How to choose Sun Cream for You and your Baby.

I’m on my vacation. As you can see, I am the best dad in the galaxy – and not only I have to keep my wife happy, but care for a child that requires constant protection.

I am concerned about home made campaigns of beauty salons that are trying to educate the public on sunscreens and in fact all they are doing is selling their products. A few times I witnessed a local beauty firm trying to appeal to their audiences by presenting a unique line of cosmetics, which was actually a cream of a well-known brand put into a jar bought online with a sticker of a given cosmetic establishment. That is why today I wanted to say a few words about the types of creams and what is worth paying attention to.

The easiest way is to distinguish between filters is that some are available from retailers and the other from chemists. Another division is into mineral and chemical filters. But the most important feature of sun creams is their photo stability and thermal stability. These determine how long and under what conditions a product maintains its parameters that protect the skin against solar radiation.

When applying sunscreen, let’s consider why we are using it in the first place? There are good reasons why we should use barrier creams. The desire to stay in the sun for longer is the least important one. On the other hand, most important reason to use creams is to protect against burns, prevent skin cancer, and prevent photoaging and hyperpigmentation.

If you want to take care of your skin, you need to know about UVA and UVB protection. Without going into detail, if you are interested in basic protection, a cream with UVB filter should do the trick. However, when you want to protect your skin from cancer, photoaging or discoloration, creams that filter against UVA and UVB light are essential.

The longer the light waves, the deeper they penetrate into the skin. UVC light is the most superficial but can negatively affect our eyes. UVB light has a wavelength between 280 and 315 nm. and is responsible for burns and skin tan. UVA rays, especially UVA1, penetrate the deep layers of the dermis. They damage collagen fibers, are responsible for photoaging with thickened skin and deep furrows.

SPF determines how many times a radiation dose must be exceeded to cause tanning. Radiation varies depending on time spent in the sun, time of day, geographic location, altitude, medications taken, and skin phototype. Cream classifications differ in Europe compared to the United States. SPF 50 in Europe is roughly the same as SPF 100 in the US. Also in the US, filters can be sold as a waterproof variant, which remain on the skin for much longer than their European equivalent.

Creams can work in the so-called broad spectrum. This means that filters above SPF 15 have ingredients that actively filter UVA and UVB rays. It should be noted that the SPF measure applies only to UVB protection. The FDA informs that creams and filters operating in the broad spectrum present SPF levels for UVA rays that are measured in proportion of UVB rays. This means that the higher the SPF value, the greater the protection against UVB and UVA rays, but not the same for both types.

There is no one perfect way to protect from the sun. The basis of protection is avoiding sun exposure during the hottest hours, wearing a hat, sunglasses and clothes. Filters should not only be applied to the exposed parts of the body, but also to covered ones. A linen or silk shirt will not fully protect us from UVA, photoaging, cancer or discoloration.

For comparison, a shot of my wife on the seventh day of holiday, who used a standard SPF 30 cream, and a child who has been treated with Sunbrella. The test is definitely not scientific, but it shows how much different creams can be.

It should be remembered that the harmful effect of sunlight depends not only on the amount of radiation reaching the skin, but also on the exposure time. Therefore, it’s best to avoid. But the sun is also the synthesis of vitamin D – that is prevention of depression. Some people love lounging in the sun, and are even addicted to it. Of course – there is no perfect photoprotection, but let’s read the labels, let’s learn the basics of filters and their usage. Know your skin to provide best protection. The game is worth playing because the stakes are high and the best investment is an investment in yourself.

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