The Sunscreen Product Minefield
Natural Medicine South Africa|January/February 2018

Dr Sandi Nye‘Wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.’ ~ Mary Schmich, 1997

Dr Sandi Nye
The Sunscreen Product Minefield

SUN PROTECTION FACTORS

Zealous advertisers advocate sunscreen products with sun protection factors (SPFs) ranging from 15 to 100+. But how much of this is scientifically validated, and how much is spin-doctoring taking advantage of fearful and gullible consumers? Is an SPF of 100 really twice as good as one of 50, or even 30 or 15 for that matter? The short answer is no. The numbers do not compute that simply, as we will see.

SPF refers to a sunscreen’s ability to block ultraviolet B (UVB) rays, as well as to how long it would take someone to burn in the sun with and without sun protection. Some sunscreens, however, only protect us from UVB rays – those that cause superficial skin burning. They don’t block ultraviolet A (UVA) rays – the radiation that suppresses the immune system, harms connective tissue, causes deeper skin damage and elevates the risk of melanoma. In general, both UVB and UVA rays contribute to skin cancer risk.

This story is from the January/February 2018 edition of Natural Medicine South Africa.

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This story is from the January/February 2018 edition of Natural Medicine South Africa.

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