Confused about sunscreen

Are you feeling puzzled about sunscreen?

We firmly believe that the best thing you can do for your skin is to wear sunscreen!

With so many options available, which is fantastic, it can be overwhelming to understand what all the numbers mean.

It’s commonly thought that a higher number means better protection, isn’t it?

Did you know that the difference in UVB protection between SPF 15 and SPF 50 is just 5%? An SPF 15 offers 93.3% protection from UVB rays, while an SPF 50 provides 98% protection. 

So, the real question is… what do these numbers truly mean?

THE SUN PROTECTION FACTOR (SPF) NUMBER RELATES TO YOUR SKIN’S BURN TIME.

 Your skin has its very own unique burn time rating. Based on your skin colour, genetics and where abouts in this big wide world you’re getting your bod out, your skin will have a unique span of time before the sun gets too much for your skin and you begin to burn or tan (Yes! A tan is skin cells in trauma!)

For the ease of maths, let’s say your skin’s natural unprotected burn time is 10 minutes. That’s 10 minutes of sun exposure before your cells begin to react to the over dose of UV radiation. 

Wearing an SPF 15 rated sunscreen means that ideally, you should be able to stay out in the sun 15 times longer than your natural sunburn time before seeing signs of skin burning/redness, freckles darkening or tan developing. 

So the higher the SPF, the longer your burn time. Wearing an SPF 50 means that your burn time would be 500 minutes

Of course it’s not an exact science, everybody’s skin is different, but it does give you a better idea of how often you need to reapply your sunscreen. 

SUNSCREEN WEARS OFF AT A CONSISTENT RATE.

If you head to the beach and take a swim after just 20 minutes, some of your SPF may have been washed away or compromised. To ensure your skin remains protected from the sun, it’s essential to reapply. The same applies if your sunscreen gets rubbed off by clothing or sweated away.

Regardless of whether you’re using SPF 15 or SPF 50, both will wash off with activity, so reapplication is necessary for continued protection.

DO YOU KNOW YOUR BURN TIME?

Knowing your unprotected burn time can help you calculate the correct SPF rating for your skin and the level of protection that you need. Burn time can vary greatly from person to person, even if you are in the same family. 

Another thing you need to know is that SPF + SPF does not equal a higher rating.

So if you apply an SPF15 that is in your daily moisturiser and follow it with your make up that is rated at SPF 20 together, it does not equal a protection of SPF 35. You are only protected at the rating of the highest SPF. So you would have an SPF of 20.

SUNSCREEN IN YOUR MOISTURISER?

I firmly believe that a moisturizer and sunscreen serve two distinct purposes. A moisturiser is designed to penetrate into the skin to provide hydration and to prevent water from evaporating from the skin. Sunscreen is designed to sit on the skin’s surface and reflect or absorb UV radiation. So having the two in the same bottle means that one action has had to compromise so that the other action can be most effective. I would hope in this case, SPF protection trumps moisturising ability. Always keep your moisturiser and your sunscreen as two separate products.

CHEMICAL BLOCK VS PHYSICAL BLOCK

Sunscreens work in two different ways. There are physical blocking ingredients; most commonly are zinc and titanium dioxide, and chemical blocking ingredients, like diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate- it protects you from UVA.

Physical blocking ingredients work to reflect the UV rays away from your skin to protect the internal workings of skin cells.

Chemical blocking ingredients absorb the UV rays into the skin and filter them out through your body’s waste disposal system.

There are arguments, good and bad for both types of blocking but a general broad spectrum sunscreen contains both physical and chemical ingredients.

APPLY THEN WAIT… 

Ideally, you should apply before you leave home to allow the cream to settle into your skin. Otherwise, if you whip it out at the beach, you’ve already left your skin exposed and the minute you apply then take a dip in the water, it’s all left floating on the surface of the water and not on your skin. Give your skin the best defence and let the sunscreen adhere to your skin. 

STORING YOUR SUNSCREEN

How you store you sunscreen is really important too. DO NOT store your sunscreen in the glove box of your car or in the boot or anywhere else in your vehicle for that matter! 

Being exposed to extreme temperature changes like the heat of your car in full sun, will cause the ingredients in your sunscreen to deteriorate, breaking down the active sun protection and risking your skin. Replace your sunscreen every year. It’s a small price to pay for safe skin!

Are you wearing sunscreen? If you need advice pop in and have a chat and let’s get your skin some great sun protection!