Sun Protection Tips - Sunblocks, Sunscreens & SPF

We are now reaching the summer months where the temperatures become much warmer. You are now in your short sleeve shirts, tank tops, shorts, along with your new swimming suit and you are planning on enjoy time outside in the sun. The days of cold weather and winter clothing are coming to an end and boy am I excited about that! I feel like I have been living in a cave for the past 4-5 months.

There are individuals who may have concerns with spending too much time in the sun, but don’t let that effect your summer plans. A little knowledge on how to protect yourself from sunburn, skin cancer and wrinkles will go a long way! Throughout this article you will learn some simple ways to protect your skin from the damaging rays of the sun, allowing you to enjoy some fun in the sun.

How Does Sunburn Develop

People develop sunburn when their skin cells have either been damaged or destroyed. There are different layers of the skin on a persons body, you have outer and under layers. Typically, you are going to have an outer layer of dead skin cells with the under layers directly beneath being live. The live cells are constantly producing dead cells to revivify the surface of your skin. Individuals obtain sunburns when their live cells of the epidermis have been exposed to too much ultraviolet radiation or UVR from the sun. This causes those cells to become injured or dead. When this process occurs your skin becomes flushed due to an increase of blood flow to the harmed area, which will force your white blood cells to work hard to remove the problemed areas. The actual “burning” we see and feel is due from the reaction of the chemicals that have been released from the cells that were damaged.

Who’s Proned to Sunburns

If you are an individual who spends a lot of time in the sun with unprotected skin, you need to reconsider what your doing to your body, regardless of your regular complexion. People with light or pale skin are generally going to be at more risk of obtaining a sunburn vs. a person with darker complexion, however that does not mean that darker people are immuned from the sun, because your not. If you are naturally tan or dark, you will have an SPF of anywhere from 4-8, so you have some natural protection already. There are certain medications such as antibiotics that can increase your sensitivity to the UVR’s of the sun. Young children and babies can develop sunburns very easily due to their thin and sensitive skin. If you have an infant under 6 months, try to keep them out of the sun as much as possible! Children who are 6 months and older be sure to apply sunscreen and keep it away from their eyes, mouth, etc.. Please note the more time in spend in the sun with exposed skin thats not protected, you are increasing your chances of developing skin cancer down the road.

Sunscreen vs Sunblock

Sunscreens and Sunblocks are the two different skin protecting products from the damaging ultraviolet radiation of the sun. Sunscreens protect your skin from chemicals and Sunblocks are a physical protections.

When applying a sunscreen to your skin, it is designed to absorb UVR, which in return reduces the amount of radiation that saturates your skin. If you didn’t know there are two different types of ultraviolet light, which are UVA & UVB. The UVA also known as the aging ray, will weaken the immune system of the cells of your skin. The UVB which is referred to as the burn ray, will cause changes to your DNA. It is known to cause abnormal growths in your skin cells. In the past most of your sunscreens would only protect your skin from the UVB rays, however now there are many products available that will protect you from both UVA & UVB.

When using a sunblock it actually physically protects your skin from the harmful UVA & UVB radiation of the sun. Sunblock Protecting Lotions are now much easier to use, whereas in the past they would a thick, white and greasy creams. Now you can get them in waterproof, sweatproof and non-greasy formulas.

SPF

An SPF is a number that rates sunblocks and sunscreens and is referred to as “Sun Protection Factor” for UVB rays, which is the burn ray. There are a variety of SPF’s on the market today ranging anywhere from a protection of 1 to 60. You may wonder which one will benefit you the most and prevent sunburn. Well lets say you generally get burned being non-protected in about 30 minutes being in the sun. If you got a lotion with an SPF15, you will have protection from the sun for about 450 minutes. What you do is take the 30 minutes that it generally takes for you to get burned times the protection, which in this case is 15: [30×15=450]. The most common protection is the SPF15.

Well, I hope you have a better idea on how to implement Sunscreens & Sunblocks to protect yourself, while enjoying yourself in the sun. These are great tips rather you are doing honey dues around the house, boating on your favorite lake/river, while on vacation or just simply enjoying a drink outside. Keep your skin healthy & looking good by protecting it each time your exposed to the harmful rays of the sun!

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