What is the Best SPF for Your Skin?

It's almost summer and it's time to prepare yourselves for the hot sun and for lots of sun time at the beach! But whether you're on the beach or just playing Frisbee outside, you have to remember that too much exposure to the sun's UV rays is bad for you. In fact, it has been proven to cause skin cancer.

So, an essential part of your regimen when going outdoors during the summer is to put on sunscreen or sun block to protect your skin from the harmful effects of UV rays. With the wide array of sun protection products out there, how do you know the right one to protect you? This is quite easy, just look at the SPF on the label to check if it suits your skin type. SPF (Sun Protection Factor) is the most important thing to look at when you're looking for the right sunscreen to buy. So what exactly is it?

In layman's terms, SPF tells you the amount of protection your skin will have against UV rays when the product is applied. It also tells you how long you can stay out in the sun without the UV rays penetrating your skin and causing sunburn. This depends on your skin type as the amount of time for someone to get sun burnt varies. So for instance, the product states SPF 15, this means that if your skin usually gets tan after 15 minutes, then you can multiply that by 15 and that's the number of minutes you can stay out in the sun without getting a sunburn. So that's 225 minutes. This is why it is also advisable for sunscreens to be applied after a certain number of hours as its effect wears off.

The recommended SPF is usually 15-30 because any higher will only have the same effect. Research shows that SPF15 already gives your skin 92% protection from UV rays. But if you think you have been to the beach a number of times already, for your protection from developing skin cancer, it's advised that you don't stay out in the sun too long. It's a good thing that if you want to be tan, there are always sunless tanning products that you can try that will still give you that natural looking tan.

Summer is always fun. But the heat from the sun and the UV rays that it emits are bad for you. So it is recommended to use sunscreen with an SPF of 15-30, depending on how fast your skin burns. It's also better to alternate sunbathing with the use of sunless tanning products so that your skin won't absorb too much UV rays.