Every bit of coverage makes a difference. If you’re not in the water, throw on a shirt and hat and sit in the shade. If you’re at the beach for the day with your family - say 6 hours out in the sun - each person needs at least a 3-ounce bottle all to themselves. Frey and Chheda both say that the average person in a bathing suit needs a full ounce (or a full shot glass) to cover all exposed areas, including your face, every 2 hours. Whether you’re spending the afternoon in the sun or not, make sure you’re applying enough sunscreen for it to actually be effective - most of us don’t. “I brush my teeth in the morning and I put on my sunscreen.” “I wear sunscreen 365 days a year,” Frey says. Also, while physical sunscreens are branded as “natural,” most aren’t and need to be processed with synthetic chemicals in order for sunscreen to glide smoothly onto your skin. EltaMD UV Physical Broad-Spectrum SPF 41īeauty facts! Physical sunscreens typically leave behind a white cast, unless you are using a tinted product or one that uses nanotechnology to break down particles.CeraVe Sunscreen Face Lotion Broad Spectrum SPF 50.La Roche-Posay Anthelios Light Fluid Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Tinted Mineral.However, recent research suggests that inorganic sunscreens actually protect skin by absorbing up to 95 percent of the rays. It’s been thought that inorganic sunscreens create a protective barrier on the surface of your skin that reflects and scatters UV rays away from your body. There are only two inorganic sunscreen ingredients approved by the FDA: zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Since zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are technically chemicals, it’s actually more accurate to refer to physical sunscreen as “inorganic” and chemical as “organic.” There’s also only a 5 to 10 percent difference in the way these ingredients work, as both types absorb UV rays. These terms refer to the active ingredients used. You’ll hear the terms physical (or mineral) and chemical sunscreens. What’s the difference between physical and chemical sunscreens? Murad City Skin Age Defense SPF 50 sunscreen has a PA rating of ++++, indicating it has excellent protection against UVA rays.ģ. To recap: Both UVB and UVA rays cause skin cancer and signs of aging, so always opt for a broad spectrum sunscreen with a minimum of SPF 30. Monique Chheda, a dermatologist in Washington, DC, adds that “usually the two ingredients that provide UVA coverage are avobenzone and zinc oxide, so you definitely want to make sure your sunscreen has one of these.” These sunscreens list a PA factor, a measure of UVA protection that ranges from “+” to “++++.” The PA rating system was developed in Japan and is only starting to catch on here in the United States. Sunscreens from other countries have a wider variety of sun-blocking ingredients. Is sunscreen from Europe or Japan better? The term “broad spectrum” is the one you’ll most often see in the United States because it’s regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). UVA rays, which can get through glass, are more insidious because they affect your skin beneath the surface even when you can’t feel it burning.įor that reason, you’ll want to make sure your sunscreen says “ broad spectrum,” “UVA/UVB protection,” or “multi-spectrum” on the label. UVB rays are shorter and can’t penetrate glass, but they’re the ones that cause sunburns. The sun emits different types of light rays, two of which are primarily responsible for damaging your skin: ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB). It’s important to remember that while higher SPFs offer more protection, they don’t last any longer than lower numbers, so you need to reapply them just as often. A sunscreen with an SPF of 30, when used as directed, prevents 97 percent of UVB rays from reaching your skin. SPF, or sun protection factor, measures how much solar energy is required to cause a sunburn when you’re wearing sunscreen compared with unprotected skin. Plus, the stick makes for easy reapplying on the go. Thinkbaby SPF 30 Stick covers the basics without the gluelike feeling. To recap: “SPF 30 is the minimum I recommend, but higher is always better,” says Frey. But that extra protection is worth it for a beach day, even if you don’t want to opt for it daily. At a minimum, you’ll want SPF 30.įrey also adds that higher SPFs tend to be stickier, so some people don’t like them as much. Recent research shows that SPF 100, when compared with SPF 50, makes a real difference in protecting your skin against damage and burns. New York dermatologist Fayne Frey reminds us that “no sunscreen is 100-percent effective at preventing burning and skin damage.” She also notes that sunscreen “can increase the amount of time you can be outside.”Īnd the amount of time spent outside is somewhat correlated to SPF.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |