what
should you do to protect your skin then? A big part is picking the right
product to protect yourself and making sure that you are following the directions correctly such as reapplying often and watching expiration dates.
The American Academy of Dermatology gives the following guidelines to
look for when buying sunscreen. Make sure that your sunscreen fits all of
these requirements to give your skin the maximum protection against skin
cancer, premature skin aging, and sunburn:
Should say “broad spectrum” meaning that it
protects from both UVA and UVB rays.
Other ways to protect
your skin when outdoors:
Wear sunglasses or hats.
Use SPF 30 or higher chapstick to give your lips maximum protection!
Sit in the shade often.
The sun’s rays peek from
10am to 2pm so try to
avoid going outside at
those times.
Choose a sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher.
Look for the words “water resistant.” You
want the sunscreen to stay on your skin even
if it gets wet.
If it says “water resistant” it will also say how
many minutes it is water resistant for. If it says
40 minutes than you’ll know to reapply the
sunscreen after 40 minutes of swimming or
being sweaty.
The words “waterproof” and “sunblock” are
no longer used on these bottles because they
are misleading.
If you also need insect repellant, buy a separate product. Sunscreen should be reapplied
about every two hours and insect repellant is
less frequently and more sparingly.
You can find more information online from the American Academy of Dermatology
or from the Skin Cancer Foundation