What is SPF, UV-A, and UV-B ?
Protecting our skin from sunlight is important, because it omits different types of ultraviolet radiation that causes sunburn, skin cancer, and other types of photo damage.
UV-A, can cause invisible damage and skin aging, without any reddening or pain Ultraviolet type B (UV-B) radiation causes sunburn and is easier to protect our skin from than UV-A.
Effective sunscreen has been developed since 1938 to protect the skin from harmful sunlight. Eventually, a worldwide standard for measuring the effectiveness of sunscreen was introduced in 1962, when the concept of Sun Protection Factor (SPF) was applied to all sunscreen products.
The SPF of a sunscreen is a laboratory measure of the effectiveness of sunscreen. The higher the SPF, the more protection a sunscreen offers against the sun’s ultraviolet rays. The SPF number indicates the time a person wearing sunscreen can be exposed to the sun before getting sunburn relative to the time a person without sunscreen can be exposed.
Someone who would burn after 15 minutes in the sun would expect to burn after 150 minutes if protected by a sunscreen with SPF 10. Different skin types require different SPF strengths. When choosing a sunscreen, make sure it is SPF 15 or higher, and select a broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against UVB and UVA radiation.
