Safe Skin Care for Sun Protection~ Part One

It's the time of year to enjoy the summer sun!  Choosing a safe sunscreen be quite confusing these days.  When evaluating a product, I have clients look at both the active sun protective ingredients, plus the inactive ingredients that list the potentially harmful synthetic fillers and preservatives.  I will share this information over a series of blog entries.

Let's start with the basics:

First, what's the difference between UVA vs UVB rays?

• UVA Rays: UVA rays are harmful to the skin.  They are responsible for skin cancers including malignant melanoma.  Remember these rays as Aging rays since they cause wrinkles and skin aging.  They can penetrate through glass and also penetrate the skin more deeply than UVB rays (see below). These rays remain constant throughout the day and time of year.  The FDA does not require sunscreen manufacturers to have UVA filters, however the FDA just stated that they are re-evaluating their sunscreen regulations effective next year. 
• UVB Rays: UVB rays, or Burn rays, are the primary cause of sunburn and non-melanoma skin cancers, such as squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma.   These rays are highest mid-day and help our bodies to produce vitamin D

What does SPF mean?

The SPF on your bottle of sunscreen indicates the length of time you can stay outside in the sun without incurring sunburn or irritation from UVB rays.  Currently, there is no standard to measure protection from UVA rays.

• Calculate your protection time, the amount of time you can stay outside before burning:
  • Multiply the sun safety time for your skin type with the SPF listed on your sunscreen. eg. 15 minutes (for olive skin) x SPF 20 = 300 minutes (5 hours) of sun protection

Fortunately the FDA just released, that starting next summer they will require the following regulations on sunscreen:

• Sunscreens to prove they filter out both Ultraviolet B rays and Ultraviolet A rays to claim they protect against skin cancer.
• If they don't protect against both, or the sun protection factor is below 15, then they have to carry a warning: "This product has been shown only to help prevent sunburn, not skin cancer or early skin aging."
• The FDA will prohibit sunscreen marketing claims like "waterproof" and "sweatproof," which the agency said "are exaggerations of performance."
• The FDA also proposes capping the highest SPF value at 50, unless companies can provide results of further testing that support a higher number.
• Source: Associate Press- New Rules to Cut Confusion on Sunscreen Claims By Matthew Perrone

What's the difference between Physical and Chemical Sun Blockers?

• Chemical sunscreen ingredients: Chemical blockers are absorbed into the skin and disperse rays.  Typically, sunscreens are composed of several active ingredients since no single chemical ingredient blocks the entire UV spectrum (unlike physical sunblocks). Instead, most chemicals only block a narrow region of the UV spectrum.  The majority of chemical agents used in sunblock work in the UVB region.  Only a few chemicals block the UVA region.
  • Examples include:
    • Benzophenones (dixoybenzone, oxybenzone)
    • PABA and PABA esters (ethyl dihydroxy propyl PAB,  glyceryl PABA, p-aminobenzoic acid, padimate-O or octyl dimethyl PABA)
    • Cinnamates (cinoxate, ethylhexyl p-methoxycinnamate, octocrylene, octyl methoxycinnamate)
    • Salicylates (ethylhexyl salicylate, homosalate, octyl salicylate)
    • Digalloyl trioleate
    • Menthyl anthranilate
    • Avobenzone [butyl-methyoxydibenzoylmethane; Parsol 1789

• Physical or mineral sun blocking ingredients: When applied, lay on the surface of the skin and create a barrier that reflects both UVA and UVB rays.
  • Examples include:
    • Titanium dioxide
    • Zinc oxide

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Comments

[Antiaging-Skincare-Tips]

Great post. Over exposure to the sun can cause rough dry skin, brown spots, wrinkles and even skin cancer like melanoma! Protect yourself!

[A-derma]

I didn't know what SPF means. thank you for such a detailed information! but there would be great to know a correlation of a skin type and time we should multiply SPF on.

[freelance writing]

why when i used the face cream that have SPF my face not got even little enlighten?

[EZBEAUTIFULSKIN]

My sense is that people enjoy stating that things are
too complicated to simplify.

[Health and Wellness Products and Services]

This is great! such valuable information. I would love to read more from you on this
enjoyed reading. Thank you

[Lauri Hersh]

Thanks for this very informative article! Many would learn from this. Well, though there are lots sun-protection products available in the market, staying away from direct sunlight in the hottest hours of the day is still the best protection.