I'm on a Mission to Cancel Skin Cancer—These Are the Morning Rituals That Help

What’s the first thing you do when you get out of bed in the morning? A well-rounded morning routine sets the tone for the day and gets you prepped—both mentally and physically—before diving into a packed schedule filled with emails, chores, happy hours, workouts, and more. Our series Morning Person profiles those who have mastered the art of the morning routine. Tune in every Monday morning here and on our Instagram to learn exactly how the pros get it all done before the sun comes up, from their go-to breakfasts to their a.m. workouts.

Out of all the skincare products in the world (and trust us, there are many), sunscreen isn't exactly the most exciting one. Many of us indulge in facial mists, toners, serums, and eye creams, but still forget to apply our sunscreen. And I'm not even talking about on a daily basis; many of my friends roll their eyes when I ask if they've applied sunscreen before they lay out at the beach.

The fact skin cancer happens to run in my family makes me more adamant about sun protection, and Holly Thaggard, founder of clean sunscreen line Supergoop!, can relate. When her close friend was diagnosed with melanoma at the age of 30, Thaggard was inspired to take a stand against skin cancer and educate others on the importance of protecting yourself as early as possible.

Her initial mission was to give schools greater access to sunscreen (looking back, the idea that we all spent recess outside without teachers asking if we were protected from the sun is alarming), but her business quickly developed into a full-blown line of clean sun protection. As you can probably guess, Holly's morning routine is filled with tips and tricks on filling your a.m. with lots and lots of SPF… but she also shares how she balances her business, family, and self-care. Read on for a peek at her routine.

I’m pretty early to rise, as my mornings can get busy with getting myself and my two kiddos ready to take on the day! I rely on my husband as an alarm clock of sorts (he’s also my snooze if I happen to fall back asleep). Once I’m up, the first thing I do is splash cold water on my face and brush my teeth with Marvis toothpaste—it’s a total essential in my book. Then I sip on hot water and lemon while taking time to catch up on work messages and Wall Street Journal news.

My job involves a lot of traveling, but when I’m home in San Antonio on days like today, I have a daily Pilates and weightlifting session with my trainer, Richard. I made the commitment a year or so ago to work this into my routine, and it’s really paying off. Right now, I’m up to 20 consecutive push-ups! You can always find me wearing some combination of Lululemon, The Upside, and Carbon38.

When I’m finished with my workout, I swing by Whole Foods on my way home for a celery juice. Once I’m home, I go into speed mode to get myself ready and my kiddos out the door for school. No matter how fast I’m moving, though, I always take some time to light my favorite candle—Nest’s grapefruit candle—which has the most uplifting scent. My favorite thing about my shower is probably my Olaplex shampoo and conditioner (I use No. 4 and No. 5); they’ve made my hair so healthy over the past few months.

Post-shower, I always apply a generous amount of our Body Butter SPF 40 topped off with our Sun-Defying Sunscreen Oil SPF 50. I can obviously never get enough SPF protection! Another thing my hair routine wouldn’t be the same without is my Dyson hair dryer or Ouai’s Dry Shampoo—I just love them both!

My skincare regimen stays fairly consistent, so it doesn’t take too long… Again, I’m obviously all about a full wardrobe of Supergoop! You’ll always find me wearing a mix of our products with a few other favorites (like Summer Fridays’ Overtime Mask) mixed in. My current Supergoop! go-tos are Superscreen Daily Moisturizer SPF 40, 100% Mineral Matte Screen SPF 40 and Shimmershade SPF 30.

I drive to work and either take our daughter Emery or our son Will to school on the way. (Our kiddos go to different schools, so my husband and I share in this responsibility unless one of us is traveling.) My commuter essentials are an iced coffee, Supergoop! Hand Cream With SPF 40, and the latest How I Built This podcast, with either Emery or Will in the passenger seat!

I’ll usually arrive at my office around this time, with a full day of all things SPF ahead! Conference calls, product development, reapplication (you need to reapply your SPF every two hours because it fades and degrades over time, even when you’re just sitting at your desk!), marketing meetings, handwritten thank-you notes, phone interviews, and more! But thankfully my morning routine always seems to set everything up for success.

Next Up: The Founder of Ashley Benson's Favorite Workout Studio Shares Her A.M. Routine