Best Face Forward- Between the Ears with Tull MD Skincare – Developed for Equestrians

As a previous member of the “I need to burn just to get a base” club, I have dedicated 2025 to taking better care of my skin. In my pervious life, I washed my face with plain hand soap, from the dollar tree. I’ve slowly realized that one of the BEST investments you can make is your skin care. As a medical provider, I felt it was only right to go with what I could trust. I “sat down” with Tull MD to learn all about their products (some of which I’ve had the opportunity to test and obsess over) and got some tricks and tips to put my best face forward!!

Dr. Stacey Tull, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer

Having served over 20,000 patients since beginning in dermatological surgery in 2001, Dr. Stacey Tull is among the very few dedicated Mohs surgeons in the St. Louis, Missouri area. She is a graduate of Duke University with her MD and MPH from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She completed her plastic and general surgery training at Washington University, where she also completed her Mohs surgery fellowship. Dr. Tull is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and the American College of Mohs Surgery. Member of AMA, SLMMS, MSMA, ASDS, and MO Dermatological Society.

For those of you who don’t quite understand this… Dr. Tull has ALL the credentials.

A true girl boss to the core.

What drew your interest to dermatology?

My background is in art and plastic surgery but when I started my residency training at Washington University, I quickly learned that it was the dermatologists at the institution who held expertise in facial reconstruction for skin cancers and lasers. I was lucky enough to transfer my training after three years of surgery to focus on dermatologic surgery.

How are you involved in the equestrian industry?

I have always had a love for horses from when I was a child. I took lessons growing up and again as an adult. My daughter Maddie started riding when she was eight but unlike me, quickly became drawn to the competitive side of the equestrian world. I have been friends with Jimmy and Stephen from the In Gate for many years and when they were repeatedly approached by riders and show patrons looking for sunscreen, Stephen and I decided to develop a sunscreen and skincare line for equestrian athletes.

Shout out to Stephen, who has been so kind and helpful.

What is something about skin care that you see people constantly do wrong?

I’m a dermatologist so my first recommendation will always be protect, protect, protect! UV exposure not only contributes to skin cancers but more importantly it greatly accelerates aging. No matter what age, skin type, or climate, everyone should apply a moisturizer with sunscreen each and every morning. If you are outside, active and sweating, any sunscreen will rub off after 2-3 hours max- so touch ups are essential.

How do I prevent acne from my helmet?

Always wipe sweaty areas after exercise. I really like the TullMD ProSport Acne control pads because you can keep them in your trunk, backpack, or gym bag. Beyond that, always spray the inside of your helmet with an antibacterial fabric spray such as Microban or Lysol before storing it.

Click the drop down arrow for more information!!

https://tullmd.com/products/prosport-acne-control-pads

I work inside all day, but I have heard I still should wear sunscreen – why?

Unless you live somewhere with no daylight (like Alaska in the winter), it is impossible to not get UV exposure through a window at your home, office, or driving in your car.

I know what to use on my face, what should I use on the rest of my body ie: backs of hands when not wearing gloves, back of my neck when my hair is up in my helmet?

Think of your hands and neck as an extension of your face and use the same products in those areas. Same goes for the decolletage of women.

What is the deal with UPF clothing? Doesn’t regular clothing protect me from the sun anyway?

UPF clothing provides sun protection where regular clothing does not. I tell my patients that the benefit of wearing clothing with UPF is that they do not need to wear additional sunscreen under that area as they would with regular clothing. There are laundry additives available like Rit Sun Guard that can give any clothing UPF.

Did you know there are multiple brands that carry UPF clothing?

Kerrits, Smartpak brand including Piper, Hadley and “Smartcore”, Ariat, RJ Classics, Arista, Kastel, Noble Equestrian, Horze, TuffRider, Dover Saddlery Brand Cool Blast, Dublin and Ovation!

My makeup has SPF in it, do I need to also wear sunscreen?

As long as the makeup has at least SPF 20 it will suffice as your base sunscreen but always remember to touch up every 2-3 hours if you are outside. I love our ProSport Brush-On Mineral Powdered Sunscreen.

Although I have yet to test this product, I will say I do love the fact that it’s both hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. I may not know much, but I do know that my skin can be both sensitive and prone to breakouts (which is why I notoriously steered away from makeup in the past). Having a product with these qualities gives me a little more confidence I won’t wake up as a giant zit the next morning…

Click the drop down arrow for more information

Brush-On Mineral Powder Sunscreen – Tull MD Skincare

When is the right age to start an anti-aging regimen?

Technically, the key to prevent aging is sun protection and that is something that we should practice from birth. Use blankets and shade for infants under 6 months and starting at 6 months you can use sunscreen with physical (zinc oxide, titanium dioxide) rather than chemical sunscreens. Beyond that, retinoids are great at preventing acne as well as wrinkles so starting on a retinoid at puberty will set anyone up with great skin for life.

Is a wide brim helmet or sun visor enough to protect my face from the sun while riding?

Although a helmet or visor are good, they are not enough to completely protect the skin from all the UV rays that are coming from all directions and especially those being reflected back from the ground. Just like you are not fully protected from the sun by sitting in the shade, a visor will only provide shade.

Andrew Ryback Photography
-The very popular wide brimmed Samshield Helmet the Miss Shield

Do any of TullMD’s products need to be kept in the refrigerator? What type of products need to be?

None of the TullMD products need to be refrigerated. There are really no skincare products that need to be refrigerated but it is always good to avoid letting your products become warmer than room temperature as excessive heat can make active ingredients less effective.

You heard it here first! Return that beauty fridge to Amazon.

I have dark bags under my eyes no matter how much I sleep – what can I use for this?

Dark circles could be caused by a variety of reasons: being underhydrated, having thin more transparent skin, or from being genetically prone to having leaky blood vessels in the skin around the eyes that allows iron from our red blood cells to “stain” the skin dark. To combat these, obviously stay hydrated and have a healthy well balanced diet, use a good moisturizer (I love our ProSport Hyaluronic Collagen Booster), something that can rejuvenate and thicken the skin such as a retinol or energy based procedure (like laser resurfacing), and for staining due to iron look for products with ingredients such as kojic acid, EDTA, and deferoxamine which can remove the iron.

I’m on a budget, what products should I invest in and what are the products that I can use more budget friendly options?

A budget friendly basic regimen is any facewash, a moisturizing sunscreen with SPF 20+ during the day, and a retinol at night. Being medical grade, our products are priced similarly to those available at a doctor’s office but there are many good options that you can get at your local drug store.

I see that you have multiple sun screens – Mineral, Antioxidant and Tinted Defense and even Brush On Mineral Powder Sunscreen – what’s the difference between them?

ProSport Smooth Mineral Defense and ProSport Tinted Matte Defense are both intended for the face/neck/hands. The tinted version is great if you want a little bit of color and can be used instead of foundation. That being said, my very fair complected husband loves to steal my matte tinted sunscreen because it makes his skin look smooth and even.

ProSport Antioxidant Sunscreen is water resistance and is intended to use on the body but can also be used on the face.

Our ProSport Brush-On Mineral Powder is also one of my favorite products to recommend to my patients because it is great for touch ups, for getting in the nooks and crannies of the ears, for chasing down and applying on active toddlers, and for getting coverage for the scalp and part without making your hair greasy (it actually works like a dry shampoo and gives lift and volume). We specifically formulated our sunscreen products to be mostly mineral based which minimizes allergies and sensitivities and is effective the moment it is applied.