The topic about sun
protection is close to my heart since I inherited a skin with many birthmarks
that I always need to keep an eye out for. I also didn’t pay much attention to
my skin in my early 20’s and I’m trying to be better about it now.
Before we start
looking at different products that can help you with keeping your skin safe,
let’s start with some basics. Sunscreen helps prevent the sun’s ultraviolet
(UV) rays to penetrate the skin. UVA and UVB rays (which sunscreens protect
from) cause wrinkling and sagging of the skin and are one of the primary
culprits for skin cancer. So, in short, it’s not a joke.
Wondering what SPF
(sun protection factor) to use? Here’s how to interpret the numbers. First, we
are talking about the length of time that the SPF will work for. If it takes
your skin 20 minutes to get red, then SPF15 will prolong that times 15, so for
almost 5 hours. But I don’t really find this as important, since we should be
reapplying sunscreen much more often than that. In fact, it’s recommended that
we reapply it every two hours and every time we do things that can get rid of
the sunscreen we put on our body (going swimming, drying with a towel, sweating
etc.). Many make-up products do have some SPF in it, but remember that it’s
really not enough to keep your face safe!
