How to protect yourself effectively from the sun

In the last few weeks it was obvious that summer is coming again and whit it come all the nice little things that we love so much about summer, such as hot weather, ice cream, cold drinks and of course sunbathing.. but if you tend to take a sunbath every now and again, it is very important to protect yourself.

More than 1 million people in the US are diagnosed with skin cancer each year, which is quite a high number in my opinion. It is, in fact, the most common form of cancer in the United States. But the good news concerning skin cancer is that is is largely preventable if you take care of your protection against the sun. Studies have shown that most skin cancers are linked to overexposure to sunlight and, therefore, good sun protection is an important way to prevent the development of skin-damage as well as sun-related skin cancers.

But now to the important question: What can I do to protect myself effectively from sun damage?

The three elements to good sun protection are:

Sun avoidance
It is very important to protect yourself from the harmful rays of the sun by staying in the shade as much as you can or by limiting the amount of time you spend in the sun. It should be avoided to stay in the sun from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. because the sunlight is most intense at that time. 

Sun protective clothing

You should wear long-sleeved shirts and pants (although we all know that this can be quite difficult on a hot summer day, nevertheless, it is probably one of the most efficient ways to avoid sun damage), hats with broad brims, and sunglasses can effectively protect your skin from the sun. There are, in fact, some fabrics that are more protective than others, did you know that? Not all fabrics block UV light to the same extent. The Ultraviolet protective factor (UPF) if clothing depends on several factors, including weave and chemical additives when manufactured.

• Tightly woven fabric provides greater protection than loosely woven clothing. One important thing that you should keep in mind: if you can see light through a fabric, UV rays can get through too.
• Color: Dark colours provide more protection than light colours by preventing more UV rays from reaching your skin.
• Weight: heavier is better
• Stretch: Clothing with less stretch generally has better UV protection
• Wetness: Dry fabric is generally more protective than wet fabric.

Sunblock

When used properly, sunscreens may be an effective method of protecting yourself from the sun's damaging ultraviolet radiation. Sunblocks protect your skin by absorbing or reflecting UVA and UVB radiation. All Sunblocks have a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) rating. The SPF rating indicates how long a sunscreen remains effective on the skin.

For instance, if you normally develop a sunburn in 10 minutes without wearing a sunscreen, a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 will protect you for 150 minutes (10 minutes multiplied by the SPF of 15). Although sunscreen use helps minimize sun damage, no sunscreen completely blocks all wavelengths of UV light. Wearing sun protective clothing and avoiding sun exposure from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. will also help protect your skin from overexposure and minimize sun damage.

As you can see, it is important to always protect you from the sun in order to limitate your risk of skin cancer. I hope I could give you a little overview by telling you the most important things you need to keep in mind. And now, let's go out and enjoy the sun! (: (of course, with the right protection)