High SPF Sunscreens – Are they better?

How will you know which sunscreen is better? The ones which contain a high SPF of 100+ or those with a lower SPF of 30?

When shopping for sunscreen, you might have found products containing quite high sun protection factor (SPF) ratings.

SPF describes the capability of a sunblock to prevent ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, which lead to sunburns, however, not UVA rays, which tend to be closely associated with more serious skin damage. Both UVB and UVA play a role in the possibility of skin cancer.

The SPF status is an evaluation of the time it might require before you get burned if you use sunscreen compared to how long it will take to obtain sunburn if you are not protected with sunscreen.

“SPF isn’t a customer-friendly number,” claims Florida dermatologist James M. Spencer, MD. “It is sensible for a person to believe that an SPF of 30 is twice of the same quality compared to an SPF of 15 etc. However,it does not work in this way.

As outlined by Spencer, an SPF 15 item stops about 94% of UVB light; an SPF 30 solution stops 97% of UVB light; as well as an SPF 45 solution stops about 98% of light.

“Next, it simply gets ridiculous,” he states.

Sunscreens containing higher SPF ratings block a bit more UVB rays; however, not one provides 100% protection.

All Spencer’s patients use SPF 30 products, since this is what he recommends.

Farah Ahmed, a general counsel for the beauty products business group Personal Care Products Council, concedes that the distinction in sunburn protection among the medium- and high-SPF sunblock’s is not good.
But, she claims, the high SPF solutions may have better protection against long-term skin damage in addition to exposure-related skin cancers.

Regardless of what product you decide on, expert’s advice that you make use of a waterproof sunscreen applied evenly 30 minutes before going outside. Sunscreen must be reapplied every two hours or after sweating,swimming, or drying off.

“The easiest way to ensure that you are covered is to reapply sunscreen frequently,” Spencer suggests. “You simply can’t apply it each morning and be done with it. It does not matter if it is SPF 800 or the most effective UVA protection, after a couple of hours it’s gone.”