With so much misinformation regarding sunscreens, I’m hoping that this information can help you make an intelligent choice the next time you choose a sunscreen product to protect you and your family from sunburn.
Be aware that eighty percent of premature wrinkling and aging are caused by excessive sun exposure. That exposure also promotes skin pigmentation. An additional concern is skin cancer, which can take years to show up.
Sunscreens can be classified as either physical or chemical.
Physical Sunscreen Characteristics:
- Dry, mineral powders
- Cover the skin–can be purchased in mineral makeup form for the face
- Basically invisible
- Stay on until you rub them off
- Reflect light away from your skin
- Immediately effective—no 30 minute wait
- Superior for sensitive skin and rosacea
- Contain no preservatives, artificial colors or fragrances which can irritate or sting sensitive skin
- Contain antioxidants to cool and heal skin
The protective ingredients, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, are mixed in with the minerals and lie on the surface of your skin.
Chemical Sunscreen Characteristics:
- Liquid form
- Penetrate your skin to absorb light
- No sun protection for the first 30 minutes
- Often contain preservatives, fragrance and color
- Can irritate sensitive skin
Why 30 minutes?
The chemicals in the liquid sunscreen need to be warmed up by your body temperature in order to enter your skin and become effective. That takes thirty minutes, thus the unprotected period. The same protective ingredients are used, usually zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.
UVA and UVB rays:
The damage to your skin—premature wrinkling, aging and skin pigmentation—are caused by the UVB and UVA rays of the sun.
The UVB rays are those that cause sunburn (remember B for burn).
The UVA rays penetrate to the dermis layer of your skin where blood vessels, collagen, and elastin are located. These components are damaged when the rays reach them which accelerates the aging process. (remember A for aging)
Both types of sunscreen protect against the burning rays.
The physical sunscreen protects against both types of rays as well as free radical damage by reflecting the sunlight away from the skin.
I hope that I’ve given you enough information for your next shopping trip to purchase sunscreen. The choice is yours, and now you can make a more informed choice.
Filed under: Esthetician Tagged: | chemical sunscreen, mineral sunscreen, physical sunscreen, premature aging, sunburn, UVA, UVB
You have provided some great information regarding sunblock. It really is a personal choice based on the pros and cons of each type. Regardless, the SPF value is the most critical as well as reapplying if out for an extended period of time. Thanks for writing about this critical topic.