There's not really a good reason to buy super-high SPF sunscreen
Chris Carlson/AP
Wrong. It turns out, there's more to sunscreen than SPF.
Let's start with what we're actually trying to block. There are two main types of solar radiation that hit your skin when you're sunbathing: UVA and UVB. UVB is what creates tans and burns, but there's a lot more UVA and it can reach further into your skin and contribute to skin cancer.
But SPF doesn't really acknowledge UVA radiation at all, and it doesn't take into account any of the negative effects of sun besides burns. There's no similar scale for blocking UVA rays, so before you even worry about that SPF number, be sure you're using a sunscreen that's labeled "broad spectrum." That means the sunscreen provides a similar protection against UVA rays as well.
So what does SPF mean?
Darron Cummings/AP
While a few percentage points of extra coverage isn't a bad thing, practically, there's not really a good argument for buying super-high SPF sunscreen.
The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates how sunscreens are sold, is considering simplifying the entire upper half of the SPF scale into simply "SPF 50+" because it hasn't seen any data that show that higher SPF numbers are more beneficial than SPF 50.
Basically, once you get up to SPF 50, it's more important to prioritize "broad spectrum" over a sky-high SPF.
But the single most thing to do with sunscreen is to remember to actually slather it on - generously. The average person applies between a quarter and half as much sunscreen as testers use to calculate SPF. So you're probably getting significantly less protection than you think.
Experts recommend about an ounce of sunscreen for an adult. Having trouble picturing that? To cover your an average body, you'll need about two tablespoons: the size of a golf ball, or enough to fill a shot glass (that's about a teaspoon per limb).
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