The Lowdown on Sunscreen

By Lisa D. Ellis

You may love the feel of sun on your face, but perhaps you are also worried about keeping the risks that come with too much exposure at bay. The experts say the best way to protect yourself is to use sunscreen every day.

The Numbers Game

Selecting the best sunscreen for your needs may not be as easy as it would seem. In fact, take a walk through the sun care aisle at your local drugstore or discount house, and you will likely be overwhelmed by all of the choices competing for your attention. You can find sunscreens and blocks that come in lotions, creams and sprays, with sun protection factors (commonly known as SPF) that range from 1 to 100.

If you don’t know what this all means, don’t despair. Just take a deep breath, and read on for a quick overview of some facts to help you decide what to select.

First, it may help you to know that the SPF number is really just a measurement of how much longer the protection will allow you to be outdoors in the sun without getting burned. (So if you apply a sunscreen with SPF 30, you can stay in the sun 30 times longer than if you didn’t wear sunscreen.)

Protect Yourself

While you may be tempted to go with one of the extremes, the experts suggest that most people go more in the middle of the road to get protection from the risk of skin cancer and also to prevent sun damage and wrinkling. In fact, the American Academy of Dermatology advises that people look for a broad-based water-resistant sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15. Be sure to select one that says it protects against Ultraviolet A and B rays in order to give yourself total protection.

Better Safe than Sorry

It is also worth pointing out that some other experts even recommend going with a 30 SPF, just in case you don’t apply an adequate layer of sunscreen and don’t refresh it frequently enough to get the full benefits. By having a little more protection, it can help to compensate for common application errors. In addition, if you use sunscreen with insect repellent, the repellent can make the sunscreen less effective so in that case, you may want to go with a higher SPF, too.

Get it Right

Regardless of the SPF you select, here are some other tips to help you keep yourself and your skin safe every day:

• Always go for something waterproof so it won’t wash off too easily.

• Apply a heavy layer of sunscreen so it can soak into your skin and provide optimum protection.

• Don sunscreen about 30 minutes before heading outside, to give it time to get into your skin and do its job right.

• Reapply frequently (every two hours or even less), or even more often if you go in the water or sweat a lot.

• Use sunscreen every day year round for the best skin protection.