Which SPF Sunscreen Should You Buy?
With the official start of summer taking placing on Saturday, June 20, outdoor summer activities start ramping up. Which SPF sunscreen should you use when you're outside?
You'll find the sunscreen aisle stocked full of SPFs ranging from 15 to 100, with the price tags ranging right along with them. The big question...is it worth it to buy upgraded, super-high-SPF sunscreen? Does it actually offer that much more protection?
According to an article on thepennyhoarder.com, the answer to the age-old question, "Is 100 SPF worth it?" is a resounding "no." No sunscreen on the market offers total skin protection.
A little medical lesson...SPF stands for "sun protection factor." This is the ability to block ultraviolet B (UVB) rays. These rays are the ones that cause you to get sunburns. But, you also have to worry about another type of ray that can cause problems. The distant relative is the UVA ray . Both types contribute to the risk of skin cancer, but UVA rays are “more closely linked to deeper skin damage.”
Make sure you look for a full spectrum lotion. If it says it's water resisitance, that a bonus. One dermatologist out of Florida states that a 30 SPF should do the trick but you can't just apply it once and expect it to do miracles.
Sunscreen should be applied a half-hour before you go out into the sun and applied often throughout the day. According to the article, even if it's an 800 SPF, it's still going to eventually wear off, so goes the liberal application throughout the day.