5 Things You Didn't Know About Sunscreen (page 2)

5 Things You Didn't Know About Sunscreen

Posted by Ali | Thursday June 21, 2012

I consider myself to be fairly sun savvy. Six years working in the beauty industry have ensured I always apply a facial lotion with SPF in the mornings and keep a stash of wide brimmed hats by the door. You will never catch me sunbathing. Yet somehow, I get burned every summer. I've also noticed a fair amount of pigmentation around my hairline and on my cheeks that is increasing year over year. Something in my routine is clearly not working and it may not be working for you either.

The following tips were compiled from my discussions with the sun experts at Johnson & Johnson, makers of Aveeno and Neutrogena. I think you may be surprised by some of them:

1. According to sunsafetyalliance.org, 80% of sun exposure is incidental. Walking to the car from your house, picking up a carton of milk from the corner grocery store, going outside on a cloudy or even a rainy day - all of these activities result in unintentional sun exposure that ads up to 80 percent over your lifetime. That day at the beach is nothing compared to a lifetime of daily incidental exposure without protection.

2. Even if you apply sun protection every day, it might not be making much of a difference because you're probably not wearing enough. Johnson & Johnson advises that the proper dosage is a full 2 Tablespoons for your body, and a good 1/2 Teaspoon for your face. I don't know about you, but I probably do less than half of that.

3. Sunscreen needs to be applied every 2 hours. This applies whether you are spending the day outside or just protecting yourself from incidental exposure. Oops.

4. Not all sunscreens are created equally. So you've applied two tablespoons of tanning oil with UVB protection. You're covered, right? Wrong. UVB rays are the ones that cause burns, but UVA protection is for the aging rays, which are the ones that can lead to discolouration, wrinkles and fine lines. This is why it's so important to read the label and ensure there is broad spectrum protection with UVA and UVB protection.

5. The SPF in your makeup or facial moisturizer might not be enough protection. According to Health Canada, those types of products are considered secondary sunscreens, in that consumers use them primarily for cosmetic benefit (moisturizing, evening skin tone) rather than sun protection. Chances are, you aren't reapplying every 2 hours.

If you're looking for optimal sun protection throughout the entire day, you need to use these products as you would use a primary sunscreen and reapply every 2 hours.

I guess this explains those unsightly blobs on my face. I'm definitely going to take my sun protection even more seriously now. What about you?

With all of this in mind our staff has been busily testing a whole slew of sunscreen products. Stay tuned for a roundup of our favourites coming soon!

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16 Comments

	on June 21, 2012 Bren 26,031 said: After seeing a close friend go through treatment for skin cancer and see how much she suffered I was heart broken and much more cautious after that.After some treatments and her face was peeling and looked so sore and she was so embarrassed because people were staring at her like she had some disease but she was really strong and endured all the strange looks and the treatment and got herself cancer free.But so many times she would say how she wished she wasn't a sunbather in her teens and back then she did all the wrong things I think many of us did.I use to use Johnson's baby oil and spray sun-in into my hair and lay in the sun for hours a day.I got lucky.Nowadays we are so well informed about the dangers of sunbathing.Be safe! After supporting a friend through that horrible time I became more cautious.Always wearing a SPF sunscreen on my face and body,wearing hats and a good pair of sunglasses.But that sun still can sneak up on you.I don't think I actually have been wearing near enough sunscreen so it time to use more.Be careful girls in the sun, its nice to have a tan but getting skin cancer is not worth it at all! Thanks for a very important article Ali!
	on June 21, 2012 Becky 13,128 said: I started wearing my Smashbox BB Cream with SPF 35 everyday and feeling very good about myself! Now I'm not too sure ... I wonder if it protects against UVB and UVA rays? Hmm..
	on June 21, 2012 Tiffmorris 1,792 said: I think most people don't wear sunscreen as much as they should, myself included.
	on June 21, 2012 takoda 28,648 said: I'm really bad at not applying it. I do to my face and neck, but I hardly ever use it else where. I try to stay out of the sun as much as I can now, but I use to lay in the sun for hours. That is until one year I started to blister really bad. It was so bad we thought I was going to be scared for life. Thank God that wasn't the case, but I can't lay out in it any longer. I was stupid and tried again the next summer and blistered again! That time I learned my lesson!! I haven't sunbathed since and that's about 20 years ago now. I really do need to smarten up and use sunscreen everyday every where because we do have skin cancer in my family. I saw on TV that you need to use a large egg size amount every time you apply sunscreen. I thought that was a ton, but I guess these amounts would work out to about the same. I need to get into the sunscreen business! These companies will be making a ton of money if we all start using this much every two hours!! One bottle won't last one person a day in the sun, never mind a family of four like I have. I wish it wasn't so much money, I think more people would use it like they should if it was a lot less to buy, but that's just my opinion. I'm also wondering if the cheaper brands work just as well as the more expensive brands, so I hope you ladies test those as well as the more expensive brands.
	on June 21, 2012 midnightsun2288 6,053 said: I know for sure I don't apply enough sunscreen. On an everyday basis I apply moisturizer with SPF 15 and that's it. I am pretty sure I am not going to go through with the hassle of putting so much on, and every two hours? D:
	on June 21, 2012 KatelynRose1984 20,704 said: I'm definitely not applying enough sunscreen throughout the day, as I can start to see it on my skin. My skin tones are becoming a little patchy, with darker areas - and it's not cute! I was one of those people who used a moisturizer with SPF on my face, and thought that was enough.. Obviously it's not! I'm definitely going to be carrying a heavier sunscreen with me at all times, as my skin is valuable to me!