I know that sunscreen is not a very popular topic in the winter time but sunscreen is important year round. I recently attended a continuing education conference where I heard a dermatologist (Dr. Wagner) speak on this subject so I thought I would share some of it with you.
I'm sure I don't need to tell you about why sun protection is important. Skin cancer, wrinkles... who wants them? (By the way teens don't care about skin cancer so they are more likely to protect their skin if they think that the sun will make them ugly!)
It is best to get in the habit of applying sunscreen every morning. Make it part of your morning routine such as brushing your teeth. Then if you are going to be in the sun such as going to the pool or park reapply the sunscreen 20-30 minutes beforehand and every two hours after that. Dr. Wagner related applying sunscreen to "frosting a cupcake." You want to apply a lot and to not miss any part of the cupcake, er, skin. It is safe to use sunscreen on babies less than 6 months of age.
So, what sunscreen to buy? Dr. Wagner recommends a sunscreen with the SPF of 30. There is little benefit to the higher SPF sunscreens and as the SPF increases there are increased chemicals in the product. You also want to pick a sunscreen that is waterproof and protects agains UVA and UVB (aka broad spectrum). Some of the best ingredients include mexoryl and zinc oxide. Also if possible get a sunscreen that is perfume free.
Let's not wait until summer. Let's start frosting the cupcake now!
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