Decoding Sunscreen and Tan part 3

As I said earlier I can't stress enough on the benefits of the sunscreen, here are last few questioned answered.

Can sunscreen be applied on infants?

Yes, sure it should be.  As and when the kid is taken outdoors in the sun, sunscreen use is a must.  On infants gel and solution based sunscreen shouldn't be applied as these can be extremely drying.  Use SPF between 15 and 30 with UVA protection or broad spectrum protection. Try this Lotus sunscreen.

Can you get tanned through window glass?

Yes, we can. Window glass can stop UVB rays which cause sunburns but it doesn't stops UVA rays which cause premature ageing and skin cancer. But as we know that tanning is after effect of sun damage, therefore yes we cannot get sunburn , but definitely we can get tanned.

Home remedy for Sun burnt skin?

A really great home remedy for irritated skin like sunburn or poison ivy is milk and water compresses. It's very simple. Put equal amounts of milk and water in a bowl, room temperature, take a smooth material like a T-shirt or handkerchief, put it in the liquid, wring it out half-way and apply it to the irritated skin for about 5 or 10 minutes. The evaporation of the liquid causes a cooling sensation, makes your skin feel better, and the protein in the milk buffers the irritated skin and goes a long way toward making it feel better. And by the way, use skim milk, not whole milk, because the fat in whole milk doesn't help, it's just the protein in the skim milk, and you'll find relief every time.

I'l do a separate post over Makeup and Sunscreen, and Sunscreen and Vitamin D..

Stay Beautiful :)

Shweta

Decoding Sunscreen and Tan part 2

Continuing with the Importance of sunscreen in our daily skin care routine, this post has queries related to sunscreen as a product and its application process.

What order is sunscreen applied?

As a general rule, sunscreen is always applied first. In order for sunscreen to work it has to bind with skin and a chemical reaction takes place to make sunscreen able to absorb or block the sun rays.

So Sunscreen first, Moisturizer second or sunscreen first, Makeup second, even if your makeup has SPF.

Only one exception can be the acne SPOT treatment product, as they are applied only to the acne spot and not the whole face, its okay to apply them first

How much sunscreen do I need?

In order to get the maximum benefit and full SPF protection from the sunscreen, you need amount that’s about a size of a one rupee coin or one-third to half of a teaspoon to cover your face and neck. And to cover entire body, you need an ounce of the product.

What if I don’t apply the stated amount?

When the proper amount is not applied to the skin, the SPF comes drastically down, for ex. SPF 15  comes down to SPF 4  and you don’t get desired level of protection.

How frequently do I need to apply the sunscreen?

You need to apply sunscreen every 2-3 hours or after you perspire, or after swimming.

How long do I need to wait before applying the next product?

After you apply a product u wait until it “sets”, means it absorbs into the skin, it dries and is not sticky.

What is the proper application process of the sunscreen?

Don’t just take sunscreen on your palm and rub it on your face. Rather take it on your fingertip and dot the entire sunscreen on your face and neck evenly. Now rub it in the skin. This way the entire skin will be coated thoroughly.

Do moisturizers with sunscreen work?

Yes, they do. For ex. If there is a moisturizer with SPF of 20, it will give you that stated coverage, no matter if it is mixed with the moisturizer. The products such made are tested in the same way, but the only catch is they need to be applied first to the skin so that the sunscreen can bond with skin to protect it.

Does a very high SPF on a sunscreen give much more protection than a lower SPF?

For instance, is a 60 twice as protective as a 30? The answer is no. SPF means "sun protection factor" which tells you how long you can be in the sun without getting a burn, but the relationship between SPFs and the amount of protection you get is not linear. So, in fact, when you double SPF from 15 to 30, you go from 88% protection from the burning rays to 95% protection, an increase in 7%, from doubling from 15 to 30, but double again from 30 to 60, and you only get 4% more protection, from 95 to 99. So, using higher and higher SPFs is not necessarily going to give you a tremendously greater amount of protection from the sun. It's better to use an SPF between 15 and 30, which is in a liquid that feels good when it goes on your skin, so you'll re-apply it frequently than to use a very, very high SPF.*

Does Sunscreen Work After Its Expiration Date?

People think they need to throw out their sunscreen immediately after the expiration date but that's not so. It really does continue to work as an effective sunscreen for a long amount of time after that time. An expiration date is just the amount of time, usually a year or two years that the manufacturer demonstrated and tested that the sunscreen still works, but it doesn't stop working, it doesn't stop being an effective sunscreen the day after the expiration date. In fact, for weeks, months or maybe even years after the expiration date, you can still use that sunscreen and it will give you the full protection that you expected from it when it was first originally manufactured. So the take-away here is, it's much more important to use sunscreen and use it every day than to be guided by the expiration date on the bottle.*

 I can't emphasize enough on importance of sunscreen in our daily skin care routine. Please adopt this very important step and see how your skin changes. 

Stay Beautiful :)

Shweta

* From the article by Dr. Neal Schultz, one of New York's most trusted and respected dermatologists

Decoding Sunscreen and Tan part1

Sunscreen is probably the most important product in everyone's skin care routine. It not only protects us from getting tanned, but also from the harmful effects of sun rays which include premature aging, wrinkles, and even skin cancer. But sadly there is no proper awareness within people regarding this. Here is my attempt to explain this impeccable product.

Do we need sunscreen everyday?

Be it Shine or cloudy, you need sunscreen each and every day.  Is it 5 minutes or 50 minutes being out unprotected in sun, skin is exposed to harmful effects of Ultra – violet light. UVB rays causes skin cancer and UVA rays cause premature skin aging and wrinkling.

What is SPF?

Sun Protection Factor is an aid to tell you that how effective your sunscreen is against the UVB rays of the sun and causing sun damage. The SPF rating tells you how long you can stay in the sun without getting the sun burn with that sunscreen compared to what you could have stayed without one. For example, you can stay for 10 mins out in sun before you get a sun burn without using a sunscreen. If  you use a SPF of 10 then you can stay for 100 min (i.e. 1 hour 20 mins) in the sun, without getting sunburn.

What is tan?

When the skin gets injured due to harmful effects of UVA and UVB rays of the sun, it darkens. The brown color acts as a defensive shield to protect against additional Ultra- Violet injury. To avoid getting tanned use a broad spectrum sunscreen. Even with a sunscreen you will get somewhat of a tan but this tan will be much less dangerous than the one without it.

How to choose a sunscreen?

There are three simple steps to choose a perfect option:

• Choose a sunscreen with SPF between 15 to 30 SPF,
•  See that the sunscreen is also labeled with UVA protection or Broad spectrum protection,
•   Make sure it’s appropriate for your oil and water skin type. So that it doesn’t causes you break out or dry you out.

I recommend sunscreens with an SPF of between 15 and 30 which gives you between 88 and 95%* protection that feels good when you put it on, so you'll be more inclined to use it, re-apply it 3, 4, 5 times a day, rather than putting on a higher SPF sunscreen that's thicker, less pleasant, and you don't re-apply after the first use in the morning.

Is Higher SFP better?

Higher SPF like 85, 95,120 are no good. A sunscreen with 15 SPF gives you protection of 88%, 30 SPF gives 95% protection and 60 SPF gives you 99% protection. Anything over 60 SPF like 80, 90 or 100 is just a hoax and is misleading a consumer. As we go higher in SPFs, usually, the cream becomes more thick and viscous, and you are much less apt to reapply the sunscreen. The only way to get the real benefit from the sunscreen is to apply it frequently, atleast 3-4 times a day, after you sweat or after you swim.

Stay tuned in for more ..

Stay Beautiful :)

Shweta

*extracted from a leading medical magazine.