Each day, more people learn about the importance of wearing sunscreen whenever they\u2019re outdoors to shield themselves against the sun\u2019s harmful UV (ultraviolet) rays. While that news is heartening, getting that information out is only half of the battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If a user misunderstands how a sunscreen\u2019s Sun Protection Factor<\/em> (SPF) works, or if the product is incorrectly applied, the level of protection received can be considerably lower than he or she believes it to be. That can be very dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your mouthwash contained a lesser percentage of cinnamon flavor than you thought it did, it would make absolutely no difference as far as your health is concerned. However, if you walked around every day thinking you were wearing a sunscreen that provided more skin defense than it actually did, that mistaken notion could end up resulting in skin cancer. Or, even worse, the potentially deadly melanoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\u2019d like to help clear up this confusion. There is a view held by many that, because an SPF 50 sunscreen absorbs 98% of UVB radiation while an SPF 100 sunscreen absorbs 99%, just 1% more, the SPF 100 sunscreen offers hardly any advantage over the SPF 50 sunscreen. That\u2019s a misinterpretation of the facts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If an SPF 100 sunscreen is correctly applied and continually re-applied every two hours at a minimum, (or immediately after swimming or profuse sweating) it\u2019ll provide adequate skin protection for double the amount of time that a SPF 50 sunscreen will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are other ways that we inadvertently end up leaving ourselves vulnerable to those dangerous UV rays. We\u2019ll go over a few here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s the rare person who applies an amount of sunscreen sufficient enough to reach the SPF level touted by the product. And, whether they do or not, most don\u2019t re-apply it as needed- if they even re-apply it at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every time you use sunscreen, the goal should be to cover every sun-exposed inch of skin. If you\u2019re in a swimsuit, the necessary quantity is enough to fill a shot glass. In fact, instead of guessing, consider simply using an actual shot glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, independent studies have shown that an alarming number of sunscreen brands don\u2019t meet the SPF ratings that their packages trumpet. It\u2019s important to do a little online research on your favorite brand to see if the claimed SPF is accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Finally, it bears repeating. You\u2019ve probably heard that famous real estate slogan, it\u2019s all about location, location, location!<\/em> With sunscreen, think re-application, re-application, re-application!<\/em> If you\u2019re going to be spending time outdoors, re-application is as important as applying sunscreen is to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If a user misunderstands how a sunscreen\u2019s Sun Protection Factor (SPF) works, or if the product is incorrectly applied, the level of protection received can be considerably lower than he or she believes it to be. That can be very dangerous.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[31,43,64,72,79],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1125,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297\/revisions\/1125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/melanomaeducation.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Don\u2019t Get Burned, Either Literally or Figuratively<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
But Wait, There\u2019s More!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
*<\/strong>Additional source: Melanoma Education Foundation (MEF) Fall 2016 Newsletter<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"