Understanding the Types of Sunscreens and Sunblocks, Proper Usage and Levels

Protection from the sun's rays is key into preserving your skin's health. All anyone has to do is to look at their skin through a DermaView, which analyzes the sun's damage on your skin to be convinced that they should start protecting their skin with sunscreens.

Sunscreens come in many forms such as creams, moisturizers, sprays, gels and lotions. Sunscreens are also divided by how much protection they actually give the skin from the sun's rays, as well as their ingredients.

Physical sunscreens consist of two types titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. Physical sunscreens protect the skin by reflecting the sun's rays before they penetrate a person's skin. The sunscreens are not actually absorbed by the skin so they can actually last longer and start working the minute they are applied. Physical sunscreens are gentle enough for babies and for daily usage. Physical sunscreens stay on top of the skin so they typically don't cause any allergy reactions or irritations. Kids do really well with physical sunscreens because you can tell with some of them when reapplication is necessary.

Chemical sunscreens are absorbed through the skin and consist of many different ingredients. The chemicals in chemical sunscreens are combined to actually block different UV rays. A broad spectrum sunscreen consists of all the chemicals needed to protect the skin the harmful sun's rays. Chemical sunscreens work against UVB and UVA rays, however some also have a physical sunscreen agent such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. Most chemical sunscreens are actually clear after they are applied and can be used by people in many work situations to protect their skin.

Water resistant sunscreens are designed not to wash off in the water during a short exposure time. Although people that are in the water a lot use "waterproof sunscreens" which are designed to maintain protection for a much longer time than that of water resistant sunscreens. Depending on what kind of protection you are looking for you should always read the labels carefully to make sure you will still be protected without reapplying the sunscreen.

Another important point to make is that sunscreens should always be put on every part of the body that is exposed to the sun's rays and some may need to be reapplied if the person remains in the sun for an extended amount of time. Sunscreens are often referred to as sunblocks and the levels of protection in them vary however any sunscreen is better than none at all. Sunscreen levels range from 5-80 SPF however 30 SPF is the normal protection criteria that everyone should aim for when looking for complete protection from the sun's rays.

Sunscreens should be applied as directed by the instructions being careful around certain areas such as the eye region. Some sunscreens are specifically made for the face and should be carefully worked into the skin. It is best if you are sensitive to chemicals that you do a skin test before you apply the sunscreen to all areas of your body to make sure you are not allergic to any of the ingredients, especially with chemical sunscreens. If you have any adverse reaction from a sunscreen see your physician immediately. Staying safe in the sun is important to make sure that you keep your skin healthy, protecting your body from premature aging from sun damage.

References for this article include: www.aad.org/public/publications/pamphlets/sun_sunscreens.html
beauty.about.com/od/sunscree1/tp/sunscreenstop.htm
www.skincancer.org/Sunscreens-Explained.html