Sunscreen Facts you Should Know for Summer Travel

Summer is around the corner and that means more skin being exposed to the dangerous sun. It’s important that we take care of our skin by wearing sunscreen and covering up at times, because the sun can be deadly.  Simply wearing sunscreen will decrease the risk of developing skin cancer, so why are only 24 percent of American’s wearing it?

SPF isn’t just a number, be knowledgeable about sunscreen and be safe while having fun in the sun. Use this easy guide to sunscreen facts and fiction.

Broad Spectrum

Every sunscreen is different so know what exactly you are putting on your skin and be safer. For total coverage, look for “Broad Spectrum” on the bottle and know that you are protected from all the dangerous rays. This will keep you safe from UVA and UVB rays. The FDA makes these sunscreens go through extra testing to guarantee the protection against UV rays.

SPF 30 or Higher!

Yes, the golden number to sunscreen is SPF 30; this blocks 97 percent of the sun’s UV rays. SPF 15 only blocks out 93 percent but big dog SPF 50 blocks out 98 percent. Get your sun block game on point with SPF 50 and be sure that you are safe.

Darker Skin Still Needs Screen

Just because you have darker skin, doesn’t mean you can’t get skin cancer, so block up dude. The darkest skin tone only has a SPF of 13 while caucasian skin is a SPF 3. It’s silly to not use sunscreen when all the science says to wear it.

None are Actually Waterproof

Stop wasting extra money on sunscreen that say they are water or sweat proof none are completely waterproof. Manufacturers can’t say that anymore and now must claim they are water-resistant for up to 40 or 80 minutes.

Reapply after 2 hours

The best way to get around the fact that they aren’t waterproof is to reapply every two hours. If you want total coverage then reapplying is your only bet unless you want to wear a T-shirt in the water…yuck.

SPF 2-4 is Worthless

Why even bother with sunscreen SPF 2-4? Just apply butter to your skin because you are cooking dude. When you use an SPF that low you are basically just using body lotion and you are moisturizing your soon to be burnt to a crisp skin. The FDA is now making manufacturers put labels on these super low SPFs saying how they do not help fight against skin cancer.

SPF Doesn’t mean it’s Safe

SPF in theory stands for the amount of time you can stay in the sun without getting burned. This theory works on paper but in the real world the sun has differing powers. The sun is much more powerful the closer you are to the equator and depending on the time of day. The sun is most powerful form noon to 4 pm, so be aware that that is prime burning time.

No babies under 6 Months

Sunscreen isn’t safe for children especially babies. Instead of using sunscreen, try clothing and shade to keep your babies skins safe.

Cloudy Skies

Just because it’s cloudy out doesn’t mean you can get away without wearing protection. The sun’s harmful rays are more powerful during cloudy times, so you can really burn bad under a cloudy sky.

The more you know the better chance you have at keeping safe from that harmful sun, it’s such a jerk sometimes dude.