Interview: Valerie McMurray

Here in Hong Kong, submerged in Asia’s skin-whitening craze, we thought we knew everything there is to know about shielding our skin from the sun. But thanks to suncare guru Valerie McMurray, we now know we’ve been wrong. We recently met with the elegant and knowledgeable McMurray at Joyce Grooming, where she has introduced her line of Soleil Toujours suncare, to talk about what harmful ingredients lurk inside sunscreens. Soleil Toujours, French for ‘sun always,’ is as a premium brand of mineral suncare that starts with sun protection as a foundation for healthy skin. Vegan, hypoallergenic, and devoid of toxic chemicals, the lotions are almost too good to be true. But they are, and McMurray’s glowing skin is proof that sunscreen can be an indulgence as opposed to a chore. Below, we talk to McMurray about how she got involved with suncare, and why minerals are the way to go.

Hong Kong Tatler: You have a background in the financial services industry. What got you into the skincare business?
Valerie McMurray: I’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur. While I was working, I started a beachwear line. The next thing I wanted to get into was sunscreen. When I really got into my research, I was pregnant with my third child, and I started learning about how potentially dangerous chemicals in sunscreen can be to the unborn fetus. It sort of came out of a need, really. My desk job helped with the funding of this, and I think it’s important to have a business background to be an entrepreneur.

HKT: What were some challenges you faced while developing your natural and organic skincare products?
VM: The hardest part was finding a great chemist to work with who knows minerals. Minerals make it difficult to achieve that really light, clear texture that people look for. What we had to do was compromise, and through trial and error, we created a combination and added a few non-harmful chemicals so that you don’t have too much of a white sheen when you apply the lotion to your whole body. Mineral sunscreen is also a lot more expensive to produce, which is why not too many companies are doing what we do. It took us at least a year to really develop the right formula for the products.

HKT: What harmful ingredients are people not aware of, but should look out for in products and try to avoid?
VM:A key one is oxybenzone. It’s been named as the allergen of the year for 2014 in the US, and stays in your system long after it’s been applied to your skin. It’s also an endocrine disruptor and can potentially cause cancer. We use zinc and titanium instead of oxybenzone, because these minerals act as a physical block, and the rays reflect off the minerals instead of penetrating healthy skin. Chemical sunscreens penetrate and when the rays hit the skin, they sort of absorb and scatter the UV rays, and can go into your bloodstream.

HKT: When it comes to the sun and skincare, what do you think people need to be more aware of?
VM:One misconception is that you only need to wear sunscreen when you’re going to the beach. No matter what, you’re exposed to UV rays that cause premature aging and a breakdown of elastins. SPF numbers only refer to UVB protection, which prevents burning. It’s so important to have a sunscreen that addresses UVA problems, such as wrinkles, and that’s what broad-spectrum sunscreens will do. They protect against both.  

HKT: With BB and CC creams already so popular in Hong Kong, how do you see your product standing out and catching on?
VM: Asian skin may not be as prone to burning and wrinkles compared to western skin, but it is vulnerable to its own set of issues, such as hyperpigmentation. You really need a product that reflects the rays off your skin. In Asia, the whitening craze has people trying to fix the problem after the damage has been done, instead of avoiding these issues before they happen. BB and CC creams are filled with chemicals, and people don’t use enough to be protected. What’s recommended is a teaspoon of sunscreen to truly be protected. What makes us stand out is that our products have a proprietary EcosunComplex, which is a dual kind of protection: sunscreen loaded with anti-oxidants. We address wrinkles, loss of elasticity, and dryness. It’s really kind of a combination of suncare and skincare.

For more information, please visit www.soleiltoujours.com.

Available at Joyce Grooming and Joyce Beauty.