How To Use Sun Cream Effectively
Tips For Using Sun Protection Cream
Using sun cream effectively is an absolute must if you want real protection from the sun. Here are some of the best tips on how to us sun tan cream properly:
Buy the best sun cream
Sunblock cream should protect you against both ULTRAVIOLET-B rays and ULTRAVIOILET-A rays (UVA and UVB). However, most sunscreen cream will block or absorb only UVA rays.
Why does sun cream need to block both? Simple-UVA rays are the rays that can increase the rate of melanoma (i.e. skin cancer), while UVB rays are the rays that cause sunburns. Obviously, both skin cancer and sunburns are not desirable and you should protect against both.
You can protect yourself against UVB rays by simply purchasing sun screen or cream that has a HIGH SPF. SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor, which basically means the higher the number the more protection. However, it’s important to know what exactly SPF means. An SPF 40 means that your skin should not burn until it is exposed to 40 times the amount of sun energy normally required to create a burn.
• Using an SPF 60 sun cream will only allow 2% of the harmful UVB rays through
• Using an SPF 15 sun cream will allow 7% of harmful UVB rays through
Another important factor is SPF is that it is measured using 2 MILLIGRAMS PER SQUARE CENTIMER (mg/cm2). We will come back to why this is important below.
Buy Sun Cream That Protects Against UVA Rays As Well
Buying suncreams that only protect against UVB rays is a little backwards when you think about the potential dangers associated with UVA rays. UVA ray protection is generally rated using a star system, with 1 start being the lowest and 5 stars being the highest and best. However, there is a relationship between SPF and Stars—a sun protection cream with a SPF of 10 and 4 stars may not be as effective as a sun cream with an SPF of 60 and 3 Stars.
Bottom line – try to buy a sun block cream with high SPF AND star rating.
Apply Sun Cream Properly
Now we will bet back to why it is important to understand that SPH ratings are associated with using lotion in 2 milligrams per square centimeter of skin. Again, if you only put on half of the required sun tan cream, then you are only going to get half the protection. So, don’t put on an SPF 15 cream half-way—you will end up with maybe only SPF 7, which is almost nothing.
A good rule of thumb is to simply cake it on! You can figure out exactly how much you should use (an average 5’4” 150 lb person would require about 1/3 teaspoon for his or her face), it is probably better to err on the side of caution. You should have to work the sun cream into the skin. If you are putting it on and having it immediately absorb away, then you are not using enough.
While the cost of skin cream can be higher than you might like, the cost of skin cancer or disease is much, much more—and we are only referring to dollar costs, not the cost of the pain and suffering you will go through, so make sure you buy the best sun cream and use it properly!