How to Choose the Best Sunscreen

Protection from sunburns and guarding against skin cancer is very important and there are several principles that can help you in finding the best protection for your skin type.

The abbreviations on the bottles can be misleading if you don't know what these really mean. Let's see some useful tips in choosing the proper sunscreen.

SPF

These letters refer to Sun Protection Factor, which would ideally mean that the higher the number is the greater protection these offer.

However it is not 100% true, in fact it shows you how much you can stay in the sun. If you tend to burn after 15 minutes spent in the sun, an SPF 15 will give you the chance to stay 15 times longer than this.

Depending on the your purpose choose the sunscreen in the following way:

For daily use purchase an SPF15 which offers a decent protection to your skin and can be worn even under your daily makeup.

This factor works properly for most people, however if you have a sensitive skin you should opt for a higher SPF.

If you expose your skin to sun for a longer span of time choose an SPF30. This sunscreen will be strong enough to protect your skin from burning.

It was tested by the specialists several times, SPF15-30 proved to be the most effective when it comes to sun-exposure.

UVB/UVA protection

These rays can do a lot of harm to your skin if you don't know how to protect yourself from them. UVB rays can cause skin cancer and serious burns, on the other hand UVA rays damage the skin's elasticity, generating early aging.

Choose only sunscreens that offer higher protection from these rays.
It is essential to look at the packaging and ingredients.

Proper sunscreens that protect your skin from UVA rays should contain Titanium Oxide, Zinc Oxide and Avobenzone.

UVB actives that should be found in good sunscreens include: Octisalate, Homosalate, Oxybenzone and Ensulizole.

Don't let yourself misled by other ingredients and appealing packages, look at labels.

Water resistance

It is always recommended to buy a water resistant sunscreen especially for active people. However it doesn't mean that you must not apply it several times during exposure to sun, but that it will protect your skin even when swimming.

Water resistant sunscreens offer more than 40 minutes protection while in water.
Give your skin 20 minutes to absorb the sunscreen.
This is the ideal time for a guaranteed result, apply it to your skin, 20-30 minutes before you dip into water.