Sunscreen and Sun Protection Can Help Protect Your Skin: A blog about the importance of sunscreen, the benefits of sun protection, and which SPF (Sun Protection Factor) you should be using.
Sunscreen and Sun Protection Can Help Protect Your Skin: A blog about the importance of sunscreen, the benefits of sun protection, and which SPF (Sun Protection Factor) you should be using.
In 2008, a study published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology found that regular sunscreen use may help prevent melanoma.
The research team studied over 1,100 people with melanoma and another 1,100 people who did not have skin cancer.
The study showed that people who regularly applied sunscreen were less likely to develop melanoma than those who used sunscreen less often or not at all.
Sunscreen and Sun Protection Can Help Protect Your Skin: A blog about the importance of sunscreen, the benefits of sun protection, and which SPF (Sun Protection Factor) you should be using.
It’s summertime and that means BBQs, swimming, days at the beach or lake and outdoor activities. It’s important to make sure your skin is protected from the sun’s harmful rays. Not only does unprotected skin exposure cause premature aging but it can also lead to more serious medical conditions like skin cancer.
What is SPF (Sun Protection Factor)?
SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. This measures the level of protection from UVB rays that a sunscreen provides. You may have seen a variety on the market from SPF 2 all the way up to 100+. However, it’s important to understand what these numbers mean and what they don’t mean.
The number represents how long it takes for your skin to redden when you use a sunscreen compared with how quickly you would burn without it. For example: If it takes 20 minutes for your unprotected skin to start turning red, using an SPF 15 sunscreen theoretically prevents reddening 15 times longer – about five hours.
The American Academy of Dermatology recommends choosing a broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF
Sunscreen and Sun Protection Can Help Protect Your Skin
Posted on May 16, 2012 by Toner
Sun protection is important to your overall skin health and should be a part of your daily skin care regimen. Even though most of us have heard that too much sun can cause skin cancer, sunburn, and premature aging of the skin, many people still don’t take proper precautions to protect themselves. There are several ways to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays, including sunscreen, hats, protective clothing, shade, and avoiding the sun during peak hours. Here’s how you can avoid the damaging effects of the sun:
Sun Protection Tips: The Basics
Avoiding outdoor activities between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest, will help reduce your risk of getting sunburnt or sustaining long-term damage to your skin from UVA and UVB exposure. Wearing protective clothing such as long sleeve shirts or pants can also help protect your skin from sun damage; however, even if you wear protective clothing, it is still important to use sunscreen or other forms of sun protection when you are outside during peak hours.
Use
With the weather warming up and everyone getting spring fever, we’re spending more time outside. This is a great time to remind our readers of the importance of using sunscreen to protect your skin.
Sunscreen is a cream or lotion that you put on your skin before you go outside to prevent sunburn and other damage caused by the sun’s rays. There are also sprays, gels, and creams that you can use on your scalp or hair. Some moisturizers, makeup, lip balms, and other cosmetics have SPF (Sun Protection Factor) protection in them, too. But only about one-third of adults report using sunscreen when they are outside for more than an hour.1
Using sunscreen helps prevent sunburn and other damage from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. Over time, UV damage can contribute to wrinkles and early skin aging, eye problems such as cataracts, and skin cancer—including melanoma, which can be deadly. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States. The good news is that it can usually be prevented by using sunscreen every day.
How does sunscreen work?
Sunscreen blocks UV rays from penetrating the skin. To be effective, you need
Study after study shows that sunscreen is an important part of your skin care regimen. But so many people still don’t understand the importance of sunscreen. And because of this, they are putting themselves at risk for developing skin cancer or premature aging.
Most people think a tan looks good on them and doesn’t see the harm in getting a tan every once in awhile. But when you tan your skin, you are essentially damaging it. A tan is a sign that the skin has been damaged by UV rays and is trying to protect itself from further injury.
So why would anyone try to get this kind of injury? It seems crazy when you look at it like this, but for some reason we have been conditioned to think that tanned skin looks better than pale skin (this may be a result of our cultural obsession with celebrities and their tanned bodies). A tanned body seems healthy, youthful and attractive, while pale skin seems sickly, old and unattractive.
Luckily, studies show that more people are starting to catch on to how dangerous sun exposure can be. As more and more people become aware of the dangers of tanning, there has been a rise in the number of products available to help protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays. There are now more
It’s the middle of summer, and you’re enjoying a day at the beach with your family. You’ve brought along food, drinks and everything else you need for a perfect day of fun in the sun—including sunscreen, of course. But is it really necessary to apply sunscreen everyday? Isn’t there some truth to the myth that your skin needs sunlight in order to produce vitamin D?
The good news is that you can enjoy the sun without putting yourself at risk for skin cancer or premature aging of the skin. The trick is to avoid sunburns, which are a sign that your skin has had too much UV exposure. Sunburns increase your risk for all three types of skin cancer: melanoma and basal cell carcinoma (BCC), which tend to be more serious; and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), which tends to be less serious. Everyone should avoid getting burned by the sun.
According to www.skincancer.org, more than 1 million cases of SCC and BCC are reported each year. As well, Melanoma is likely diagnosed in more than 76,000 Americans this year alone! These are staggering numbers that can easily be avoided if people are educated on how to properly protect their skin from UV rays. Thankfully
Sunscreen or sunblock, or simply a hat, are all great ways to protect yourself from the sun. Lying in the sun is a great way to get a healthy tan as well as help your body absorb vitamin D, but without proper protection you can severely damage your skin.
Sunburns are not just painful for a few days; they can increase the risk of skin cancer and cause premature aging of the skin. The sun’s ultraviolet rays (UVA and UVB) are responsible for these harmful effects, and sunscreen helps prevent these rays from getting through to the skin.
A sunburn is one of the most common types of burns, and it ranges in severity from mild to life-threatening. Inflammation and redness usually appear within a few minutes or hours after exposure to the sun, and it can take several weeks for the burn to heal completely. In severe cases, blisters may develop and the affected areas may become dry and flakey after a few days.