What's the Most Important Thing in Your Sunscreen?
I told my husband John, I'm making a video about the most important thing to look for in a sunscreen. That got his attention, because sunscreen is one of those topics we've spent years talking about, and yet, we've never put it quite this clearly. When I told him, the most important thing is that is has balanced Broad Spectrum coverage, I got the slow, approving nod of his head. Luckily, we totally agree on this one.
Balanced broad spectrum sunscreen performance is something to be incredibly proud of in our Australia/New Zealand sunscreen standard.
Our own standard was one of the first in the world to adopt this strict broad spectrum requirement and continues to be one of the strictest broad spectrum coverage standards in the world.
To understand more about WHY this is important, click on the video that I made for you.
The most important thing in sunscreen
A good sunscreen is a balance sunscreen. This means its broad spectrum.
Broad spectrum covers both UVB which is where your SPF comes from and where your burn comes from and it covers UVA which causes skin damage that doesn't burn.
If you use a sunscreen that is only an SPF sunscreen without the broad spectrum your skin will not burn, but you will still be getting skin damage.
When you use a broad spectrum you get both coverages and if it's balanced the skin burn is not there but also the skin damage isn't there.
Using a sunscreen that is only SPF/UVB coverage is like taking your body's ability to say "HOT" away, then putting your hand near a fire. Don't do that, ok?
To start, check is all of the products that you use that have an SPF claim. There are quite a few moisturisers and daily skincare products that are not primarily sunscreens. They may have a high SPF, but that definitely does not mean that they have broad spectrum coverage.
Making a sunscreen that also filters UVA rays is more difficult than making a product that prevents sunburn.
Zinc oxide is naturally good as a broad spectrum filter in a sunscreen. It is also GRAS, which stands for Generally Recognised as Safe. Other than clothing, shade and hat, zinc oxide is a great option.
Re-think sunscreen. Watch more Sun Resource videos.
