Most people know that you should put sunscreen on.. but did you know about the UVA/UVB nuances? I didn't, so just in case you didn't, take heed.
Everyone knows about SPF - or how much protection against burning a sunscreen gives you compared to normal skin. Everyone should know as well that factor 15 is the minimum you should really consider.
But what I didn't know was that burning is pretty much caused by UVB only, and hence SPF only measures protection against UVB, which causes:
So yeah, not nice, but not actually the most dangerous form of skin cancer.Originally Posted by bupa
Now look at UVA, which causes:
Worryingly, creams etc. good at UVB protection, and high SPF, might have terrible protection from UVA. And as they're stopping you burning you might stay out in the sun longer too. So look at the back of the bottle. You should see a circle with UVA and a number of stars up to five (and a rating - 5 stars is ultra, 4 is superior, 3 is good etc.) Make sure you get the highest UVA protection possible, regardless of which SPF you usually use.Originally Posted by bupa
I was suprised that my supermarkets own brand cream actually had far higher UVA protection than the fashion cream brands, despite their SPFs going right up to 50+.
Take care out there![]()


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