SPF- Did you know?

[Kimberlina]

I have been told by a couple pharmacists and a couple doctors that anything above SPF 30 doesn't make much of a difference. I wasn't sure I believed it, so I did a little research this AM and found this out:

Sun Protection Factor Proportion of UVB blocked
SPF 10 90.0%
SPF 20 95.0%
SPF 30 96.7%
SPF 60 97.0%

So, if this is correct, it looks like it is true- there is very little difference in blockage after you hit 30. Also, I read that there was a study, and higher numbers might actually be WORSE, because they (for whatever reason) don't block UVA as well as lower numbers. Since skin cancer runs rampant in my family, I'll stick with 30 to try to get the most effective broad-spectrum coverage, I guess.

Also, did you know that sunscreen refers to a chemical means of blocking the sun (say, parsol 1789 or whatever the number is) as opposed to sunblock, which refers to a physical barrier, like titanium dioxide? I think I used to know that, but forgot it, lol. I have been using the terms interchangeably.

[santoria]

thats interesting!

I knew the sunscreen vs sunblock difference but didn't know about the SPF realities...

[AGierald]

...and anything over SPF 8 stops your body's ability to produce vitamin D from the sun

thanks for the info!

[Kimberlina]

...and anything over SPF 8 stops your body's ability to produce vitamin D from the sun

Didn't know that- I just assumed any SPF would do that- I do try to get some sun before the sunscreen goes on me (and dd) for just that reason.

[homesteadmamma]

Kimberly, dh has skin cancer and his skin cancer specialist told him he needs to use 60 SPF. He uses nothing lower. For myself and the kids, we use 30 SPF.

[AGierald]

i would guess that someone with skin cancer has such senstivity to UV rays, that those few little percent points that dont matter for us, can really make a difference for him! Is it hard to find SPF 60? i dont remember seeing it often...

[homesteadmamma]

We get it at the drug store. I've seen it in a few places, not many though.

[Kimberlina]

Someone else whose niece had cancer told me that said niece needed to use SPF 70- I didn't even know it existed. I think for those of us without extenuating circumstances, though, it probably is too small a difference to matter. I don't really know. I just didn't believe that there was so little difference myself until I read what I did this morning.

My father has had a couple bouts with skin cancer. I don't think he uses anything above 30. I imagine his MD must not have told him to use higher. I guess it depends on the doctor. I think that if the study about UVA is true, that may be why, although it is the UVB that causes skin cancer, so you'd think they'd be more concerned about that. (UVA are the rays that cause aging.) I suppose the doc thinks it was all those years unshielded from the sun on the farm when my father was a kid, and not so much the current sun.

[babetteq]

Thanks for posting this... good to know. I've seen spf90 at the drug store that I work at. I still think that sunblocking fabric longsleeve shirts are probably the best bet... a hat... you know... cover up, find shade, etc...

[Nutter]

As far as SPF.. I was told the number simply is the number of minutes your a full sun protection.. beyond the number your at risk.. ex: SPF 30 means after 30 minutes your at risk by some percentage..

[Kimberlina]

Thanks for posting this... good to know. I've seen spf90 at the drug store that I work at. I still think that sunblocking fabric longsleeve shirts are probably the best bet... a hat... you know... cover up, find shade, etc...

I agree with you there- we use a combo of sunscreen or sunblock and shade. DD's surgeon told us to put the SPF30 on her, then a hat, and then some sunglasses (surgery site is just above her eye) and then stick her under an umbrella at the beach. No problem there- you'll always find me under my umbrella at the beach!

[Seraph]

I smear spf-60 sport/anti-sweat/waterproof lotion on my crew only because we live in Florida, they sweat a lot, he's a red-head (it's easier to listen to him whine for 5 minutes while I coat him than it is the whining and complaining for 2-3 weeks or more of his suffering from major burns) and she's a calico mix of blond and red and I'm taking no chances with her pretty little complexion already dotted with just a dusting of freckles.

I'm a natural blond and part vampire. I'm rarely found in direct sunlight. But when I am, I use Hawaiian Tropic dark tanning lotion with spf-4. The golden blond color my hair turns after prolonged exposure to the sun against the paper white skin color of so many years NOT exposed directly to the sun is just... too much for me. I look like death and I feel sick when I look in the mirror. The dark tanning lotion lets me optimize the minimal amounts of time I'm in the sun (maybe 6 hours a month, if that, and that's with accidental exposure such as walking out to the car or the mailbox) that are also good for my depression. Also, I've found that being in the sun without sunscreen or block of any sort (or at most spf-4) helps with the depression while being in the sun fairly well protected does pretty much nothing.

[YankeeMom]

I also just read in Reader's Digest that soon there will be SPF soap coming out on the market!!