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Sunscreen
Sunscreen is one of the effective ways in sun protection to protect your skin from the long term and short tern damage of the sunrays. It should be used with other sun care steps for optimal sun protection.
The effective ingredient of sunscreen is the combination of organic and inorganic active ingredients. Inorganic ingredients (e.g. zinc oxide or titanium oxide) reflect or scatter ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Organic ingredients (e.g. octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC) or oxybenzone) absorb UV radiation, dissipating it as heat. Some sunscreens protect your skin from the all two UV radiation. Both UV-A and UV-B cause sunburns and damaging effects such as skin cancer.
What are the differences among UV-A, UV-B and UV-C?
- UV-A: The longest wavelength and not absorbed by the ozone. It penetrates the skin deeper than UV-B.
- UV-B: Responsible for sunburns. It is partially blocked by the ozone layer.
- UV-C: This is totally absorbed by the earth's atmosphere; we encounter it only from artificial radiation sources.
When choosing sunscreen, looking for the SPF (Sun Protection Factor), which measures the efficiency of the sunscreen formula, limits skin exposure to UV-B rays. The higher the SPF the more protection the sunscreen will provide against UV-B rays. Remember, SPF does not measure UV-A. Find yourself a product with a broad-spectrum protection if you are looking for UV-A protection.
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