In reality you should never start a day without some sort of sunscreen on you. Whether it is inside your makeup you use or you manually apply it on to you. Many people have believed in a few different sunscreen myths so now we are going to debunk them!
MYTH: You’re only in the sun for 30 minutes and it is not a hot day. You don’t need sunscreen.
Do you think you only need sunscreen when you are out wearing a bikini at the beach? You actually should have sunscreen on every time you are outside. Many people do not realize the sun’s rays can still penetrate your skin and cause skin damage even when it is not hot and sunny out. Haven’t you ever heard before that technically you can still tan in the winter time? No? Well you can. In fact, if you really wanted to throw on a bikini and lay outside while it is snowing you still would get some sun, however, you would just be freezing. All 365 days of the year the sun penetrates your skin. Any skin that is showing and not covered is susceptible to sun damage.
MYTH: Tanning won’t harm me as long as I do not burn.
Let me put it simply for you an article published by ASDS stated, “The increase in skin pigment called melanin, which causes your skin to tan, is a sign of damage. Once skin is exposed to UV radiation, it increases the production of melanin in an attempt to protect the skin from further damage.” Any type of skin color change is a result of skin damage.
MYTH: You must apply sunscreen 30 minutes before going into the sun.
Not 100% true. It honestly depends on the sunscreen you are planning on using. A chemical sunscreen or a mineral sunscreen. And if you are using a stick, spray, or a lotion.
A chemical sunscreen has active ingredients in it that absorb int your skin. As a result, they dissipate the harmful UVA and UVB rays produced by the sun. However, because your skin has to absorb, they ingredients in you do need to wait about thirty minutes before the sunscreen is fully absorbed into your skin and will start to work properly.
A mineral sunscreen is different from a chemical sunscreen. They contain active ingredients Titanium Oxide and Zinc Oxide. Do you ever recall seeing a lifeguard at the beach or an outside pull with a white nose? That sunscreen was most likely a mineral sunscreen. Mineral sunscreens completely block the UVA and UVB rays the sun produces. As a result of these ingredients creating a block you actually do not have to wait for it to absorb into your skin like you would with chemical sunscreens.
Remember in the end sun damage does not happen overnight right away. Instead it takes years and years of damage to build on top of one another to permanently cause damage. Start protecting your skin now before it is too late!
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