The skin care segment is flooded with a wide variety of sunscreens. While purchasing a sunscreen from a cosmetic counter, a lot of queries come in one’s mind like “do I really need a sunscreen”, “what is SPF” & “which SPF to choose”. It has been our great pleasure to interview none other than Dr Surbhi Mahajan, who is considered an expert in this field. She is an experienced cosmetic dermatologist and founder & CEO at Dermatocare. She has in depth-knowledge and experience of skin care product recommendations.
Q: Does everybody need sunscreen?
Dr Surbhi: No everyone does not need sunscreen, the ever hyped daily use of sunscreen is important for fair skin types that lack melanin pigment which provides natural SPF to skin. Daily use of sunscreen is important for fair skin because they are more prone to UV rays damage, resulting in sunburn, rashes, wrinkles, spots, cancers etc
Q: What’s this SPF that’s mentioned on every sunscreen?
Dr Surbhi: Sun protection factor (SPF) is ability of sunscreen to delay visible sun damage caused by UVB. Thus, SPF 30 means you can stay in sun 30 times longer without visible sun damage. The SPF is calculated at 2mg/square cm concentration of sunscreen; however we usually apply only one third.
It should be remembered that SPF only gauges ability of sunscreens to protect against UVB rays and not UVA rays which are responsible for skin ageing and dark patches.
Q: Which SPF is the best?
Dr Surbhi: SPF of 15 blocks 93% of UVB rays while SPF 45 sunscreen blocks only additional 5% of UVB rays. Thus, SPF of 15 seem to be a good choice, but to achieve “quoted SPF” atleast 2mg per square cm of sunscreen should be applied and studies show that we apply so sparingly, that only one-third of SPF is achieved. So apply moisturizer/foundation with atleast SPF of 15 if indoors and top up with higher SPF of 30+ when going out in bright sun.
Q: If I stay indoors most of the time, do I still need sunscreen ?
Dr Surbhi: You can skip the use of sunscreen if
- Expected sun exposure is minimal, less than 10 minutes
- If your skin is not fair; dark skin tones have melanin pigment that protects against damaging UV rays.
- If you do have pigmentation tendency or sensitive skin
- If you do not have history of skin cancer in family.
Q: It’s cloudy today. Do we still need a sunscreen?
Dr Surbhi: Clouds do not block UVA rays, so apply sunscreens even on cloudy or rainy days.
Q: Can excessive or prolonged use of a sunscreen cause anyone some harm?
Dr Surbhi: Yes, regular use of sunscreens might reduce vitamin D levels especially if dietary intake is not adequate. Thus, few minutes of sun exposure is needed for Vitamin D synthesis. Secondly, sunscreen ingredients might get absorbed into blood, thus altering hormones level; however absorption occurs only if you eat without washing sunscreen from your hands. So, always wash your hands before eating, this will not only remove the germs but also chemicals from skin care products. A good idea is to practice other sun protection methods, resort to use of sunscreen when you are expecting to stay in bright sun for more than 15 minutes.
We thank Dr Surbhi for providing her expert opinion about these common myths & facts regarding sunscreen use. We hope to bring you more interviews from experts in the field of skin care. If you liked this article, please share it with your friends!
Dr Surbhi Mahajan
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