Posted: 4/11/2005 10:06:32 AM EDT
Sunscreen, how the heck does this stuff work? I have very fair skin and get sunburned easily. This weekend I was out at a pistol match and put on some sunscreen on my face and arms and where I didn’t get it all over my face I have so spots that are sunburned. Is this stuff magic?
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Sunscreen works by combining organic and inorganic active ingredients. Inorganic ingredients like zinc oxide or titanium oxide reflect or scatter ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Organic ingredients like octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC) or oxybenzone absorb UV radiation, dissipating it as heat. It's a cut and paste, I aint' no jenious. |
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Also a few things about sunscreen... SPF stands for sun protection factor. SPF is a multiplying factor. If you would be okay in the sun for 10 minutes, and you put on SPF 10, you have about 100 minutes that you would be okay outside. Also, you should apply sunscreen 30 minutes prior to going out in the sun so that it has time to bind to your skin in order to work correctly. |
PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid) which absorbs UVB rays, it's the most common. Other active ingrediants in sunscreen are Cinnamates which absorb UVB. Benzophenones which absorb UVA. Anthranilates which absorb UVA and UVB. |
This is no joke either... If the photo server was working, you would see my avitar. I'm a blondie with light skin and have had several precancers frozen off me, so I'm insane about this stuff. My favorite is Hawaiian Tropic 48, as it's greasy as hell, but works and as far as I can tell, stays on well in the water. I use coppertone sport 45 on my face (don't want that Hawaiian tropic in my eyes), and always wear a boonie hat. I like to think that I create an oil slick when entering the water. I sunscreen up before going to the beach, whereas my friends do it there. Many days have past where by the end of the day, I'm a little brown, and they are burned. They used similar sunscreen, so the only difference was the absorbsion time. |