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The facts about sun block. How much SPF do you really need?

August 29th, 2008

Many sun protection products rave about their high SPFs of 50, 70 and 80. But is it really necessary to go that high? Of course any protection is better than no protection, but know the SPF facts before you decide.

To prevent premature aging, skin cancer, or sun damaged skin (for example melasma) even a sun block of SPF 5 is better than nothing, but dermatologists recommend a product with full-spectrum coverage with at least an SPF of 15.

There are two types of sun rays to differentiate: ultraviolet-a (UVA) and ultraviolet-b (UVB). UVA are longer wavelengths from the sun and penetrate deeper into the skin and may be the culprit behind aging. UVB rays have shorter wavelengths and are more likely to cause sun burn and skin cancer.

Products that contain SPF (SPF stands for sun protection factor) only protect the skin from UVB rays so it’s important to use a block that is UVA/UVB or broad-spectrum protection.

Technically, SPF represents the amount of time it takes for the skin to redden. For example, with an SPF 15 it will take about five hours for your skin to begin burning while without it the skin will redden within 20 minutes. The higher the SPF the longer it takes for your skin to redden.

Here’s the breakdown on UVB protection

• SPF 15 blocks 93 percent
• SPF 30 blocks 97 percent
• SPF 50 blocks 99 percent

Anything above SPF 50 will provide only a negligible amount of UVB protection.

Just because you apply once in the morning doesn’t mean you are covered at 4pm that afternoon. Make sure to reapply every couple of hours especially if you are in the water or sweating. Most sun blocks will last you two hours.

Skin Fitness Facts recommends a number of full-spectrum sun block products including DDF’s Daily Organic.

DDF Daily Organic SPF 15

This entry was posted on Friday, August 29th, 2008 at 4:39 pm and is filed under Melasma, Products, Skin Cancer, Total Skin Fitness. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

32 responses about “The facts about sun block. How much SPF do you really need?”

  1. Sara said:

    You are welcome.

  2. Kim said:

    SPF 30 is recommended.

  3. LP said:

    Anything above SPF 50 is not negligible. A new study showed that Spf 85 was more significantly more effective than SPF 50.

    Source: Lecture from board-certified dermatologist last week.

  4. Luke Jackson said:

    Sunblocks can also reduce the incidence of skin cancer by preventing UV to harm your skin.:-’

  5. Addison Jackson said:

    you can reduce the risk of skin cancer buy using sunblocks if you are going to get prolonged exposure to the sun .’.

  6. Ava Green said:

    if you want to avoid getting skin cancer, sun protection is a necessitiy;’;

  7. bluelizardsunscreen said:

    I found out that the skin protection is very important. I use SpF 30 from Blue Lizard company as i found them very good.
    With 2 children the sun protection is very important and i m really fond of sun protection products from their company.

  8. Brooklyn Evans said:

    skin cancer is rarer than colon cancer but just as deadly.`.

  9. Nathan Lee said:

    i always use sun protection because i am afraid to get skin cancer-.-

  10. Soap Dispenser  said:

    some topical vitamins like B5 also provides Sun protection, -;,

  11. Folding Table  said:

    skin cancer is preventable, just use sunblock and also take lots of anti-oxidants-”

  12. Buck Teeth Treatment : said:

    skin cancer is usually caused by UV exposure, therefore, it really makes sense to always use those UV block creams when going o;,`

  13. Backup Software : said:

    as always, sun protection should never be neglegted because it helps UV damage of your skin’.`

  14. Disease Treatments Forum said:

    well, skin cancer incidence would be increasing because of the hole on the ozone layer -.’

  15. acetyl l tyrosine said:

    sun protection is always necessary in countries where the sun is trong. uv radiation from the sun can really cause cancer.’                   

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