Sun Lovers Beware
It’s a fact, if you are out in the sun most of the day, or you love the beach and like having beautiful golden-brown, sun-tanned skin, your skin will age faster. You will have sun spots, wrinkles and sagging skin at a much earlier age. You can prevent this from happening, if you know how to protect your skin correctly.
Sunscreen VS Sunblock
Sunblock shields your skin against UVB rays. Sunblock contains ingredients, both organic, and non-organic, which act as a barrier between your skin and the sun’s UV rays. It forms a protective layer on top of the skin and acts as a reflector scattering the UVB light.
Sunscreen protects your skin against UVA rays. Sunscreen penetrates your skin and absorbs the UVA rays which causes the damage to your dermal layer. The active ingredients deflects harmful UV rays before reaching the skin’s outer epidermis layer.
Which one to choose?
So which one do you use? The answer is both. These days you can buy sunblock and sunscreen all-in-one. If you bought them separately, it wouldn’t make much difference if you just applied them both at once.
Important facts you need to remember when you use sunblock or sunscreen:
Look out for ingredients such as ecamsule and zinc oxide when buying a sun lotion, which blocks out photo aging UVA rays and protects your skin from UVB rays..
Apply sunscreen at least 30 minutes before you are exposed to the sun, allowing it to be completely absorbed into your skin.
The recommended daily amount of sun lotion amounts to about the size of one shot glass. On average most people use less than 50% of that amount.
SPF measures the level of the sun protection against the UVB rays causing sunburn. Always look out for a sun lotion which offers protection against both UVB and UVA rays, in order to also protect your skin from premature skin aging.
The lighter your skin, the faster you can burn. It’s advisable to use sun lotion with a higher SPF factor, the lighter your skin. Never less than SPF 30.
Always reapply sun lotion after you go into the water, no matter whether the bottle reads water resistant or not. Reapply lotion every few hours.
Nothing will completely undo the damage caused by the sun, but your skin can somewhat repair itself if you apply the correct sun protection methods. It’s never too late to start taking better care of your skin. Keep in mind, sun doesn’t only cause the skin to age faster, but also puts you at a high risk of developing skin cancer.
Article Author: Lynette Redelinghuys
