Tag Sunscreen

Sun, Sun, Sunny Days

Michael 5 Comments

We are having some sunny, sunny, sunny days. Days meant for the liberal use of SPF 50. Or higher even?

Controversy of controversies, people are arguing about sun screen! Fifty years ago if we wanted sunscreen we wore hats and long sleeve shirts outdoors. Did you think those baseball uniforms were just a fashion statement? If you slathered anything on your skin it was most likely a splash of Coppertone or Sea & Ski hoping for a deep, dark tan rather than hoping to not get skin cancer.

Today, everybody knows of the dangers of overexposure to the sun and the significant health consequences that go beyond cosmetic considerations. But still people question. For some reason, all countries don’t use the same rating system for sunscreens but most people recognize the SPF ratings even if they all don’t know what those numbers mean. Like nutrition and politics, many people are content to get their skin protection news and information from late night TV and underemployed comedians.

It’s been established that SPF 15 blocks 93% of UF-A rays, those rays that are responsible for skin damage including melanoma. Does SPF 30 protect the skin from twice as many sun rays? Yes and no. The companies that don’t make products with higher SPF ratings will tell you that you can’t block more than 100% of anything. And darned if they aren’t true. And they continued to be true until they came up with their own SPF 30 which blocks 97% of those rays or an SPF 50 product blocking 98%. Let’s review. A jump in 15 SPFs increases the protection by 4% then the next 20 of those SPFs got us just another 1%. So where does that leave the new SPF 100 with its mammoth leap of 50 SPF thingies?

Instead, let’s look at what those SPF numbers are. Although you can quantify how much blockage they impart, that number on your sunscreen bottle isn’t a reflection of sun blocking. It’s actually the Sun Protection Factor or an estimation of how long you can stay exposed to the sun. An SPF 15 sunscreen means you can be in the sun for 15 minutes before you experience the damage unprotected skin experiences in one minute. SPF 30 gives you 30 minutes of exposure before seeing that damage, and so on.

You don’t double the amount of sun blocked by doubling the SPF but you double the time you can be in the sun without incurring the amount of damage your skin will experience. Or before having to reapply to extend that time.

CoppertoneOh, another thing about sunscreens. Those SPF numbers were calculated based on exposure to UV-A rays, the ones that cause potential skin cancers and other damage. Old fashioned sun burn is caused by UV-B rays. Not to worry though. Find a sunscreen that says it is “broad spectrum” and protects against both.

Umm, until you get wet. Then, you probably want to reapply regardless if how long it’s been since you last slathered.

We now return you to your regular program. Or to the sun porch.

 

Sights Unseen

Michael Leave a comment

Our most recent post noting that the days have now begun to get shorter (very slightly, but shorter) notwithstanding, tomorrow is National Sunglasses Day!

Probably National Sunglasses Day is the brainchild of one, another, several, or all of the sunglass companies to sell more sunglasses.  We wonder why a company would have to encourage the purchase and use of sunglasses in the middle of summer.  That’s one of the best times for them.  But we digress.

People who bother to write about these kinds of things (present posters excluded) seem to relish in mentioning that 14th century Chinese judges shielded their eyes with smoked quartz so as to not give away their emotions.   Not unlike 21st century poker players who do just about the same thing although more probably with hundreds of dollars designer glasses.

However, all those writers (again, present posters excluded) fail to mention that even before written records were made, Inuit hunters were wearing goggle type shields made of walrus ivory to protect their eyes from the harsh rays of the prehistoric sun.  Since that is after all the same sun we stare at, we should take a cue from those northern hunters and shield our eyes when we are outside because sun damage really isn’t cool.  Take it from the breakfast sausage people’s television commercial – didn’t anybody ever tell you not to stare at the sun?

Even on cloudy days you can experience some sun damage to your eyes if they aren’t properly protected.  A light or amber tint can help filter UVA and UVB rays (just like a sunscreen) without impairing your visual acuity.  The same goes for needing protection at dawn and dusk.

National Sunglasses Day might come at the end of June but your eyes need protection during the winter months also.  So if you’re going to invest in a new pair of sunglasses tomorrow, make it a double, pick up a sun visor clip for your car, mount one of your new pair on the clip, and be ready for some stylish protection whether day, evening, June, or January.

The last thing you want is to make your visual searches return sights unseen.  While you’re protecting your skin from those harmful sun rays don’t forget to pamper your eyes.  You can’t rub sunscreen onto your eyeballs but you can go out and pick up some physical protection.  And look cool while doing it!

Now, that’s what we think. Really. How ‘bout you?