The Truth About Sunscreen

A few weeks ago, while vacationing in Key West, my husband and I stopped by a family friend's house. She noticed he was a little burned and we told her that we'd foolishly done some sightseeing without putting sunscreen on. She jumped up and ran to her medicine cabinet and came back with a tube of SPF 85 sunscreen. I was a little taken aback when I saw the label. SPF 85? Were they really making sunscreens with that much protection? What did the higher number mean? I did some research and came up with these interesting facts.

There are two types of rays:

1) UVB’s which are the shorter ones that cause burning and skin cancer and

2) UVA’s which are longer and contribute to wrinkles and skin cancer as well.

·         SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor.

·         Most sunscreens only protect against UVB rays. If you want protection against both purchase a sunscreen with the words “broad spectrum” on the label.

·         SPF 30 means your skin will not burn or be damaged until it has been exposed to 30 times the amount solar energy that would normally cause it to burn.  If you normally start to burn after 10 minutes of direct sun then wearing SPF 30 sunscreen should increase that to 300 minutes.

·         Above an SPF of 30 (which blocks 97% of UVB), the effectiveness only increases by one or two percent. For example, SPF 50 will block 98% of UVB rays.

·         SPF rating are based on more sunscreen than you’re probably applying. An adult should apply three tablespoons of sunscreen every two hours.

·         Just five sunburns per decade puts you in jeopardy for the deadly cancer, melanoma.

Being exposed to the sun is an essential part in sustaining healthy levels of Vitamin D, let’s just be more diligent about protecting ourselves.