by dhwriting

Created on: July 17, 2010

Wear A High SPF Sunscreen Whenever You Venture Outside, No Matter What Type of Skin You Have

What's the short and sweet answer to the question of when to wear sunscreen? Wear it whenever you go outside, whether it's sunny, partly cloudy or even raining. Global warming and the slow but steady erosion of Earth's protective ozone layer have made sunscreen an essential tool in preventing skin damage and eventual skin cancer.

We probably all know at least one person who wears tanning oil when they're out in the sun – or at least used to. Tanning gives your skin that beautiful golden-brown color that looks healthy and attractive, but in actuality, intentionally tanning is one of the worse things you can do to your skin.

In the past, achieving that tanned glow was an ambition shared by millions of people. Now, however, there's a lot of publicity about how tanned skin is not healthy skin. In fact, we now know that the darker color of tanned skin indicates it's been damaged by the sun. Recognizing this fact, most people in today's world do not intentionally tan, choosing to do what they can to prevent their skin from being damaged by the sun's harmful UV rays.

Sunscreen serves the opposite purpose of tanning oil. While tanning oil concentrates harmful UV rays and increases your skin's “tan-ability,” sunscreen reflects, refracts or blocks UV rays and decreases your chances of suffering skin damage while you're out in the sun. The sun protection factor (SPF) you see on a sunscreen's label indicates how much protection your skin will receive after you apply that product. For example, if you apply a medium-SPF sunscreen such as SPF 30, your skin can be exposed to thirty times more UV rays without burning or being damaged as it could if you didn't wear any sunscreen at all.

Sunscreens are available in a wide range of different SPF levels, from SPF 2 to 60 and even higher. People with fair, sensitive skin should always wear a high SPF sunscreen to avoid burning. People with olive or darker complexions can use a sunscreen with a lower SPF, but even blacks, latinos and other darker-skinned people should use some type of sunscreen whenever they venture out into the sun's damaging rays.

Of course, no one wants skin cancer. Wearing a high SPF sunscreen can help prevent it, but it can also prevent you from leathery skin or developing unsightly wrinkles and spots on your skin from overexposure to the sun. Make sure the sunscreen or sunblock you use protects you from both types of UV rays: UVA and UVB.

You should also remember that no sunscreen will work indefinitely. A generous amount must be applied thoroughly about fifteen minutes before you go outside. Within a couple of hours you'll need to re-apply it if you'll remain outside. You should also re-apply your sunscreen whenever you've been sweating heavily or swimming.

By wearing a high SPF sunscreen whenever you venture outdoors, you'll help keep your skin healthier, both now and in the future. The fear of future skin cancer will be substantially reduced, and in the meantime you'll never have to experience a painful sunburn and blistering.

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