Whether you get lots of exposure to the sun because of working outdoors for a living, you enjoy plenty of recreational activities, or you love to just soak out in the sun at the local beach, these events have a consequence on your skin.
We’re all aware by now of the dangers of what too much exposure to the sun can bring, so we use sunscreen products which we feel offers the best degree of protection.
This to protect ourselves from the harmful UV rays of the sun. But because there is a wide range and brands of products available on the market, what needs to be determined is making the best selection for your skin type.
Yet know that regardless of skin type, getting repeated exposure to the sun, it will tend to become thick and tough. As a result, in our latter years, our skin can become all wrinkly and leathery, or possibly worse.
So irrespective of the circumstances, it becomes important to select the most suitable sunscreen product which offers the best protection from the bright sun, protecting it from burning and the aging process. There are some basics which you need to consider.
Choosing The Best Sunscreen For Your Skin
Know The Ingredients
The various sunscreen products are made with a variety of different ingredients all designed to protect against UVA rays, but some may not be as effective to stop the burning.
The best products will offer protection for both UVA as well as UVB rays. What needs to be considered are the actual list of ingredients, such as if they’re naturally derived, of if they contain chemicals which can be potentially harmful.
Sun Protection Factor (SPF)
What the SPF number on the product’s label refers to is the strength of protection that it provides. This includes the approximate length of time that the product will allow your skin to be exposed to the sun before burning.
This in relative to the actual length of time when exposed to bare unprotected skin, without it having any sunscreen product applied, before turning red.
The SPF number indicates how much longer that you’re able to stay out in the sun with their particular product on your skin, and be protected. So the higher that the SPF number is, the longer protection against the sun it provides.
For Instance, say that your skin type would normally begin to burn after 12 minutes of sun exposure. Once you apply a sunscreen product, or sunblock, with a SPF of 15, what that means is that you should be fine for up to 15X times the average amount of protection.
So in this case, you would be protected once applied for up to 3 hours, based on the following formula:
12 minutes (your burn rate) X 15SPF = 180 minutes or up to 3 hours.
So if you applied a sunscreen product with a SPF of 30, you’d then be protected for anywhere up to 6 hours.
Know Your Particular Skin Type
When in the process of selecting sunscreen, it’s important that you know your exact skin type, and how it reacts when exposed to the sun.
• For young children, 6 months and beyond, consider using a product with SPF15 or higher, this for safe protection against both tanning and burning. Also make sure that you use a product which indicates protection against both UVA and UVB rays, also known as “broad-spectrum.”
• If your skin type happens to be extremely fair, then you already know that you generally burn rather quickly, so tanning doesn’t really occur. You should be considering a sunscreen product which contains at a minimum, SPF of 20 to 30.
• If you consider your skin type to be of fair complexion, this skin type will usually burn easily. Some tanning will also occur, although minimum. Consider using sunscreen products containing SPF of around 12 to 20.
• If your skin type is light, you will burn moderately, tanning is gradual, resulting in that light brown shade. Use sunscreen products which contains SPF of 8 to 12.
• For skin types which are medium, you will usually burn minimally, and tanning occurs often, yielding in a moderate brown shade of skin texture. Consider using sunscreen products which contains SPF of around 4 to 8 in these cases.
• If your skin type happens to be dark, then it will rarely burn while tanning is common, resulting in a dark brown shade. Use sunscreen containing SPF of 2 to 4.
• For all other skin types, such as those who may have visibly exposed moles, skin related illnesses, or extremely light skin and hair, is considered the high-risk category.
The reason being there can be direct damage to the skin and one’s health from too much UV exposure. You should be considering using natural chemical free sunscreen products which offer the highest SPF that’s available, combined with moderate exposure to the sun, or clothing to cover the exposed areas.
Application Of The Sunscreen
Once you’ve decided and have selected which is the most suitable sunscreen product for your skin type, make sure that you apply adequate amounts before going out to battle the rays of the sun.
To make sure you get the best possible UV protection, spread the sunscreen on fairly thick to all of the exposed areas of the skin in an uniform manner.
For whatever reason that you’re going out in the sun, what needs to be taken are the appropriate steps and care for your skin. This will as a result help in you having younger looking skin when you grow older, while protecting you from sun related skin diseases.