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SPF cream - essential protection for all days of the year

SPF cream - essential protection for all days of the year

Applying a daily SPF cream is the most important step for beautiful, young, and healthy skin. Don't finish your skincare routine in the morning without a generous application of a good quality SPF cream.

You've probably heard how important it is to use sunscreen, but do you know why? Our skin protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation, so we need to use sunscreen to protect ourselves from harmful UV rays. Even on cloudy days, our skin is susceptible to the sun's rays, which over time can cause skin cancer, discoloration, and wrinkles.

Table of content:

Why is it important to use an SPF cream?

Why does skin sag after UV exposure?

UV radiation and collagen

Why is an SPF cream a necessary addition to your daily skincare routine?

What does SPF 30 even mean?

How to use SPF cream correctly?

Why is it important to use an SPF cream?

Our skin protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation. UV radiation, or UV light, is part of electromagnetic waves.  It can come from natural sources such as sunlight and artificial sources such as lasers, black lights, and tanning beds.

The sun is the most important source of UV radiation. It is the product of a nuclear reaction in the sun's core, and the radiation travels to Earth via the sun's rays.

UV radiation

The spectrum of UV light is classified according to wavelength:

  • UVA (longest wavelength)
  • UVB (medium wavelength)
  • UVB (the longest wavelength) and UVC (the shortest wavelength)

UVC rays with wavelengths between 100-280 nm are not yet a concern because they are trapped by the ozone. UVB rays with a wavelength of 280-315 nm are next. UVB rays are the ones that make the sun burn us and turn our skin red.

The last part of the spectrum is UVA rays with a wavelength of 315-400 nm, the effects of which are most noticeable on the skin. This is because they have the longest wavelength and can therefore penetrate deeper into the skin, damaging our cells and causing indirect DNA damage.

UVA radiation is a major contributor to the premature aging of the skin. The problem with UVA rays is that the harmful effects are not immediately visible. UVA rays do not burn us red, but the effects of UVA exposure are visible after a few years. The skin becomes saggier, and dull, wrinkles are deeper and hyperpigmentation occurs.

Why does skin sag after UV exposure?

Did you know that UV radiation is thought to be responsible for 80% of premature aging of the skin on the face, such as wrinkles, dry skin, sagging, and pigmentation spots?

Irreversible UV aging is most pronounced in fair-skinned people with years of exposure to intense sunlight. However, individuals of all skin types experience changes in facial appearance due to UV exposure.

Sun Damaged skinUV damage to the skin is a result of UV radiation.

In contrast to sunburn and tanning, which appear within a few hours or days, photo-aging, i.e. the external and internal changes to the skin caused by exposure to the sun, takes decades to develop.

Exposure to UV radiation triggers inflammatory processes in the skin that amplify the direct harmful effects of UV radiation and cause vascular changes such as flushing and redness. And at the same time, it depletes the vitamins and antioxidants in the skin.

The appearance of deep wrinkles and sagging skin is linked to the fact that UV exposure reduces the amount of collagen in the skin. And when there are no more collagen fibers in the skin, the skin no longer has any support, so it sags.

UV radiation and collagen

Photobleaching is associated with the body forming an increased amount of oxygen free radicals. The body defends itself against free radicals with substances called antioxidants. This is possible as long as there are not too many free radicals, at which point the antioxidants can no longer scavenge the excess radicals.

What is the radical problem? Radicals harm hereditary records, proteins, and lipids. The presence of radicals in the body activates inflammatory factors, which in turn are the main danger for collagen breakdown.

By using a daily facial moisturizer with SPF, you will:

  • Reduce the risk of sunburn
  • Reduce the risk of premature skin aging
  • Reduce the risk of skin cancer
  • Reduce the occurrence of sun damage on the face (hyperpigmentation)
  • Correct use of a moisturizer with SPF

Why is an SPF cream a necessary addition to your daily skincare routine?

The sun protection factor of sunscreens, better known as SPF, measures the ability of a sunscreen to protect us from sunburn as the ratio between the dose of UVB radiation we need to get sunburned when we are protected and when we are not. 

Hyaluron Face Cream with SPF 30Hyaluron Face Cream with SPF 30 - Moisturising facial moisturizer with SPF 30.

Daily use of a day cream with SPF is the most important step for beautiful, young, and healthy skin. Don't finish your skincare routine in the morning without a generous application of a good quality UV cream.

Don't forget to apply an SPF cream too:

1. Indoors

If you spend all day indoors, UVA light can still reach you if it penetrates the window glass. If you spend the day in a room with sunlight streaming in through the windows, you are exposed to a similar amount of UVA rays as if you were outside.

2. At high altitudes

UVB rays can cause sunburn even if you are on a skiing holiday and not just at the beach. Snow reflects up to 80% of the sun's harmful rays, so next time you're on the slopes, apply sun cream to exposed parts of your face to protect yourself from increased UV exposure.

3. In winter

The ozone layer is the part of the atmosphere that absorbs solar radiation. During the winter months, the ozone layer thins, so you have less protection from the sun's rays.

4. On cloudy days

Did you know that up to 80% of UV radiation reaches the Earth even in cloudy weather? Yes, it's true. So don't forget to apply sunscreen even on a cloudy day.

What does SPF 30 even mean?

SPF, or sun protection factor, is a measure of how well a sunscreen protects your skin from UVB rays, which cause sunburn, damage the skin, and can contribute to skin cancer.

SPF cream

In simple terms, this means that if you were to use SPF 30, the sun would take 30 times longer to burn you than if you didn't use sunscreen. This is a rough estimate, depending on your skin type, the intensity of the sunlight, and the amount of sunscreen you use. SPF is a measure of protection against the amount of UVB exposure and is not intended to determine the duration of exposure.

Does a sunscreen with a high SPF (sun protection factor) protect the skin better than one with a lower SPF?

The SPF of a sunscreen is a measure of how well it protects the skin from sunburn. An SPF30 sunscreen transmits 1/30 of the ambient UV radiation, an SPF50 1/50, and so on. Sunscreens should be applied generously to get the SPF protection stated on the label.

Ideally, a sunscreen with a higher SPF provides more protection against sunburn, UVA damage, and DNA damage than comparable products with lower SPF values. But real life is not like a laboratory.

SPF cream

Interestingly, SPF50+ provides only slightly better protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation than SPF30+, filtering 98% of UV radiation, while SPF30 blocks 96.7%.

The Skin Cancer Foundation, therefore, recommends sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher for any prolonged outdoor activity. Regardless of the SPF, the most important thing is to apply sunscreen with SPF 30 minutes before going outdoors and then reapply it every two hours.

How to use SPF cream correctly?

The most effective way to prevent photo-aging is to avoid UV radiation. In any case, it is essential to apply the correct amount of sunscreen (2mg/cm² of the skin or ¼ teaspoon for the whole face) with an SPF of 30 every day.

Especially in summer, it is also necessary to reapply sunscreen several times, as exposure to strong UV radiation reduces its effectiveness after only a few hours.

By applying sunscreen regularly, you will prevent your body from forming excessive amounts of free radicals and thus protect your collagen, which is diminishing every year anyway with the natural aging process.

SPF

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Tags: spf cream spf 30 spf 30 facial moisturiser UV protection photoaging

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