Sunscreen Protection Against UV Radiation

Sunscreen….

Have you thought of what makes sunscreen could provide us from sunburn protection???

And, how effective does the sunscreen protect us from the UV radiation??? Let’s check this out………

Generally about sunscreen

As we know, sunscreen is a kind of product that can protect our skin from excessive UV radiation. Sunscreen can be in several forms, such as lotion, spray or gel. The usage is quite simple. We can just apply the sunscreen to the part of body that exposed to the sunlight or the body part that needed protection from the UV radiation. The sunscreen has the components that absorb the UV light. Usually a lighten skin is more prone to sun damage compare to those who have darker skin. So, people who has a lighten skin should apply this in order to avoid sun damage.

What ingredients may be contained in sunscreen product??

Generally, sunscreen products contain one or more following ingredients:

1. Organic compounds that help absorb the UV light
2. Inorganic particulate compounds that help scatter, reflect and absorb the UV light

There are many chemical compounds used for UV filter as the active ingredient in the sunscreen products. The ingredients approved by FDA (Food and Drug Administration) are p-Aminobenzoic acid, Padimate O, Phenylbenzimidazole sulfonic acid, Cinoxate, Dioxybenzone, Oxybenzone, Homosalate, Menthyl anthranilate, Octocrylene, Octyl methoxycinnamate, Octyl salicylate, Sulisobenzone, Trolamine salicylate, Avobenzone, Ecamsule, Titanium dioxide, and Zinc oxide. The most popular active ingredients are Titanium dioxide (TiO2) and Zinc oxide (ZnO). Most of those ingredients are only allowable up to 15% of the overall concentration but only Titanium dioxide and Zinc oxide are allowed to reach to the maximum of 25% from the full concentration.

What are the words “SPF” written in the sunscreen product label??

SPF is an abbreviated form of Sun Protection Factor. It measures the effectiveness of sunscreen protection against UV light. So the higher the SPF, the higher protection it can provide against UV light protection, in this case the UVB is the radiation that cause the sunburn. The SPF is the amount of UV radiation that can cause sunburn on skin with the sunscreen on. For instance, you apply the sunscreen with 50 SPF on your skin. Your skin will be on protection until it has exposed 50 times the amount of solar energy needed to cause your skin to burn. Sunscreen protection also depends on some factors, such as skin type, the amount applied, frequency of re-application, activity engaged and the amount of sunscreen absorbed by skin.

Is sunscreen same with sunblock??

Well, sunscreen and sunblock are definitely not the same but they provide the same function as caring skin products. Sunscreen is transparent if applied on the skin. In order to get full protection against the UVA/UVB, we must consistently reapply it or use higher SPF sunscreen. Sunblock is stronger than sunscreen and it is opaque. It can provide protection against UVA/UVB without the necessary to reapply it many times a day.

Is it safe to use sunscreen regularly??

Actually, applying sunscreen is to protect our skin form excessive UV radiation that can cause cancer on skin. But some sunscreen products do not block the UVA which does not cause sunburn on skin but it can increase the rate of melanoma, another kind of cancer. In addition, sunblock which also provide protection to skin from UVB may cause deficiency of vitamin D if we use it too consistently.

The sunscreen did provide us protection from the UV radiation but it also may cause some problems if we misuse it. So, my suggestion is choose wisely your sunscreen product and beware of the ingredients in the sunscreen product in order to get maximum protection with minimum risk.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunscreen