Importance of Sunscreen and overall sun protection

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To clear any false assumptions, sun protection does not mean block the entirety of sunlight. Sunlight consists of infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light. What we need protection from is the ultraviolet (UV) light which gives us sunburn, suntan, and cancer. It also proven to be a leading factor of age signs in skin. UV rays are damaging especially to collagen which is what keeps skin healthy and youthful looking. The damages are visible in varies forms from wrinkles, fine lines, liver/age spots and freckles, redness, leathery skin, and sag.

Look up the photo of a trucker who has one side of his face clearly showing heavy amount of wrinkles and other sun damage from the window compare to the rest of his face. When you go out, look at people above the age of 40 and see if they have these sun damage signs. You will see that sun damage is not a pretty sight. UV come in many types, but UVA, UVB, and UVC are what cauces damage and have free radicals which can cause cancer and other diseases since they penetrate deeper.

Most of the drugstore sunscreens just have UVB protection which is what gives us sunburn. UVB only penetrates the surface layer of the skin (epidermis). All sunscreen have SPF which stands for Sun Protection factor. The number that goes along with SPF is how long the product can protect you from getting burnt before it breaks down. Since people have different amount of time before they get burnt the length of time varies. So if someone normally gets sunburned in 30 minutes with spf 15 you multiply 15 with 30 which means that person will take 7 hours and 30 minutes before they get sunburned. UVB is also where you get the vitamin D from the sun. A daily exposure of 10-20 minutes is enough to get your vitamin D.

UVA is what the majority of UV radiation is emitted and it penetrates deeper than UVB plus its also one of the causes of aging and cancer. Both UVA and UVB gives you a tan, but UVA gives you a tan faster and longer lasting compare to UVB. Sunscreen that have the words "broad spectrum" usually means it has UVA protection. Some products have the letters "PA" along with +'s is UVA protection label. The more +'s the stronger the UVA protection.

Higher strength in sun protection can be harmful since it means more chemicals. Be sure to look up the active and inactive ingredients of sunscreen products to be sure they are safe to use. Also look up active ingredients of UVA and UVB protection to be sure the product does what its suppose to.