Be safe in the sun – make sure you know the facts...
The sun: friend or foe?
While it’s true that a sensible level of exposure to the sun is good for you in order to absorb enough vitamin D – the reality is that many of us will more than exceed this recommended level of exposure in everyday life without even thinking about it.
The current recommended levels of exposure without sunscreen is – 15 minutes each day, but never during the hottest part of the day, between 12- 3pm.
According to cancer research UK the “majority of people in the UK still regard a suntan as a sign of health and few are knowledgeable about the dangers of UV radiation”.
But perhaps more worryingly, it has be suggested that if our sun awareness does not improve more than 15,500 people in the UK could be diagnosed with malignant melanoma each year by 2024 – that’s an incredible 50% increase in cases.
Check out our top tips for staying safe in the sun this summer...
Understanding the labels…
What is SPF?
The Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of a sunscreen is a measure of its ability to filter out the sun’s harmful UVB rays (the ones that burn you). Although it is true that you will have more protection from higher factors, no sunscreen - no matter how high the factor - can offer 100% protection. An SPF 30 will provide you with 96.5% protection, while an SPF 50 will provide you with 98% protection - offering a nominal amount of additional protection.
What does broad spectrum mean?
Broad spectrum sunscreens block out UVA rays as well as UVB. There is no international measurement, however the European UVA seal indicates that a sunscreen meets the EU standard i.e. that the UVA protection is at least a third of its SPF.
As well as the SPF and UVA system many products in the UK will also carry the ‘star rating’ system, which compares the ratio of UVA and UVB protection offered. A product with a low SPF may still have a high level of stars not because it is providing a high level of UVA protection but because the ratio between the UVA and UVB is about the same.
So it is important to choose a suncare product that the not only carries a high star rating but also a high SPF to ensure you are getting the best possible protection.
