Sunscreen is gaining a lot of popularity these days as an essential step in the skincare routine. Sunscreen protects the skin from cancer, sunburn, tanning and ageing. Deciding which sunscreen is best, is hence, an important decision to make. Through this blog, we will dive in to decode the terminologies related to sunscreen like broad spectrum protection, SPF & PA Ratings, and help you choose the best sunscreen.
What do SPF and PA Ratings Mean?
Sun’s harmful rays that reach us and cause damage to the skin are UVA and UVB rays. If you’re wondering how a broad spectrum sunscreen fits in this information, let’s first take a look at what SPF and PA are to connect the dots.
SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor, which is a measure of how much solar energy is required to cause sunburn on unprotected skin vs when wearing sunscreen. SPF protects the skin against UVB rays of the sun and as the SPF value increases, the sunburn protection increases.
PA on the other hand stands for Protection Grade of UVA and measures sun protection against UVA rays. It is measured from PA + to PA ++++, with PA+++ or higher providing 8-16 times UVA protection.
Why Use a Broad Spectrum Sunscreen?
A broad spectrum sunscreen is the one that provides protection from both UVA and UVB rays of the Sun. It protects the skin against skin cancer, sunburn, tanning, and ageing. A sunscreen with ‘broad spectrum protection’ mentioned in the packaging and with the protection of both SPF 50 & PA +++ is a must to get sun protection both indoors and outdoors.
Pro-Tip: Apply Sunscreen 15-30 minutes before Sun Exposure
Sunscreen takes time to get absorbed in the skin, it is thus important to apply sunscreen 15-30 minutes before stepping outdoors. Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours for effective sun protection throughout the day.
Takeaway
Just lathering up a sunscreen is not enough, make sure that the sunscreen offers broad spectrum protection against both UVA and UVB rays with both SPF 50 and PA+++ protection.