This post is a part 2 to the previous post I wrote on sunscreen and its ingredients. I will talk about SPF and what the number means and how much it actually protects, plus the marketing gimmicks that store brands use to sell their product in this new age of sun protection and tan banning!
But first, I'm all about moderation. Everything is good and bad for you! On the topic of sun protection, tanning extensively isn't a good idea, but its always best to have at least 15 minutes of direct sunlight without protection to get your Vitamin D.
So this post is about SPF. What is SPF, what does the number mean, and why do children's sunscreen only indicate SPF50? Can they use the other SPFs, and how much does it protect against?
What is SPF? SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. The number is the factor in SPF, and that determines how much it protects. SPF of 15 will protect your skin 15x more than the amount of time it usually takes to burn. So if your skin usually begins to turn pinky-red and burn within 30 minutes, than an SPF of 15 is (15x30 = ) 450 minutes of protection. Keep in mind that it must be reapply every so often, especially if you are sweating or swimming, even if the product says waterproof it will still come off and have less protection than the initial application.
Next, children's sunscreen; brands usually indicate children's sunscreen as SPF 50. But why 50 and can they use less? Yes they can! SPF 50 usually indicated for children because its the highest SPF with the most protection and who doesn't want they're child protected to the max! I bet now you're thinking, no its not the highest... there's SPF 60, even 100.. and I've even seen 110! Let me tell you why these are a waste of your money.
This is going to tie in with the gimmicks that brands use for marketing and how much UV radiation protection is in sunscreens.
So let's start with the protection; SPF 15 protects approximately 94%, SPF 30 is approximately 97% and SPF 60 is 98%, while the SPF 100 is 98.5% protection against UVA/UVB rays. So if it's not obvious to you yet, here's why its a waste of money to buy any more than SPF 30 or SPF 60 if you really find you need that much protection; companies are jumping on the "bandwagon" of what I like to call tan banning and excessive sun protection because everyone has finally figured out that sun damage is responsible for 90% of your extrinsic premature aging. (I will have another post explaining the aging process, but for now all you need to know is extrinsic aging is the process of again with which external factors affect). These companies are taking advantage of the consumer who doesn't know any better and are putting out products that have SPF of 100 even though it doesn't protect anymore than an SPF 60. And all anyone would need for sufficient protection is SPF 15 and max protection with a SPF30.
With all that being said, I hope you got all the information you need from the last two posts, if you have any questions you can comment below and I will try to answer as quickly as possible! I mentioned in another post that I highly recommend the websites WebMD.com and EWG.com/skindeep.
Thanks again for checking out my blog!
Have a wonderful day, and don't forget your sun protection ;)
Presley Charlotte
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