What is Sunscreen?
Sunscreens are filters of UV energy.
They are used to filter a PROPORTION ONLY of UV rays.
By definition, all types of
sunscreen will include active ingredients which either
absorb or scatter and reflect UV energy which would
otherwise enter the skin and cause severe damage.
UVNatural uses Zinc Oxide which is a reflector of both
UVA and UVB Rays.
Myth: If you
wear sunscreen you are fully protected from UV
absorption and the suns harmful rays UVA and UVB and
will not burn.
Not true!!
Sunscreens are a means to REDUCE ONLY a dose of sunburn
you will get if you don’t wear it. Hence, as sunscreen
is used to delay this burning affect and to filter the
penetration of Ultra Violet activity.
How do sunscreens work?
Sunscreens are filters, not “blocks”. All of them will
let some UV through at varying rates indicated by the
SPF number. An SPF 30 product will permit 1/30th of the
sunburning energy through it in the same time as it
would take to suffer a minimal sunburn without any
protection at all.
The whole of this definition is important to
understanding how they work. It is because the
sunburning dose accumulates at 1/30 of the rate that it
takes 30 times as long to see the skin reddening sign
that damage has occurred and repair and recovery is
underway.
Sunburn may take
hours to actually appear on the skin.
Once you receive
a dose of sunburn, no sunscreen or re-application is
going to prevent this effect. This is why it is
necessary to apply your sunscreen BEFORE sun exposure.
Re-application
of sunscreen is MAINTENANCE of the very first
application.
It does not
prolong your time in the sun; it merely gives the first
application a boost, enhancing its effectiveness.
Tests carried
out by our testing facility show that it will take from
6 to 10 minutes to receive burning from the sun without
protection. This depends on the skin types, fair to
olive. It also depends on how extreme the Sun/Heat is
and varies for different Countries and States.
Wearing a Spf
30+ product for example, in theory will give you 30
times the protection before burning takes place.
Re-application is necessary and recommended every two
hours, due to the skin sweating or towel drying, time in
and out of the sun over the course of the day, also
prolonged amounts of time in the water.
How long can I stay in the Sun?
Fair Skin
that burns without sunscreen in 4mins
Apply 30+
sunscreen 15-30 minutes before sun exposure.
You have
120 minutes of time in the sun before burning begins.
Re-application
recommended after 1 hour or towel drying and sweating.
Advice: Cover up
after this time, wear protective clothing, seek shade.
We recommend that you cease sun exposure at this time.
Fair to
Medium Skin that burns without sunscreen in 6mins
Apply 30+
sunscreen 15-30 minutes before sun exposure.
You have 180
minutes of time in the sun before burning begins.
Re-application
recommended after 2 hrs or towel drying and sweating,
this boosts the effectiveness of the sunscreen for the
remaining hour.
Advice: Cover up
after this time, wear protective clothing, seek shade.
Medium to
Dark Skin that burns without sunscreen in 10mins
Apply 30+
sunscreen 15-30 minutes before sun exposure.
You Have
300 minutes of time in the sun before burning begins.
Re-application
recommended after 2hrs or towel drying and sweating,
this boosts the effectiveness of the sunscreen for the
remaining 3 hours.
Advice: Cover up
after this time, wear protective clothing, seek shade.
* Halve these
equations when using SPF 15 and multiply the minutes you
think it will take your skin to burn un-protected by the
SPF you choose to use.
In short, if
your sunscreen has protective qualities to give you
120mins in the sun, re-applying does NOT mean it will
double to 240mins.
Why do we need to apply sunscreen 25-30
minutes
before exposure to the sun?
The skin has
seven layers, allowing the sunscreen to absorb into the
skin before going out in the sun, will ensure its
effectiveness; it allows it to set, if you will. If you
don’t apply before sun exposure then the sunscreen will
still work, but not as well. You may have already
burned, so this will show up later.
The Australian standard for a
sunscreen usage is that for a 60-70kg weight of person a
minimum of 30gms should be used for effective sun
protection.
The Governing
Testing facility advises that a dose of 2mg/square cm
applied to one's body is required for coverage of any
sunscreen formulation.
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