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Article Series: Sunless Tanning
Enjoy a Healthy Looking Tan All Year Long
With A Sunless Tan
Skin
Types & SPF
Regardless
of ethnicity or skin color, skin that is repeatedly exposed
to the sun tends to become tough and thick. The results
can be leathery
skin
with
wrinkles as early as in your 40's.
What can help is using a sunscreen product with some degree
of
protection
from UV
rays, listed
as the concentration
on the
SPF (Sun Protection Factor) numbers on the products labels.
These sunscreen products can be made with ingredients
that offer protection
against UVA
rays and / or other ingredients to protect against UVB rays
(more harmful for
sun burning than UVA rays.) The best products offer ingredients
for protection from both UVA and UVB rays.
The SPF listed
on the product label refers to the length of time it will take
for your skin to redden after the product has been applied
vs. the length of time bare skin or skin without the product
would redden. To sum
that up,
the basic
math
involved in using the SPF number is like this. The SPF
number tells people how much
longer they can last out in the sun with protection for
their skin without being burned. For example, say you
would normally
burn after 12 minutes of being out in the sun. You apply
sunscreen, also referred
to as a sun block, with an SPF of 15. This means that you
should be fine for 15 times your average amount of protection
time.
In other
words, you
would
be protected for up to 3 hours.
Here is the formula
for calculating: 12 minutes x 15 SPF = 180 minutes
(3 hours).
So in short, sunscreen
products with a high SPF provide more protection against
the sun. Here is a closer look at different
skin types
and their preferred
SPFs:
Young
children For ages 6 months on up, you should
apply a product with an SPF of 15 or higher to protect
against both
sun
tanning and
burning. And
the product
label should list protection against both UVA and UVB
rays also known as the "broad-spectrum."
Skin Type
- Very Fair This skin type generally burns quickly.
Tanning is rare or not common. It
is recommended
that sunscreen
products for this skin type contain SPF 20 to 30.
Skin
Type Fair This skin type almost always burns
easily. Tanning can occur sometimes, but not much. It is
recommended that
sunscreen products
for this
skin type
contain SPF 12 to 20.
Skin Type
Light This skin type burns in the moderate
range. Tanning is normally gradual, yielding a
light brown shade.
It is recommended
that sunscreen
products for this skin type contain SPF 8 to 12.
Skin Type
Medium This skin type burns infrequently.
Tanning happens much of the time, yielding a
moderate brown
shade. It is
recommended that
sunscreen products for this skin type contain
SPF 4 to 8.
Skin Type
Dark This skin type rarely burns. Tanning
occurs big time, yielding a dark brown
shade. It
is recommended that sunscreen products
for this skin
type contain SPF 2 to 4.
Skin Type
Other - This skin type includes people with
moles or whose close blood-relatives
have
a history of
moles, people
with
skin cancer
in their
family histories, including melanoma, and
people with very fair skin and hair. Use
the highest SPF available combined with light
to moderate sun exposure, as this is a high-risk
category
for health
damage
from too much
UV exposure.
Note that regardless
of skin type, before going out into the suns rays, each
person
should
have the
most suitable
sunscreen
product
possible applied beforehand
for protection against UV rays. The product
should be spread fairly thick
and in a uniform manner for the best possible
UV protection over all areas of the
skin that will be exposed to the UV rays.
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