Sunscreen in Florida

There are tons of products on the market that claim to erase wrinkles and lift sagging skin. The demand for younger looking skin is huge. However, the best way to stay looking young as you get older is to prevent damage to your skin in the first place. If you had to choose just one product to do that, it would have to be sunscreen. If you aren’t using the right sunscreen or applying it correctly, though, you won’t be getting all the possible benefits it has to offer. Let’s go over some facts about sunscreen in Florida and how it works so that you can get the most benefit.

  1. You should apply sunscreen 365 days a year.

Most people apply sunscreen when they know they will be outside on a sunny day. However, any time you see sunlight, your skin is being affected by UV rays. Even if you work inside all day, whenever you walk outside or ride in your car or even go near a window with sunlight streaming in, your skin is being damaged. So, make sure you are applying sunscreen to your face and, ideally, any other exposed skin every single day. UV rays can also make their way through cloud cover, so cloudy days are no excuse to skip, either.

  1. To get true SPF coverage, you must apply enough product.

Your sunscreen says it has SPF 15, so you spread a thin layer across your skin and think you covered, right? Wrong! You need full coverage to get full protection. You should spread a generous layer of sunscreen in Florida across your face daily. But, your tinted moisturizer or foundation has SPF, so you’re covered, right? Wrong again. The same holds true for products with SPF in them. You are almost definitely not putting on enough to get the full SPF protection as stated on the label.

  1. The SPF value of your sunscreen only indicates who it protects from UVB rays.

UV, or ultraviolet, rays are the damaging part of sunlight. UVB rays cause sunburns. UVA are just as damaging but do not cause any immediate visible damage like UVB rays do. The higher the SPF value, the higher the percentage of UVB rays a sunscreen will block, but the numbers and percentages do not increase at the same rate. SPF 15 blocks about 93% of UVB rays, whereas SPF 50 blocks 98%. There is no evidence that anything over SPF 50 protects against a higher percentage than that. In order to get protection from both UVA and UVB rays, look for a product with an SPF of at least 15 that says it offers broad spectrum protection. This will block the highest amount of damaging rays.

Applying sunscreen in Florida daily may seem annoying but remember, sun damage is cumulative. Every little bit of protection helps to keep your skin looking younger longer. It is much easier, not to mention cheaper, to prevent the damage before it happens than it is to repair it after the fact.