Save your skin: Choose sunscreen wisely

Probably most of us don’t give it a second thought while picking up a sunscreen. Buying the wrong sunscreen won’t help you save your skin. What factor do you focus on while shopping for one? In a recent survey of around 1000 sunscreen wearers, the sun protection factor or SPF as you call it is the factor that greatly affects your decision. Most of the sunscreens don’t offer the protection as they claim and so you can’t rely on them. Out of 20 sunscreens, 2 were found to be actually good as the package claimed. Some provide half of the SPF they claim and some don’t come with the reading that says it can be used for children. Some were even below 40 percent by their claim. But this doesn’t mean they aren’t protective, the thing is that you don’t get the proper protection.

Image is for Representational purpose only – Source: doutissima.com.br

You get an SPF of 18 from a 30 SPF sunscreen. A wide variance was observed in the effectiveness of the sunscreens against UV rays. According to the Food and Drug Administration, 370 nm is the minimum critical wavelength a sunscreen should have in order to be a broad spectrum sunscreen. An ideal product provides you protection against both the UVA and UVB rays and provides the least protection of 15 SPF. If you will be swimming or sweating you should select a waterproof brand. For your face you should only those products which are specially formulated for the facial skin and don’t sting. In case you are sensitive to PABA (para – aminobenzoic acid) ingredient, choose PABA – less product. For acne prone and oily skin, water – based sunscreen should be used. Also if a product is expensive, it doesn’t necessarily have to be better than the cheaper ones.

However some sunscreen is better than no sunscreen.