I did this little experiment from February to April because I wanted to see whether upgrading from SPF 30 to SPF 50 actually changes anything in real life or if skincare ppl online just exaggerate everything
For context, I kept everything else exactly the same on purpose. Same moisturiser, same cleanser, same diet, same sleep schedule, no new actives, no facials, nothing. I even avoided changing my makeup products because I didn’t want to confuse myself with maybe it’s because of this.
The only things I changed was going from SPF 30 to SPF 50 and forcing myself to reapply once around midday
The first 2 weeks honestly felt identical. If anything I was lowk annoyed because SPF 50 sounded like it should magically transform my skin the way people talk about it online :/
But towards the end of February, I started noticing small things. Usually after long auto rides or walking around in afternoon sun, my face gets that slightly dull/tired look by evening, especially around my mouth and forehead. That happened way less. My skin tone looked more even overall and I wasn’t getting that one shade darker by the end of the week feeling anymore
March is where it became properly noticeable to me. I commute a lot and usually by peak summer my tan becomes super uneven. This time my skin still tanned a little, but it faded faster and didn’t look patchy. Even my old acne marks stopped looking extra dark after being outside
Unexpectedly though, I genuinely think the reapplication habit mattered more than the SPF number itself. Earlier I’d apply SPF 30 at like 8 am and then fully act surprised when my face looked cooked by 5 pm 💀
Once I started reapplying properly, my skin just looked less irritated overall. Even texture-wise it looked calmer, probably because I wasn’t constantly getting low-level sun damage every day
That said, SPF 50 didn’t magically fix everything. My dark circles obviously stayed the same, deeper pigmentation didn’t disappear, and it’s not some overnight glow-up masti
But honestly, for Indian summers, I do think the upgrade is worth it if you spend a decent amount of time outdoors.