LET'S BE CLEAR
ABOUT YOUR SUN PROTECTION
There are a lot of misconceptions about sunscreen out there.
We're here to clear things up.
Your sun protection needs are unique. Factors that affect your protection include weather conditions, UV index, your skin tone, your activity, the SPF and sunscreen you're using. Conditions change, and you need to be aware of these changes.
You wouldn't wear a bathing suit in the snow, nor a parka on the beach, so why do you treat sun protection the same way every day?
90% of aging
is caused
by the sun
Just one bad sunburn before the age of 12
doubles the risk of skin cancer
We need to educate our children on the importance of using sunscreen.
Skin cancer is the fastest growing cancer in the world, yet it is 96% preventable.
SUNSCREEN'S MAGIC NUMBER
THE NUMBER YOU NEED TO KNOW, BUT DON'T
Whether you're looking at a bottle of 30 SPF or 70 SPF, you need to apply 2mg of sunscreen per cm2 on your skin to get the advertised protection on a sunscreen bottle. But what does that mean?
If you'll allow us to put on our science hats for a moment, 2 mg per cm2 is the amount of sunscreen that you'd need to apply across your body to get the appropriate level of protection. While the exact amount you'd need to apply depends on your specific body proportions of height and weight, on average, a person would need to use about 1 ounce (30mL) of sunscreen to cover the whole body.
A recent study found that nearly all people only apply a fraction of that amount.
On average, people only apply 1/3 of the proper amount of sunscreen, resulting in 10% of the advertised protection.
It's difficult to know just how much 1 ounce of sunscreen is. Try visualizing the following:
1 ounce
1 shot glass
6 teaspoons
1 golf ball
3.5 french fries
The next time you apply, try measuring 1 ounce of sunscreen.
Chances are you've NEVER put on the correct amount, and you'll probably be surprised at how much you need to be protected!
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