Sun-Safe Tip Round Up
As we approach the end of Skin Cancer Awareness month, here are the most important things we want you to take with you into the summer. We know you have probably heard them before, but they bear repeating, and it is good to know why.
-Apply sunscreen in the morning and reapply every 2 hours. This recommendation from the FDA is largely directed at sunscreens containing chemical sunscreen ingredients, and is not as critical if you are wearing a mineral sunscreen like BRUSH ON BLOCK® Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30, but it is still best-practice. With chemical sunscreens, it is critical, as they lose their effectiveness after 2 hours.
-Avoid the sun between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm. This is when the sun's rays are the strongest, and even with sunscreen, you can burn more quickly than you think.
-Keep babies under the age of 6 months out of the sun. All sunscreens should say "Children under 6 months, ask a doctor." This is because young babies do not yet regulate their body temperature well, and over-heating is a very real possibility. Combine that with their beautiful skin, and you really just need to cover them up or take them inside.
-Wear a hat and sunglasses. Eyes can be damaged by the sun just as skin can. Wearing polarized sun glasses goes a long way to protect your eyes, but sun still comes in between the glasses and your face. A hat will not only keep your skin looking younger longer, but will keep your eyes protected from that gap!
-Use Sun-Protective clothing. When you've had enough sun, it is easy to slip on a loose-fitting long-sleeved shirt to stay out of the rays. But not all clothing is created equal. Look for items that have a UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) rating. Two of our favorites are Summer Skin and Cabana Life!
-Remember, there is no such thing as a safe tan. Tanned skin is damaged skin. If you long for the look of a tan, look at self-tanning products or bronzing products. (The difference between the two is that a bronzing product washes away when wet, as self-tanning product lasts through washing and fades slowly like a real tan.)
-SPF 30 is your sweet-spot. Doctors recommend wearing at least an SPF 30 in the summer. But while a SPF 30 protects you from 96.7% of the sun's rays, an SPF 50 protects from only 98%, so less than 2% more. The increase is even smaller as you go above SPF 50, and no sunscreen protects you from 100% of the sun's rays. Don't be fooled into thinking that the higher the SPF you wear, the less often you need to reapply.
-Protect the top of your head. If you are not wearing a hat, keep in mind that bald spots, parts, thin areas, backs of ears and necks are all susceptible to burn. A powder sunscreen like Brush On Block is perfect to apply to those areas because it won't make your hair greasy.
-Reapply if you Dry! Many sunscreens like Brush On Block are water-resistant, but if you towel-dry after sweating or going in the water, you remove the sunscreen. So if you dry off your skin, reapply your sunscreen immediately.
-Wear sunscreen every day. Even if it is cloudy, UVA rays are hitting you at nearly the same rate. These rays can cause skin cancer, and you still need protection. At Brush On Block, we hope you will choose our sunscreen, but the most important thing is that you wear a sunscreen.
