Sunscreen, The SPF Protection
The buzzword Sunscreen is on the lips of every cosmetic-counter girl or beauty therapist. For a very good reason. The sun that we are exposed give out enough ultra-violet rays - UVA and UVB to cause pre-mature skin aging, wrinkling, pigmentation and worst of all, life threatening skin cancer! Whether male or female, we should protect our skin, our largest organ.
How do Sunscreen help? It filters out and reduce the damaging effects of the sun. Over time, it will also allow youir skin to repair and heal itself. Sunscreen are measured by their SPF level. SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor and refers to the product’s ability to screen or block out harmful UV radiation. For eg, if you use SPF15, you will be able to stay out in the sun 15 times longer then you would normally can before you get burnt. Simple illustration, if you normally take 10 minutes to get burnt without protection, then a SPF15 can last you 15 x 10 minutes, meaning 2 and half an hour.
If you are using a foundation with an SPF, it doesn’t mean that you don’t need to wear sunscreen. Most foundations that contain sun protection, do not offer broad spectrum protection from UVA and UVB rays. It’s important to always wear a broad spectrum sunscreen, even if wearing a foundation with SPF.
The next question will be, which SPF level should you choose? Dermatologists (Skin Cancer Foundation) recommend that we use a sunscreen with SPF15. However, if you are fair-skinned and sunburn easily, you may want to consider a sunscreen with higher SPF. Which SPF suit you best, check it out:
Skin Type Recommended SPF
Very Fair - burns easily, never tans 15 or greater
Fair - burns easily, tan with difficulty 8-14
Light - burns rarely, tans easily 4-7
Medium - rarely/never burns, always tans 2-3
Dark - never burns 2
Source : Health Beauty Magazine
Love your skin, make sure you get yourself a sunscreen. Get a reputable brand, and ensure you pick up a brand free from any added chemical preservatives such as parabens or Quarternium 15 or DMDM hydantoin which releases formaldehyde.
