Sunscreen or no Sunscreen?

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See the sun shining in the window,

time to start a new day.

This is a line from a famous kids poem. Yes, the sun has risen and it is a beautiful day. While some exposure to Sunlight is good, helps the skin to manufacture Vitamin-D which is important for normal bone function, but it has a major downside too. With the sunlight, comes the ultraviolet radiations which can cause major damage to the skin. The Ultraviolet light can be further divided into UVA, UVB and UVC. Both UVA and UVB can enter the earth's atmosphere and penetrate into your skin. UVB causes skin damage and sunburns. UVA can penetrate deeper into your skin and cause photoaging like wrinkles and age spots  It is also known that UVA and UVB cause skin cancer.


The UV radiations are much stronger at high altitudes and near the equator. So the risk of sun burns is more in these regions. The UVA radiations can also penetrate through standard window glass. To protect your skin from the harmful radiations of sunlight, you really need a sunscreen.

Sunscreen is applied over the skin to prevent the absorption of UVR into the skin. There are basically two types of sunscreens. One is "physical blockers" and the other is "chemical absorbers". Adults use the later one as they have a less opaque appearance on the skin. 


If you think that sunscreen has no significant role, then you should see the picture of a truck driver who has two different sides of one face. He was driving a Left Hand Drive Truck, causing his left side to be more exposed to sun in comparison to his right side. The left side shows sun damage after 28 yrs of driving. This image is widely available on the internet.


How to choose your sunscreen?

Consider following points:


  •  Broad Spectrum. A sunscreen must be broad-spectrum or full-spectrum which means protection from both UVA and UVB.
  •  Water Resistant. It should be water-resistant and should be with a sun protection factor i.e. SPF of 30 and more. SPF is defined as the ratio of a minimal dose of sunlight needed to cause redness of sunscreen protected skin to a minimal dose of sunlight needed to cause redness of unprotected skin. SPF of 15, 30 and 50 reduce the absorption of UV rays into the skin by 94%,97% and 98% respectively.
  •  Protection rating. A sunscreen should have PA+ to PA + + + +.PA simply means protection against UVA rays. It is a Japanese method of protection against UVA rays. PA+ provide some protection against the UV rays.PA ++ provides moderate protection and PA+++ provides the best protection against the UV rays. So it is highly recommended that your sunscreen should have PA+++ in India.
  •  Fragrance Free. Prefer fragrance free sunscreens - Fragrances are the leading cause of Allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), and can also cause other skin irritations.


How to apply sunscreen correctly?

Yes, there is a proper way to apply sunscreen

  • Adequate Quantity: - Most people apply less adequate amount of sunscreen which results in the SPF for that not getting achieved. An adequate amount of sunscreen should be applied evenly over the exposed area. To give you an idea, it should be equal to approximately two tablespoons for applying on the face area only. And if you are going to expose most of the body, it should be at least equal to a small shots glass full.
  • Apply in advance: It should be applied 20 to 30 mins before going out in the sun. 
  • Re-apply: Sunscreen should be reapplied after 2 to 3 hours which means 3 times during the day. Sunscreen must be reapplied after sweating and swimming. Swimmers are at greater risk of sun burns.  


Some facts

  • Do not wait for redness. Many people rely on redness as a signal to apply sunscreen. But this is not good. A sunburn occurs hours after sun exposure but skin damage occurs before sunburns, in other words, by the time redness happens the skin damage is already done.
  • Children need it too. Also, it is thought that children do not need sunscreen but its not correct. Yes, sunscreen is not recommended on infants because their skin is immature and sensitive to UV damage. So they need overall protection from ultraviolet radiations and only sunscreen won't be the enough protection. But the children above 1 year of age should use physical blocker sunscreens, containing zinc and titanium dioxide as they do not cause dermatitis.
  • Accessorize. Protect yourself from sun damage by using other sun-protection accessories like sunglasses and hat and wear full sleeves as a cover if you are going out in the sun. Whether it's summer or winter sunscreens are for every season.
  • Limit Sun Exposure time. Even if you are applying Sunscreen, it is a good idea to limit sun exposure time to minimum, especially between 10:00AM to 02:00PM.
Even if you are doing every other thing for your glowing skin but not applying sunscreen, you are doing an injustice to your skin.

Have a great time, stay safe.

Comments

  1. Kavita23 December 2020 at 01:13

    That is such an informative blog ... 👍
    Thanks 😊

    ReplyDelete

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