Hi all. I am going to post on the importance of sunscreen, something which I find many of us neglect despite dermatologists continuously extolling the virtues of it. In my country Malaysia, protecting the skin from the damaging sun is something we delightfully ignore although we are exposed to the year-round sunshine. Unless you want to age faster or you love the sun too much, then I have nothing to comment =)
The ultraviolet rays, UVA and UVB rays can cause numbers of health problems as follow because both rays can pierce through the earth atmosphere.
- Premature aging and fast wrinkling
- Skin conditions such as ugly skin tags, discoloration
- Cataract
- Sunburn
- and the worst, skin cancer!
The UVA is most damaging because UVA rays account for up to 95% of the ultraviolet rays we are exposed to and it easily penetrates into our skin more greater than UVB rays. When you get sunburn, the culprit would be the UVB rays but the strength of the sunburn depends on hours of the day. You will most likely get greater sunburns during late morning and early afternoon. Hence, I always suggest to minimize sun exposure after 12 noon until 4pm as mentioned in my post on how to get beautiful skin naturally. Then again, the morning sunlight is extremely good for your overall health and you get free Vitamin D!
Therefore, when it comes to sun damage, remember that PREVENTION IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN CURE! To do that, always have your sunscreen lotion with sufficient SPF handy. SPF means sun protection factor and it refers to the strength of the sunscreen to prevent sunburn. And of course, the higher the number, the better it is to protect from UVB rays. Let me give you an example - if your sunscreen is marked SPF10, and if you are a person who would normally burn after 15 minutes, your SPF10 suncreen will protect you for 150 minutes and you will only be at risk to get sunburn after 150 minutes. In other words, SPF10 protects against sunburn 10 times longer. There are available sunscreens that protects against UVA rays too but there is no standard measurement of UVA absorption at the moment.
Sunscreen is EXTREMELY vital! Not only it helps to prevent sunburns, it also limits your skin exposure to the sun, thus reduces the amount of damage caused by the fireball rays. I am using Dermalogica Solar Defense Booster in SPF30 and it has never failed me =)
However, you must also note that sunscreen alone cannot provide 100% protection against the damaging UV rays. To be on the safe side, here are a list of what you can do to further protect yourself from the sun.
1) Wear clothes made from tightly-woven fabrics.
2) Do carry an umbrella when you go outdoor or wear a hat. Better still, put on your stylish sunglasses with UV protection.
3) Try to avoid direct sunlight after 12 noon until 4pm.
4) Get a broad-specturm sunsreen that is water resistant
5) Reapply your sunscreen every 2 hours if you are always out in the sun. Apply more frequently if you generally sweat a lot.
6) Never forget your sunscreen if you are going to the beach and reapply if you have been swimming.
Your skin is the largest organ, so protect it!=)
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