What is it Wednesday? – SPF

What it looks like?

What is it?

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor.  SPF numbers came about in 1962 to measure a sunscreens effect against UVB rays.

Sunscreen is used to block ultraviolet light from damaging skin.  There are 2 types of UV light – UVA and UVB – that are considered in terms of sunscreen.  UVB causes sunburn and UVA causes more long-term damaging effects like premature aging.

Health benefits?

The obvious health benefit of using sunscreen is to help in the prevention of skin cancer.  This benefit alone is enough reason to slather the stuff on everyday.

However, it is also a good thing to use if you would like to help keep your skin looking good.  Everyone knows that protecting your skin from the sun is the best way to keep your skin looking young and wrinkle free 🙂

How to use it?

It’s easy – go to your local drug store, buy sunscreen and put it on your body – everywhere!

There are all kinds of sunscreens available with different types of SPF.  Sunscreen can have an SPF of 2 all the way up to 100.

Check out this simple equation to figure out how long you can stay in the sun with an SPF:

Minutes to burn without sunscreen x SPF number = max sun exposure time

Basically if I burn in 10 minutes and have an SPF of 15 the maximum amount of time I could possibly stay in the sun before burning is 150 minutes.  However, I know from personal experience I need to re-apply more often than that because my skin is pretty much transparent 😉

VC&C thoughts:

I have super fair skin so sunscreen with a high SPF is essential if I want to spend anytime outside.

Sunscreen is so important in preventing skin cancer and I think it’s very important to teach our children (and ourselves) to never leave the house without applying it to our bodies.

Something that everyone needs to remember is to not only apply sunscreen in the summer time but it’s just as important to apply it in the winter.

I have different types of sunscreens for my face, body and lips.  I definitely have my favorites and will share them with you all in another post.

Question:

Do you wear some sort of SPF everyday?

Disclaimer: I must say I’m not an expert on SPF or a dermatologist. This post is based on my own personal knowledge, opinions and research.

 

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