Everything You Need To Know About Sun Protection: By Dermatologists

Summers are not always only about soaking the sun rays in your backyard, on the beach, or at a lake, it also comes with the harms of ultraviolet rays. It is true that only sun rays can produce vitamin D on our skin, but the damage sun rays cause is not worth the vitamin D.

Seek a shade; wearing a hat is not enough to protect against those harmful ultraviolet rays. The only sunscreen that can rescue you from it. But there are a lot of things that you need to know about sunscreen and SPF rating to get proper sun protection.

So, let’s start with the common ingredients that almost every sunscreen has to offer us quality protection against sun rays. But the best dermatologically tested ingredients are used in Louis Widmer dermatologic products.

Common Ingredients Of Sunscreen And Their Purpose

Almost every sunscreen contains several active ingredients in order to provide protection against both the harmful ultra violets rays, i.e., UVA and UVB. all those ingredients mainly fall into two different categories.

Physical Blockers

Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are the common physical blockers. They develop a physical barrier between the ultraviolet rays and our skin.

Chemical Absorbers 

Octinoxate, homosalate, avobenzone, and oxybenzone are some examples of chemical absorbers. These absorbers simply just absorb ultraviolet rays so that our skin does not get to absorb them.

Apart from all these active ingredients, there are many inactive ingredients that sunscreens also contain. On the basis of the type and brand of sunscreen, all these ingredients vary. For example, sunscreens for babies will not have the same ingredients as sports sunscreen.

And the inactive ingredients that sunscreens might include are vitamins and antioxidants, like emollients, fragrances, vitamin E, and preservatives.

All About UVA And UVB

Both the UVA and UVB are the type of ultraviolet rays of the sun that reaches our earth’s surface. But the UVB usually rays do not penetrate as deeply as UVA rays. They are the main reason for sunburn and play the most significant part in causing skin cancer.

In the formation of skin cancer, UVA rays also play a part, but as they penetrate quite deeply in our skin, it causes premature aging along with wrinkling of the skin. 95% of the total amount of ultraviolet rays that reach the surface of the earth are UVA rays.

SPF Explained

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. This is how we measure the protection ability from the UVB rays of the sun. There are different SPF or sun protection factor ratings available in the market that offer different ranges of sun protection for our skin.

Apart from the SPF rating, you also need to make sure that the sunscreen that you are choosing is “broad spectrum.” That means you need to ensure that the sunscreen that you are purchasing and including in your skin care regimen offers protection against both the UVA and UVB rays.

Here is an easy way of distinguishing between these two, and that is UVB (urning) and UVA (ging). Both the two rays have overlapping effects, such as they both are responsible for premature aging and sunburns.

But at the same time, UVA rays mostly cause dark spots and fine lines, while in producing sunburns and skin cancer, UVB rays play the most significant role.

Different SPF Ratings

Dermatologists usually recommend using sunscreen with a sun protection factor of 30, that is, SPF 30 at least. It offers 97% of protection from the UVB rays of the sun. You will also get an ultrahigh rating of 100 or more than that.

But they are actually not more protective than the SPF 50. Sun protection factor 50 or SPF 50 blocks 98% of the harmful UVB rays. And as I have mentioned above, check for the “broad spectrum,” in order to make sure that the sunscreen offers protection against both the UVA and UVB rays.

Using Of Sunscreen

It is always advised to apply sunscreen at least 15 minutes before you step out in the sun. And You also need to make sure that you are applying it on dry skin. All the areas of your skin that are not covered with clothes need the application of sunscreen.

Bottom Line

In case you are swimming or sweating, you need to reapply the sunscreen every two hours or more often. You also need to make sure that you are applying a generous amount of sunscreen.