One fallacy of sunblocks is that the SPF on a sunscreen actually represents the protection one gets. If you are an extremely light-skinned, red-headed Irishman, for example, it takes about 10 minutes to burn in midday, midsummer sun. SPF 15 SUPPOSEDLY means that it multiplies the time you take to burn by 15, so that would be 150 minutes, or 2 ½ hours.

Yet SPF numbers are set through exposure at a very high density of sunblock application, according to San Antonio dermatologist Dr. Mark Naylor. “Nobody ever applies it that heavy or gets that value,” he adds. “Plus, people don’t apply it uniformly, so they burn in some areas. Plus, it gets sweated off, rubbed off, washed off. Even so-called water-proof sunblock is not water proof, just water resistant. So that red-headed Irishman will probably burn in an hour to an hour and a half.”

Another sunblock fallacy is the idea that one actually gets protection during the time before burning, that one is protected just by preventing redness. UV is still getting through and the damage, which can cause cancer and make you look much older than you are as you age, is still happening. If you are tanning day after day, you are still getting more UV than you would with a one-day burn.

After a certain amount of cumulative UV has reached your skin over the years, it’s easier to get cancer from additional exposure. Once you’ve had one episode of tumor, its’ easier to get another one. Especially for such people, a higher sunscreen is needed, 50 SPF or higher, says Dr. Naylor.

So using the highest SPF you can get makes sense, because nobody ever gets the full value. Just preventing sunburn is an inadequate approach. As a person who loves outdoor activities, Dr. Naylor says, he uses SPF 50 sunblock, and also recommends covering up to the extent possible, wearing a hat, wearing clothing that the sun does not easily penetrate. Find out more at: http://www.bobbingforanswers.com/the-d-word-2/

It was long though that UVB was the most dangerous among UVA and UVB. It causes the skin to burn and possibly to flake after a sunburn (which is, by the way, a “collective suicide” of your skin cells, their very last resort of preventing the apparition of a cancer or other destructive consequences). It was also though to be the only cause of skin cancer.

However, recent recerch has proven that UVA is equally (or even more) dangerous than UVB because is penetrates deeper into the skin, where more skin activities are taking place. UVA can lower immune system, decrease collagen and elastin production and cause the skin to age much faster.

Therefore, it is important to look for UVA blocking ingredients in your everyday sunscreen. And to wear sunscreen everyday. Actually, research has proven that using SPF 15 daily was more effective at preventing aging than using a higher SPF once in a while.

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