EltaMD UV Clear or UV Daily: How to Choose the Sunscreen You'll Actually Wear

If there is one question we hear more than any other in the treatment room, it is this: what sunscreen should I actually be wearing?

Not which one is best on paper. Not which one has the highest number on the front. Which one will still be on the bathroom shelf in March, half used, because it felt good enough to reach for on a Tuesday morning when you were already running late.

That is the real question, and it is the right one. The most effective sunscreen is the one you wear every day. Everything else is secondary.

Our answer has come back to the same two formulas for years, and we are glad to say they are back on our shelves. EltaMD UV Clear SPF 46 and UV Daily SPF 40 are available to pre-order now.

Why we are still talking about sunscreen in October

It is easy to put SPF away with the patio furniture. The days are shorter, the light is flatter, and it stops feeling urgent.

But UVA rays are present year round. They are there on grey days, and they come through windows — the car window on your commute, the one beside your desk. They do not announce themselves the way a summer burn does, which is exactly why they are easy to ignore.

October is also when many of our clients begin a laser, peel or microneedling series. Those treatments work by creating controlled change in the skin, and the skin needs protection while it does that work. Daily SPF is not an optional extra alongside a treatment plan. It is part of it. If you are investing in your skin this season, the sunscreen you wear in between appointments is doing a meaningful share of the work.

So the question is not whether to wear it. It is which one.

UV Clear SPF 46

UV Clear is broad-spectrum SPF 46, made with zinc oxide, and it is oil-free. It is lightweight to the point that most clients forget they have it on, and it wears comfortably alone or under makeup.

It also contains niacinamide, which calms the look of redness, and hyaluronic acid for hydration.

This is the one we reach for most often with skin that is sensitive, breakout-prone or flushes easily. It is also our usual suggestion for skin that is fresh from a treatment, once your aesthetician has told you it is time to restart products.

Choose UV Clear if: your skin gets shiny by the afternoon, congests easily, reacts to new products, or you are in the middle of a treatment series.

UV Daily SPF 40

UV Daily is broad-spectrum SPF 40, also made with zinc oxide, in a lightweight moisturising lotion. It contains hyaluronic acid, and for many of our clients it does two jobs in one step — hydration and protection, without a separate layer underneath.

Choose UV Daily if: your skin feels tight by mid-morning, tends toward dry, or you would rather simplify your routine down to fewer steps.

If you are genuinely somewhere in the middle, the simplest test is how your skin feels at 3pm. Shiny points you to UV Clear. Tight points you to UV Daily.

Tinted or untinted?

Both formulas come either way.

The tinted versions add a sheer wash of colour that evens the look of your skin tone. They are lovely on mornings when you would rather not reach for foundation at all, and many clients wear the tint as their entire base.

The untinted versions layer under anything, so if you have a foundation or tinted moisturiser you are loyal to, start there.

How to wear it

Sunscreen belongs at the end of your morning routine, after moisturiser and before makeup. Apply generously to your face and neck, and give it about fifteen minutes before sun exposure. Reapply as the label directs, and after swimming, sweating or towel drying.

At night, take it off properly. Sunscreen is designed to sit on the skin rather than sink in, and a single water-based cleanse does not always lift it fully. On heavier SPF days, start with an oil cleanser — our Glowtox Cleansing Oil melts sunscreen and makeup away — and then follow with your usual cleanser. This one change solves more congestion complaints than almost anything else we suggest.

How we choose it with you

Every GLOW client is welcome to a complimentary consultation with skin imaging. It is the difference between a recommendation and a guess.

Imaging shows us what is happening beneath the surface — congestion, redness patterns, sun damage that has not shown up yet — and it lets us match a formula to your skin rather than to the description on the box. It also lets us place SPF properly inside your treatment plan, including when to restart it after laser or microneedling and how to layer it with everything else you are using.

If you have been reading this and still are not certain which one is yours, that is exactly what the consultation is for.

Pricing

	Regular	GLOW+ members
UV Clear SPF 46	$75	$67.50
UV Clear Tinted SPF 46	$79	$71.10
UV Daily SPF 40	$74	$66.60
UV Daily Tinted SPF 40	$74	$66.60

GLOW+ members save 10% on retail skincare and 20% on facial treatments and add-ons. All four are 48g.

Pre-orders are open now, and we will email you as soon as your order is ready.

Pre-order EltaMD Today!

Sunscreens are regulated by Health Canada; always read and follow the label directions. Discontinue use if irritation occurs. Keep out of eyes. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, we recommend confirming with your physician. Full ingredient list on product packaging. Individual results may vary.

Skin Longevity vs Anti-Ageing: What's Changed | GLOW Etobicoke

Walk into any aesthetics conference this year and you will notice a word missing. Nobody is saying "anti-ageing" anymore. They are saying "skin longevity," and the change is not just a rebrand.

Anti-ageing was always a slightly strange proposition. It framed a normal biological process as an opponent, and it sold treatments as a way of holding a line that cannot actually be held. It also meant the conversation tended to start late, usually the year someone noticed something in the mirror they had not noticed before.

Skin longevity asks a different question. Not "how do we reverse this," but "how do we keep this skin functioning well for as long as possible."

The Practical Difference

The distinction sounds academic until you look at what it changes in a treatment plan.

An anti-ageing approach is reactive and correction-led. Something appears; something is done about it. A longevity approach is preventative and function-led. It looks at barrier integrity, collagen production, pigmentation load, and inflammation, the underlying systems, and works to keep them healthy before there is anything visible to correct.

In practice, that usually means starting earlier, treating more consistently, and choosing treatments that support the skin's own processes rather than only resurfacing what has already happened. Collagen-stimulating treatments like radiofrequency tightening and microneedling fit this model well, because they are asking the skin to do something rather than doing it for the skin.

Why Consistency Beats Intensity

The other thing the longevity framing gets right: cumulative, moderate treatment tends to outperform occasional intensive treatment.

Skin responds to rhythm. A treatment plan followed every four to six weeks for two years will almost always leave skin in better condition than three aggressive treatments crammed into a month before an event. This is not a new observation in our field, but the shift in language has finally made it the headline rather than the footnote.

It is also, quietly, the argument for a membership. Not because it is a product we sell, but because the clients whose skin looks best over a five-year horizon are almost always the ones who came consistently rather than dramatically.

What This Does Not Mean

It does not mean prevention makes correction unnecessary. Pigmentation still needs treating. Texture still needs resurfacing. Longevity is a framework for the long arc, not a reason to ignore what is in front of you.

And it does not mean starting at twenty-five with a full clinical protocol. For most people, longevity in your thirties looks like consistent SPF, a barrier that is not constantly compromised, professional treatment on a real schedule, and paying attention to the lifestyle factors that show up on your face whether you track them or not.

Where to Start

If you have never had your skin properly assessed, not sold to, assessed, that is the first step. A consultation will tell you what your skin's actual priorities are, which is usually different from what the internet has convinced you they are.

Book A Skin Consultation Here!

Laser Treatments in Fall: Why Timing Matters | GLOW Etobicoke

If you have ever asked about laser in July and been gently talked out of it, this is why.

Laser and IPL work by delivering light energy into the skin, where it is absorbed by a target: pigment, a blood vessel, the water in the tissue. That is what makes them so effective, and it is also exactly why recent sun exposure rules them out. Skin carrying a tan has more melanin sitting at the surface to absorb that energy, which changes how the treatment behaves and raises the risk of an uneven result. So for four months of the year, the most corrective work we do is simply off the table.

In October, that stops being true.

What Changes in Fall

The UV index drops. Days shorten. The likelihood of you sitting on a patio for three hours without thinking about it goes down considerably. Your skin also arrives in fall carrying the accumulated evidence of summer: pigmentation that has been quietly building since May and is only surfacing now that the tan has faded, texture from months of dehydration, and redness that heat and sun exposure tend to aggravate.

That combination is why fall and winter are when most of the laser work in our treatment calendar happens. The conditions are right, and the skin finally has something worth correcting.

It also matters that laser works in series. Most concerns need a course of treatments spaced several weeks apart, which means the window has to be wide enough to fit them. Starting in October gives you room. Starting in February does not.

For Pigmentation, Redness and Rosacea:

Photo Facial (IPL). $250, or $200 for GLOW+ members. Broad-spectrum light targets pigment and blood vessels, which makes this the starting point for sun spots, uneven tone, flushing and rosacea. One hour, with possible temporary swelling afterward.

Photo Infusion (IPL). $350, or $280 for GLOW+ members. The same light-based correction with a hydration layer built into the treatment.

For Acne and Congestion:

This is the part most people do not realise laser can do.

Carbon Laser Peel. $250, or $200 for GLOW+ members. A carbon layer is applied to draw out congestion, then laser energy removes it along with the debris sitting in the pores. Works on oiliness and enlarged pores as well as active breakouts, with no downtime at all.

Advanced Acne Laser Facial. $450, or $360 for GLOW+ members. A more involved treatment for persistent congestion and oily, acne-prone skin. This is the one for skin that has not responded to topical work alone.

For Texture, Scarring and Skin Quality:

Fractional Resurfacing Laser. $500, or $400 for GLOW+ members. Works deeper into the skin on texture, scarring and pigmentation. Redness and flaking for up to seven days.

Lite Laser Facial. $550, or $440 for GLOW+ members. Resurfacing for texture, pigmentation and early signs of ageing, with redness and flaking for up to five days.

Advanced Laser Facial. $790, or $632 for GLOW+ members. The most comprehensive treatment on our menu, and the one clients choose when they want a real change rather than maintenance.

All of these are performed on Health Canada licensed devices by trained aestheticians working within scope. That is not a given in this market, and it is worth asking about wherever you book.

What to Expect Afterward

Most of these involve some redness, dryness or flaking for anywhere from a few days to a week, depending on the treatment and your skin. IPL can also bring temporary swelling or bruising. None of it is dramatic, but it is real, and it is worth planning around rather than discovering the morning of an event.

Sun protection afterward is not optional. Treated skin is more photosensitive, and the single fastest way to undo a course of pigmentation work is to skip SPF in the weeks that follow.

Who It Is Not For

Laser and IPL are not suitable during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or while taking photosensitizing medication. Recent sun exposure, certain skin conditions and some medications all change the answer. Your aesthetician will review your skin and health history before anything is booked, and if she tells you to wait, that is the consultation doing its job.

If You Have Been Meaning To

October is the month. The sun is off your face, your skin has something to correct, and the calendar ahead is the widest treatment window of the year.

Book A Laser Consultation Here!