Too much exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays can cause skin cancer. This is the simplest fact people know about skin protection. Because of this, people seek refuge with a high protection sunscreen that has a higher SPF. However, there are already a lot of misconceptions about how SPF works and whether or not sunscreens become more effective as their SPF number increases. To help you protect your skin better, this article will explain how sun exposure increases the risk of skin cancer and how you can use Jacket high protection sunscreen to avoid this.
The sun is an electromagnetic source so it naturally emits radiation. It emits ultraviolet radiation which has very short wavelengths (wavelengths that are shorter than visible light). There are three kinds of UV rays that reach the earth – UVA, UVB, and UVC. You don’t get to hear UVC often because they don’t affect our skin as they only reach the ozone layer. On the other hand, UVA has the longest rays among the three so its reach goes deep into the dermis.
For a long time, UVA was believed to not have any effect on the skin but after several recent pieces of research, UVA was proven to cause skin aging. It also plays a huge part in causing skin cancer because it penetrates the layer of the skin where skin cancer starts. For UVB, it is only known to damage the outermost layer of the skin. It is primarily responsible for causing sunburns. Nonetheless, it can also cause skin cancer when the epidermis becomes damaged by UV rays.
Now that you know the difference between UVA and UVB rays and how they increase the chances of getting skin cancer, it’s time to straighten out the facts involving sunscreens. People gauge sunscreens’ effectiveness through SPFs. SPF, also known as Sun Protection Factor, describes the time it will take for UVB rays to affect your skin as compared to the time when you don’t have sunscreen on. For example, a sunscreen with SPF 30 will take 30 minutes before the UVB rays can redden your skin while it takes 0 minutes when you don’t apply sunscreen at all.
People think that the higher the SPF, the better protection they get. This is false. In fact, as the SPF goes beyond 50, the effect it will have on your skin will be very minimal. SPF 15 protects you from 93% of UVB rays, SPF 30 protects you from 97%, SPF 50, 98% (As In Jacket Sunscreen!). As SPF increases, the smaller the marginal effect will be.
What dermatologists suggest is to use a high protection sunscreen with SPF from 15-50 and use them 30 minutes before getting exposed to the sun. Sunscreens should be applied liberally and frequently, usually every two hours. If you tend to sweat a lot, you should reapply sunscreen more often. To increase protection from the UV rays, you can also consider avoiding sun exposure, especially from 10 AM to 4 PM as those hours tend to have more UVB rays. If you can’t help but be under the sun during this time, then wear protective clothing like hats and long sleeves and always use an umbrella.