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Sunscreen 101: The Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Best Sunscreen
10 minute read
Choosing a face sunscreen seems like a super simple task… That is, until you get to the sunscreen aisle where you’re bombarded with rows of shelves and bucket loads of different brands and types of sunscreens or sunblock. Suddenly, you’re no longer just trying to choose a sunscreen; you’re just totally overwhelmed reading labels filled with words you don’t understand and, without a sample or tester, on a fast track to a game of trial and error.
Most of us know the nostalgic feeling of applying a sunscreen once upon a summer that you couldn’t stand the texture or smell of. To avoid ever experiencing that “sunscreen feeling” again, what tends to happen in future when we choose makeup or skincare creams is a default preference for products that contain a very low SPF factor or, worse case scenario, avoiding this life-saving step entirely.
In this article we will cover the multiple topics below to have you better understand the importance of sun protection and the difference between the types of sun protection so that you can choose the best sunscreen for you.
Why Should I Wear Sunscreen Every Day?
Incorporating sunscreen into your daily routine is a small step that offers many skin health benefits. Wearing sunscreen every day is important for several reasons:
- Protection from UV Rays: Sunscreen protects your skin from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. UVA rays can prematurely age your skin, causing wrinkles and age spots, while UVB rays can burn your skin. Both types of UV rays can cause skin cancer.
- Prevention of Skin Cancer: Daily use of sunscreen can significantly reduce your risk of developing skin cancers, including melanoma, which is one of the deadliest forms of skin cancer.
- Preventing Premature Aging: Applying body and face sunscreen helps prevent photoaging, which includes the development of fine lines, wrinkles, and age spots. The sun's rays can accelerate the aging process, leading to more noticeable signs of aging.
- Maintaining Even Skin Tone: Regular use of face sunscreen helps prevent discoloration and dark spots caused by sun damage, leading to a more even and radiant skin tone. Wearing Sunscreen every day is an absolute non-negotiable when you’re using active skincare ingredients such as Retinol to prevent aging and Niacinamide for skin brightening.
- Year-Round Protection: UV rays are present year-round, not just during summer. Even on cloudy or rainy days, up to 80% of UV rays can penetrate your skin. Wearing sunscreen daily ensures consistent protection.
- Shields Skin from Increased Sensitivity: Sunscreen protects skin using active ingredients by shielding it from increased sensitivity to UV radiation, preventing sunburn, hyperpigmentation, and further damage. Check out our Ultimate Guide on Active Skincare Ingredients to learn more!
- Protects Weakened and Damaged Skin Barrier: Sunscreen helps a damaged skin barrier by providing a protective layer that shields the skin from harmful UV rays, preventing further damage and allowing the skin to heal and repair itself. Learn how to look out for 5 Signs of A Damaged Skin Barrier.
- Avoiding Sunburn: Sunscreen can prevent sunburns, which are not only painful but also increase your risk of long-term skin damage and skin cancer.
What Is the Difference Between Sunscreen and Sunblock?
The difference between a sunscreen and a sunblock come down to the ingredients used for the Sun Protection Factor (SPF). The most important marker for a good body and face sunscreen or sunblock is broad spectrum protection, as this covers both UVA and UVB rays. Sunscreen can offer both UVA and UVB protection however, the ingredients and percentage used will determine whether your sunscreen is covering you with broad spectrum protection. Sunblock on the other hand offers both UVA and UVB broad spectrum protection.
A sunscreen, as the name implies, screens the skin. As UV rays reach the skin, the chemical ingredients of the sunscreen absorb the UV rays preventing any damage to the DNA of your cells. DNA damage is what can lead to skin cancers and the chemical absorption of the UV rays is what prevents this from occurring. The most common chemical ingredients used in sunscreen are avobenzone, octinoxate and oxybenzone. Sunscreens are white but once applied to the skin become transparent as they absorb directly into the skin: this process can take up to 30 minutes until the protection against UV commences.
Sunblock, as its name implies, blocks UV rays from entering the skin. Natural ingredients such as zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are used in sunblock and work by reflecting both UVA and UVB rays from entering the skin. The easiest way to identify between a sunscreen or sunblock is to check the ingredients listed. Whilst generally white or tan based (tinted), sunblock is traditionally thicker in consistency and can leave a white hue to the skin due to the protective barrier that coats the skin for UV reflection. Innovative formulations now use micronized zinc and titanium dioxide that offers light weight application for an often barely-there finish with sunblock ingredients offering instant protection and reflection of UV once applied to the skin.
Choosing a face sunscreen or face sunblock is just as important as choosing a body sunscreen or sunblock. Whichever option you decide is the best sunscreen for you, remember it is vital your choice offers broad spectrum protection.
What Are the Factors in Choosing the Best Sunscreen for My Skin?
Your skin type and condition, as well as the amount of time you spend in the sun are the biggest factors to take into consideration when choosing the best sunscreen or sunblock for your skin.
If your skin is innately more sensitive or reactive it would be best to opt for a sunblock given the natural mineral ingredients; zinc oxide and titanium dioxide also offering anti-inflammatory and skin repairing benefits. Given the protective healing nature of the ingredients used in sunblock this is the best choice for those sensitive, inflamed, acne prone and oily skins, as well as those more conscious about the possible irritations and toxicity of some chemicals used in sunscreen. Thankfully with diverse formulations available now, gone are the days of thick zinc sunscreen sticks with many ranges offering light weight and cream-based sunblock to protect and nurture many different types of skin.
If you swim, spend time in the surf at the beach and a lot of time outdoors it will be important that you choose either a sunscreen or sunblock that is water resistant and regardless of SPF 30 or 50 that you are reapplying every 2 hours.
What Is the Difference Between SPF 30 and SPF 50 Sunscreen?
The difference between an SPF 30 and SPF 50 sunscreen comes down to not only the length of time that it protects your skin against the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation but also the amount of UV it allows into the skin.
SPF 30 offers 97% protection against UV, allowing 3% of UV to enter the skin while SPF 50 sunscreen offers 98% protection against UV, allowing for 2% of UV to enter the skin. Whilst this may not seem like a lot, it is still a stronger protection. However, the focus should be on the length of time each SPF 30 and 50 offer this 97% and 98% UV protection.
The general rule of thumb is that SPF 30 will protect your skin from burning and damage for 30 times longer than it would usually take you to burn without any sun protection with a SPF 50 sunscreen protecting you 50 times longer.
Confusing right? Let us break it down a little further: If your skin takes 5 minutes to burn in direct sunlight without any SPF, then SPF 30 would protect you for 150 minutes (5 minutes x 30 = 150), whereas a SPF 50 sunscreen would protect you for 250 minutes.
Now, you might look at those stats and think “oh well, SPF 50 it is!”. However, you must also remember that often those who use SPF 50 sunscreen feel somewhat bulletproof in the sun and can easily forget to reapply. Reapplying your sunscreen or sunblock is without a doubt the most effective way to prevent the damage that can occur from excessive UV exposure.
How Much Sunscreen Should I Be Using?
The Cancer Council Australia suggest that 5ml (one teaspoon) is required for each body part equating to a total of 35ml (approximately 7 teaspoons) for a full body application and each subsequent reapplication. That 5ml is for your face sunscreen (including neck and ears), each leg, each arm, front of body and back of body. Obviously, all bodies range in size and so this can be tricky to get an exact amount that suits everyone, however, a good guideline to follow and think about next time you’re applying your SPF.
The Australian Sunscreen Standards
Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, and so the Australian government has understandably the strictest requirements for sunscreen, and this is a highly regulated arena run by the Therapeutic Goods of Australia (TGA) with Australian made sunscreen and sunblock being some of the best SPFs in the world.
The regulatory requirements are that sunscreen or sunblock sold in Australia must be broad spectrum and labelled with an SPF rating of at least 4 to the highest rating of 50+. SPFs labelled 30, 40 and 50 can range between 30-59 in SPF protection and offer high broad-spectrum protection, with 50+ ranging from 59 or higher and offering very high protection.
For a sunscreen or sunblock to be sold as sunscreen or sunblock it must meet Australian standards of broad-spectrum protection through the TGA. It is illegal to claim SPF or sell a sunscreen product as a sunscreen in Australia without TGA approval.
How Do I Incorporate a Face Sunscreen in My Skincare Routine?
There are many formulations of skincare and makeup that include an SPF factor however, they generally contain very low amounts of the active ingredients that offer the broad-spectrum protection. For this reason, we recommend a standalone SPF to be applied directly over the top of your morning hydrator once it has absorbed.
Still unsure about how to add SPF to your skincare routine? Check out our ultimate guide on How to Layer Skincare Products!
O COSMEDICS Mineral Pro Range
The O COSMEDICS Mineral Pro SPF range offers 30 and 50 zinc sunscreen both in standalone formulations that are applied over the top of hydrators. The SPF 30 zinc sunscreen contains 21.5% pure zinc oxide and comes in both a tinted and un-tinted light weight, oil free, water-based lotion.
The SPF 50 zinc sunscreen contains 24.98% pure zinc oxide and comes in both a tinted and un-tinted medium weight, oil-based texture. The zinc particles in both the 30 and 50 are micronized and both formulations also contain Vitamin E and Kakadu Plum Extract for superior antioxidant protection and skin healing properties.
Finding the best sunscreen or sunblock for your skin, one that you enjoy wearing, that you will happily and consistently reapply every 1-2 hours and offers broad spectrum protection is the utmost important factor when choosing your SPF.
Shop O COSMEDICS Mineral Pro Sunscreen Range
