Why you should wear sunscreen everyday

3 min read

Your skin is your body’s largest organ and it needs the best protection against the harsh effects of the environment. Constant exposure to the sun’s ultra violet (UV) rays can lead to skin damage such as wrinkles, age spots and skin cancer. Sun damage is cumulative, which means that the damage to the skin caused by the sun’s UV rays all adds up.

Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States and Australia according the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Cancer Council Australia; but it is also the most preventable.

What does sunscreen do?
Sunscreen acts as a barrier that protects the skin from harmful UV rays. There are 2 main types of UV rays that affect the skin: UVA rays tend to age the skin whereas UVB rays tend to cause sunburn. When you choose a sunscreen, favour one that is broad spectrum as it will protect from both types of UV rays.

When should I apply sunscreen?
Dermatologists and skin doctors recommend that people apply sunscreen every morning on areas of the skin exposed to the sun. They encourage for it to become part of your daily routine.

Sunscreen is not confined to sunny days alone. Many will be surprised to read that even on cloudy days sunscreen is still required. Research shows that clouds let through 80% of UV rays.

How often should I reapply?
Sunscreen wears off after a few hours. This is why re-applying is important if you are going to spend time outdoors. It is recommended to re-apply every 2 hours or immediately after swimming or sweating or as indicated on the label of the sunscreen bottle.

What does SPF mean?
SPF stands for sun protective factor. The SPF is the rating of how well the sunscreen block the sun and its UV rays. For example, a sunscreen SPF50+ blocks 98% of the sun’s UVB rays. The higher the SPF number, the better it works at blocking UVB rays.

It is important to note that no sunscreen blocks 100% of UV rays.

Should I wear sunscreen under my regular clothes?
Sunscreen may be required under regular clothes that do not have a UPF rating. A UPF rating is the sun protection factor given to fabrics. UPF50+ is the highest sun protective rating for fabrics available in the World and equivalent to wearing SPF50+ sunscreen. Research shows that a regular white summer cotton t-shirt may have a UPF5, which is equivalent to wearing SPF5 sunscreen.

So how can I protect my skin?
Wearing sunscreen daily on areas not protected by sun protective clothing is recommended to maintain a healthy skin.

The Skin Cancer Foundation recommends wearing sun protective clothing as the best line of defense.

Solbari offers a range of UPF50+ clothing, sun hats and accessories all with the highest sun protective rating available in the World of UPF50+. You don’t need to wear sunscreen under Solbari products, as these block UVA and UVB rays and are equivalent to wearing SPF50+ sunscreen all day long.