If you’ve ever bought sunscreen, you’ve certainly noticed the SPF tag and number on the package. However, how do you choose the sunscreen for your skin? Do you chose based on a number that sounds strong enough to protect your skin?
Most people don’t know the meaning of “SPF” or what different numbers on the suncreen package indicate, which leads to many misunderstanding about “SPF”. In this text we will clarify the basic meaning of the “SPF” term.
“SPF” stands for „sun protection factor“ and is a measure of protection only from the sun’s UVB rays, those that cause redness and sunburn. However, there are also UVA rays that are more dangerous because they penetrate deeper into the skin and can cause even cancerous changes, but SPF does not measure the protection of sunscreens from them.
One of the misconceptions is that different levels of SPF correspond to the percentage of UV rays they protect against. For example, SPF 50 will block 50% of the sun’s rays, and SPF 100 offers complete protection. This is not an exact fact. Actually it is all about the time spent in the sun.
To clarify, SPF is a measure of the difference between the amount of sunlight that causes redness on the skin protected by sunscreen and the amount that causes redness on unprotected skin. SPF 15 protects 15 times more than one minute of sun exposure before the skin turns red compared to zero-protection sun exposure. So if usually your skin turns red without sunscreen in 10 minutes, applying SPF 15 will protect your skin for 150 minutes (2.5 hours). Keep in mind that this equation depends on your skin type, the intensity of sunlight (UV index), the amount of sunscreen used and activity (water and sweat will shorten the time).
However, this equation is not fixed. An SPF 30 won’t protect you twice as long as SPF 15, leading to the common misconception that certain SPF may be „stronger“ or „weaker“ than others. If you apply an SPF of 30 and stay outside for 300 minutes (5 hours), you will certainly get sunburn because, in fact, the protection limits are thin between different Levels of SPF. SPF 15 blocks about 93% of UVB rays, while SPF 30 blocks about 97% and SPF 50 about 98% and SPF 100 only 99%. Thus, raising the number next to the SPF does not necessarily create greater protection after a certain point – SPF 15 and SPF 30 have a difference of only 4%, so doubling the exposure time is a dangerous risk.
Products with high SPF are often made with a higher percentage of chemical ingredients, which can be associated with hormonal imbalances, cause allergic reactions and potentially expose you to greater damage by free radicals and further oxidative stress, so the belief that they are „better“ is not exactly true.
Melanin as a parameter of damage
To make sure that you are taking the right care of your skin according to the real needs of your skin, as well as if you need advice with the steps for your skin care routine that include use of sunscreen, it is advised to visit #SkinTesting center. PRO service that includes a care plan according to individual needs, is conceived at consultations with the use of analyzers that will give a detailed insight into the condition of the skin, and further recommendation of treatments and products provides a guarantee of the result.
One of the parameters of the analysis is melanin. You can check level of melanin before, as well as after the holiday, so you can be sure of the degree of protection or damage in the form of hyperpigmentation and therefore treat them in time and protect your skin with more care in the future.