Sun Safety
Sunscreen, the facts we should all know:
The active ingredients in sunscreens (called UV filters) are classified as either organic or inorganic.
Organic chemicals work by absorbing UV radiation, whereas inorganic chemicals both absorb and scatter the incident UV radiation.
The test measures how much protection against UV radiation the sunscreen provides, e.g. a product providing SPF30 will result in a skin exposure of just one-thirtieth that received by unprotected skin for the same time in the sun.
The Sun Protection Factor (SPF) is a system used globally to determine how much protection a sunscreen gives when applied to the skin at a thickness of 2mg/cm2.
Sunscreens, in order to be protective, have to be applied liberally to be effective. This includes using it to all exposed areas and regularly reapplying sunscreen every 2 hours and immediately after
swimming/towelling.
