Sunscreens and Photoprotection
Sarah Gabros; Preeti Patel; Patrick M. Zito
In this digital age with all the sunscreen marketing, it’s fairly easy to be influenced on which sunscreen you should buy. However, in this review, they show indeed that not all sunscreens are made equal. Everyone knows that going without sunscreen might mean sunburns, and skin irritation – but wearing sunscreen can also prevent skin cancer, wrinkling, and sagging.
To effectively block ultraviolet (UV) rays, sunscreens must protect against two key components of UV: UVA and UVB. UVB blockers tend to prevent short-wave ultraviolet radiation, the cause of most sunburns and skin cancers. However, UVA blockers protect against long-wave ultraviolet radiation, which is a primary contributor to skin aging and some skin cancers. To ensure that your sunscreen is fully protective, it needs to contain both UVA and UVB blockers. More than 1 million new nonmelanoma skin cancers occur in the US and Canada each year, and in many cases, they could have been prevented if the patients had used appropriate sunscreen.
So, before you buy a popular sunscreen, make sure it protects against both UVA and UVB… your skin depends on it!
