What's the best sunscreen for you?
With so many different options, choosing a sunscreen can be a little overwhelming. One thing that can certainly cause confusion is determining what level of Sun Protection Factor (SPF) you need.
How does SPF protect your skin?
SPF measures how well your skin is protected from the sun. In general, the higher the SPF, the more protection from UVB (rays that cause sunburn) and UVA rays (primary tanning rays)- with UVA protection being at least one-third of the UVB protection. UVA rays are also the culprit of skin aging, fine lines and wrinkles and skin cancer. It’s important to always choose a broad spectrum SPF (hint, all Australian Gold SPF products are broad spectrum) to protect your skin against harmful UVB and UVA rays.
What do SPF levels mean?
While many people interpret SPF as how long they can be in the sun before getting a sunburn SPF actually measures how well your skin is protected from the sun, specifically from UVB radiation. An SPF 15 sunscreen will usually provide 93% of protection and SPF 30 will usually provide 97% of protection.
When should you wear SPF?
Now when do you need to wear SPF? ALL OF THE TIME! UV radiation has nothing to do with temperature, how sunny or not sunny the weather is. If the UV index is higher than three, SPF should be applied.
Now that you’re an SPF expert, shop for your favorite SPF products!