How Does Sunscreen Work?

How Does Sunscreen Work?

The sun is an essential part of our everyday life. It is responsible for the different functions that occur in the skin ensuring you have a healthy, nourished and radiant looking skin. However, the sun can also be responsible for different radical damages to the skin including sunburns, breakage and peeling off among others. To prevent such conditions, you are advised to monitor your exposure to the sun and apply sunscreen on a regular basis. Sunscreen prevents penetration of sunrays that can harm the skin. Many people have no idea how it works and therefore, here is a brief description of how sunscreen works.

Constituents or Sunscreen Composition

Sunscreens just like many other beauty products or cosmetics are composed of different ingredients. The ingredients are responsible for different functions. The best sunscreen for women and men contain ingredients that either reflect sunrays or that absorb the sun rays preventing them from reaching the skin. These constituents include both organic such as carbon based sunscreen ingredients, which absorb sunrays, break the rays down and release the residue in form of heat and inorganic sunscreens that scatter or reflect the sunrays.

  • Inorganic chemicals

These include ingredients such as Titanium dioxide and Zinc oxide

  • Organic chemicals

These include ingredients such as

  • Oxybenzone and Avobenzone
  • Para-aminobenzoic
  • Octyl methoxycinnamate
  • Cinnamates acid
  • Benzophenones

SPF Number

It is hard to determine the right sunscreen SPF number for you since the number does not matter that much. This is because the numbers efficiency when is used has not been verified to differ. Sunscreen is classified into two i.e. broad-spectrum sunscreens that protect the skin from all sunrays including UVB and UVA rays. The other is of low SPF number that is also essential in protecting the skin against sunrays. UVA rays are responsible for causing premature skin wrinkling, appearance of age spots and dark spots or discolorations on the skin and increases chances of acquiring skin cancer. UVB rays also can do a lot of damage, are responsible for sunburns on the skin, and cause cancer of the skin as well.

When purchasing a sunscreen, it is good to identify the best sunscreen for women, men and by doing it, you will be protecting against skin damage and preventing occurrence of skin cancer. Check the type of spectrum the sunscreen has, and the number as well. The number comes in due to the time factor and some have been said to last longer. However, do not take that in stride and have yourself protected at all times.

Frequency of application

For sunscreen to work, it has to re-applied every now and then. This is not efficient and in most cases, people tend to forget. Sunscreen applied during the morning routine losses its strength after a period of around 2 hours. Regardless of the sunscreen’s SPF or its spectrum, regardless of the weather that is outside i.e. cloudy or sunny, it is important to ensure that your skin is protected. By re applying the sunscreen, you increase the sunscreens ability to work and its ability to protect you is further advanced. Therefore, sunscreens work by being in contact with the skin on a continuous basis, preventing any form of penetration and ensuring you are safe from harmful sunrays.

Misconceptions

As an individual, you have to know and differentiate between facts and myths in regards to the use of sunscreens. Women especially are prone to listening to some of these facts, which may lead to improper use, which leads to ineffectiveness in how the sunscreen works. These misconceptions expose you to ultraviolet light that many are trying to protect you from. Sunscreen prevents entry of these specific rays into the body with the help of unique ingredients that are introduced into the body and by purchasing the best sunscreen for women and men. By understanding, keeping a list of the misconception to remind you of your daily functions and limiting actual exposure to the sun is one of the ways to limit skin damage by the sun.

Conclusion

Each day, we walk, sit, socialize and others live under the sun for long periods during the day. Many are the times that we are not protected and we have no idea that we are not. This is one of the reasons why sunscreen was introduced. The increased reports in regards to sunburns and other skin conditions as a result has increased awareness on using the best sunscreen out there in the world. Sunscreens work and their capability to protect you from the rays of the sun are unquestionable. It is in your best interests to ensure that you are protected at all times by using sunscreen.