I’m blessed. I know it, and I’m grateful. I got the good end of the gene pool as far as skin is concerned. Never needed facials, no special skin-regime, hardly any acne (oops! Let me not jinx it). The only issue I have is that I tan faster than a shadow gets formed! Much as I would’ve liked the beautiful yellow sun to turn me into a Kryptonian super human, it decides to burn me instead.
(Image clicked on our recent holiday to Langkawi Malaysia)
And now with my little one inheriting an even more sun-sensitive disposition, hunting for the right sunscreen has became mission critical for me. A trip to the skin-care section of any general store will leave you with a few dozen choices of sunscreen lotions, creams, sprays, etc from various brands.
How does one decide which is the best sunscreen for your child? Take this test to know whether your sun-protection knowledge is based on myths or facts.
Higher SPF factor, the better the protection.
MYTH..
SPF is short for Sun Protection Factor. Intuitively, higher the SPF, better should be the protection. But this is not always the case, and can often mislead people into a false sense of security. In fact, some regulatory authorities have prohibited manufacturers from marketing products with SPF higher than 50. You’ll see a lot of products with SPF50+ or SPF50++, for this reason. The SPF rating of a product is basically an indication of how long you can stay in the sun before getting affected by Ultraviolet-B rays that cause sunburn. So for instance, if your skin reddens in 10 minutes of exposure to the sun, then by applying an SPF20 sunscreen in the exact quantity as directed it will take you 20 times longer to get burnt. In other words, an SPF20 sunscreen will keep you protected for 200 minutes.
Most studies recommend that it isn’t necessary to go higher much than SPF 30.
If you want longer protection, just apply more quantity.
MYTH..
The number of minutes that you are protected is determined by the SPF factor of the sunscreen. However, applying lesser quantity can make your exercise futile. Apply enough sunscreen to cover all exposed skin on your child, including the back of the neck, top of the ears and arms and feet. For babies younger than 6 months, avoid sunscreen and just keep them in the shade as much as possible. For older babies and toddlers, apply between half to one tablespoon full of sunscreen, and reapply every two hours or as recommended by the manufacturers.
Also, don’t rely solely on sunscreen for children. Your sun defence strategy should also include appropriate clothing, wide-brimmed hats, and sun glasses.
Spray on sunscreens are worse than creams.
FACT..
A spray-on sunscreen may appear more to be convenient, especially if you have a toddler who isn’t willing to sit still in a place for more than a few nano-seconds. But, the challenge is that you may not get even application in a thick enough layer. Spray-ons also may pose an inhalation risk. So the convenience can actually come at quite a cost. Sunscreen lotions or creams are thus preferred over sprays.
Sunscreen & sunblock are the same.
MYTH..
There is a technical difference between a sunscreen and sunblock. There are two types of Ultraviolet rays that we need protection from – UVA (causes skin aging and tanning) and UVB (skin reddening/burning and cancer). Sunscreen refers to a chemical composition which absorbs UVA rays before they can penetrate and damage the subcutaneous layer of the dermis. Sunblock is a physical barrier which scatters UVB rays before they come in contact with your outer-most skin layer.
Fortunately, most broad based sun “screens” provide protection from both UVA and UVB rays. So the technical difference between a screen and block becomes irrelevant.
If you have dark skin, you don’t need to bother about sunscreen.
MYTH..
As explained above, the rays that cause sunburn and suntan are different. So while you may not notice a tan on darker skin, your skin is being exposed to rays that can cause premature ageing and sunburns. The epidermis, or the outer layer of skin, contains a chemical called melanin which is present in more quantities in darker skin. Melanin protects our skin, and that’s why fair-skinned people tend to burn easier. But prolonged exposure to the sun can penetrate the epidermis and cause damage, irrespective of your skin’s natural protection.
Even 10 minutes of unprotected sun exposure can be very harmful for your skin.
MYTH..
Sunscreen and sunblock manufacturers would of course like us to believe this. But it isn’t really true. Our bodies, and our children’s, need some amount of exposure to UV rays which help our bodies to create vitamin D. Vitamin D is critical for the absorption of calcium – the building block of our bones. Doctors may also recommend sun exposure in some cases (like infant jaundice, some forms of skin eczema, etc).
It is prolonged exposure which is harmful. For normal everyday activities, you should also take care to keep your children adequately covered with hats and clothes and try to keep them in the shade during peak sun hours (like 10am to 4pm).
Even big-brand sunscreens have harmful chemicals.
FACT..
Most of the sunscreens you see on the counter at your local pharmacy or the supermarket, including some that are marketed specifically for children, are not really safe. The chemicals they contain may range from outright harmful and carcinogenic to mildly toxic. While we may not have the technical knowledge to scrutinise every chemical that goes in the bottle, just be aware of some basic label reading before you buy that “known” brand or popular “best-seller”.
Some of the most toxic chemicals to look out for are Oxybenzone, Oxygenate, Methylisothiazolinone (a known allergen), Retyl Palmitate, PEGs (also sometimes written as PEE or PE-1/2 etc). One must also be vary of added insect repellent.
A good resource to check whether a brand is safe or not, is the Environmental Working Group (EWG). On their site, you’ll find verified information on skin care products based on scientific research papers which supplement data available from companies and government.
We only need to worry about sunburn on a beach holiday.
MYTH..
Any exposure to the sun means your skin is getting exposed to the ultraviolet rays that can cause damage. A trek in the hills, where the air is thinner, can in fact leave you equally tanned and/or burnt as a day on the beach. You can get sun burnt even on a cloudy day!
Ideally, any long exposure to the sun needs to be preceded with adequate broad-spectrum sun screen, applied 15-20 minutes before your outing and reapplied every 2 hours.
Have you heard this wonderful song by Baz Luhrman called “Everybody’s Free (to Wear Sunscreen)”?
It’s a life-mantra song, full of useful nuggets and tid-bits. It starts it with these words..
“If I could offer you only one tip for the future,
Sunscreen would be it
The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists
whereas the rest of my advice has no basis
more reliable than my own meandering experience…”
I’ll add to Mr. Luhrman’s advice by saying, know your sunscreen.
In the rush to protect from the scorching rays of the sun, don’t subject your skin to harmful chemicals instead!*.
Stay sun safe!
On a personal level, out of the three brands of “baby-safe” sunscreen that we have tried, our favourite is the Moms Co. Waterproof SPF 50+ Natural Mineral Based Baby Sunscreen
(click on the image to read the Practical Mum #HonestReview)
* Some online resources to be aware of are the EWG’s Sunscreen Guide (read it here), and informational articles published by the Skin Cancer Foundation (read it here)
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