In reality, sunscreen isn’t 100% effective at preventing skin cancer. When you go outside wearing a hat and sunglasses, don’t forget to also apply sunscreen with an SPF of 50 or higher.
Sunscreen Doesn’t Always Work? 6 Products That Can Help: a blog about sunscreens, sunburns and how to treat them.
Sunscreen Doesn’t Always Work? 6 Products That Can Help
Sunscreen is an essential part of your skincare routine, but it doesn’t always perform as intended. Find out more about the limitations of sunscreen and discover 6 products that can help protect your skin.
We all know we’re supposed to wear sunscreen every day, but do you actually remember to apply it every day? Most people don’t. While you may not be able to always use protection from the sun, these 6 products will provide an extra layer of defense.
1. Makeup With SPF
2. Aloe Vera Gel
3. Sun Protective Clothing
4. Wide-Brimmed Hats & Umbrellas
5. Sunglasses & Visors
6. A Skin Doctor Near Me
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, affecting approximately one in five Americans. But research has shown that many people do not use sunscreen regularly, even though it can significantly reduce the risk of skin cancer.
To find out more about sunscreens, sunburns and how to treat them, I spoke with Dr. Lawrence E. Gibson, a dermatologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. Below are highlights from our conversation:
Q: Do you recommend using sunscreen?
Dr. Gibson: Absolutely yes. There is no question that regular sunscreen use reduces your risk of skin cancer. However, we have found that only 15 percent of adults wear sunscreen daily and only 30 percent apply it when they expect to be outside for more than an hour.
Q: What should I look for when choosing a sunscreen?
Dr. Gibson: You want a broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against UVA and UVB rays, has an SPF [sun protection factor] value of at least 30 and is water-resistant if you plan to be swimming or sweating heavily. A combination sunscreen that offers both UVA and UVB protection is best, but you can also use two sunscreens — one for UVA and one for UV
For many people, a product’s sun protection factor (SPF) is the only criteria they consider when buying sunscreen. They don’t care if the sunscreen is made with natural or chemical active ingredients, they grab any bottle off the shelf with the highest SPF.
And while the SPF rating system is a helpful tool to determine how well a sunscreen can protect against sun damage, it doesn’t tell you everything. Some companies say their products are waterproof for up to 80 minutes, but consumers may get burned after 30 minutes in the water because of where they applied it, how much they applied and if they reapplied throughout the day.
So what happens when you do burn? A dermatologist near you can help treat your skin and prescribe medication to reduce pain and help heal your skin.
Sunburns are a pain. They hurt, they’re itchy, they can cause peeling and they can increase the risk of skin cancer. No one wants to get a sunburn, but it can be hard to tell what sunscreens are actually effective.
So how do you know if your sunscreen is working?
There’s no real way to know if your sunscreen is working while you’re in the sun. But there are things you can do to help make sure your sunscreen works, and there are some symptoms that you might have a bad sunburn (even if your sunscreen isn’t expired).
Check the Expiration Date
A lot of people don’t realize that most sunscreens expire after about two or three years. Sunscreen ingredients degrade with exposure to light, heat and humidity, so even if you haven’t used up the whole tube, it might not be protecting you from the sun anymore.
Always check the expiration date before using a bottle of sunscreen again. If you aren’t sure when you bought it or when it was opened, throw it out. It’s better to spend a few dollars on new sunscreen than to develop a painful sunburn or skin cancer
Sunscreen is a staple for any summertime activity you can think of, be it a day at the beach or an afternoon in the park. However, if you’re like me and many others, you often forget to reapply when you should. This can lead to some serious sunburns. Although they are completely avoidable with proper sunscreen application, sometimes they happen. As an avid sun-goer, I’ve had my fair share of sunburns over the years and have learned a thing or two about how to combat them.
A little bit of background: I am biracial (Black & White), so I have always been a little more prone to burning than the average person. The lighter your complexion and the more melanin you have in your skin, the higher your risk for problems like sunburns and skin cancer (which is why it is so important for everyone to wear sunscreen every day).
After getting my first sunburn as a kid on spring break in Florida (I was practically purple), I thought that my days of being in the sun were over. Luckily, after doing some research, I found out that there are plenty of products that can help a sunburn heal faster! They’re actually pretty easy to
You probably already know that many sunscreens don’t work as well as you might hope. That’s because sunscreen is a complex and confusing product.
Any sunscreen you get at the store is a chemical cocktail of ingredients, and most people don’t know what those ingredients do or how they can interact with each other. So even though you might think your sunscreen is protecting you, it might not be.
For example, some people are allergic to common sunscreen ingredients like PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid) or oxybenzone, which can make their skin red or irritated when they wear sunscreen. That doesn’t mean the sunscreen isn’t working—it just means it isn’t working for them.
You may also have heard that sunscreens are only effective for two hours after application, but that too is a myth. While it’s true that you need to reapply every two hours to maintain the same level of protection, the SPF levels will last longer than the two hours if you don’t rinse the product off in the meantime.
When choosing a sunscreen, look for one with broad spectrum coverage—that means it protects against both UVA and