We buy filters that are not only those that mirror the ultraviolet (UV) rays, but those that do not reflect - they neutralize chemically! Lack of ability to neutralize UV-A rays can cause not only the accelerated appearance of wrinkles and other symptoms of premature skin aging, but also skin cancer. That is why it is best to buy creams with UV-B and UV-A protection at the same time. Does not hurt, and will help the skin if these creams contain vitamins E, C, A, selenium, zinc, etc. substances that counteract the formation of free radicals formed during tanning and regenerate the skin.
Before you buy a cream with a filter, set up your phototype
Based on the table below, you can orientate your phenotype. Hair color and feeding indicates the natural resistance of the skin to radiation and allows you to determine the level of protection needed with the use of cosmetics with a filter.
phototype
hair color
Complexion
tan
burns
1
red
pale
light, red
frequent
2
light blonde
bright
light, red
quite frequent
3A
golden blond
bright
light brown
sometimes
3B
light brown
olive
gold
rare
4
a dark brown
dark
dark
there is no
5
black
b. dark
b.ciemna
there is no
Protective filter number and skin
The lighter your skin, the higher the cream filter number you are using. When choosing cosmetics with sunscreen, we must know that the filter number 1-4 means low protection, 4-6 - poor, 7-10 - medium, 11-15 - high, and above 15 - very high. And so people with phototype 1 and 2 should use filters above 10, 3A, 3B - from 8 to 4 (4 in the third week of tanning), and people with phototype 4 and 5 may stop at filters number 4 or 3. Starting tanning we should apply a cream with a higher number filter.
The number of the filter should also increase accordingly, the closer you get to the equator.
General instructions on the use of sunscreens
• Apply a cream with a protective filter for 20-30 minutes before going out into the sun - the cream must have time to penetrate the skin to protect it and repeat the cream every two hours;
• when bathing, use waterproof filters, ie those that protect against the sun also in water (50% of UV-B and 77% UV-A rays reach a depth of one meter);
• in the tropics, secure with a dense filter with the highest protection of sensitive areas - ears, nose, arms, places under the knees; and brush the lips with a protective lipstick with a filter.
SYMBOLICS AND NUMBERING OF THE SUN FILTER
What do the shortcuts on filters mean: SPF, PPD, IPD?
These abbreviations on cosmetics with filters mean - how long after using them safely in the sun. This scale is mainly due to the protection against the most dangerous UV-B radiation for the skin.
SPF - a factor determining the level of protection against UV-B solar radiation
The number of this factor determines - how long we can safely sunbathe during the first day. To simplify it, it means that if no person with a particular complexion has a painful erythema after 30 minutes, then after applying the filter with the SPF number = 10 - this time will be extended tenfold! (10 x 30 minutes = 300 minutes!).In other words - sunburn after applying the cover to the skin should not appear while in the sun for up to 5 hours!
You need to take a correction for the imperfection of filters ...
In a word - you can not sunbathe 100% safely in the sun for 5 hours! Firstly, there is an uncontrolled wear of the filter. In addition, the risk for the filter is, for example, a water bath that partially removes it from the skin, or rubbing against sand, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to repeat the cream every two to three hours.
It is better to sunbathe faster, because we do not know how harmful is the hourly UV-A absorption!
Until now, there has been no uniform scale of protection of filters against solar UV-A radiation. This is due to from the difficulty of finding an appropriate clinical exponent of the "hourly" effect of UV-A radiation on the human body. A word that would be objectively measured. No less important is that next to the rank of the SPF factor on the packaging was information that the filters protect simultaneously against UV-B and UV-A radiation.
Therefore, companies use an additional designation - IPD or PPD
These indicators determine the ability to protect against UV-A radiation. The higher the index, the better protection. However, the PPD indicator on the packaging of one producer does not always correspond to the identical PPD indicator of another manufacturer. The recommended solution could be the Australian standard, saying that the cosmetic retains at least 90% of UV-A radiation. In the United States, the term "broad spectrum" is also used.
The European Union is trying to organize the above mentioned signs
Until recently, manufacturers of sunscreens were able to mark the height of the UV-B filter as often as possible. It made it possible to find a cream in the drugstore with SPF = 60 or even 100! By definition, SPF filter no. 2 blocks 50 percent UV-B radiation, SPF 15 - 93.3 percent, SPF 30 - 96.7 percent, and SPF 50 - 98 percent. As you can guess, high numbers are a marketing gimmick. Therefore, by the end of this year, the European Association of Cosmetics Producers obliged all companies to introduce uniform markings. This applies to the UV protection factor (SPF) - Sun Protective Factor. According to the new classification, the lowest SPF value should be 2, and the highest - 50+. Manufacturers of cosmetics for change of markings have until the end of January 2006.
ed. Edward Ozga Michalski, MA
medical consultation: Dr n. med. Andrzej Szmurło
dermatologist
WE INVITE YOU IN WARSAW AND NEARBY RESIDENTS
FOR THE USE OF CZERNIAKA'S PROPHYLAXIS
Laboratory of Digital Dermatoscopy, NZOZ Prevention and Therapy Center
02-383 Warsaw, ul. Grójecka 126,
SAVINGS: tel / fax. (22) 659-46-27, tel. (22) 824-79-51
or e-mail: [email protected]
Literature
1. Practical dermatology; dermatologists: Małgorzata Opalińska, Katarzyna Prystupa, Wadim Stąpór, Wyd. Lek. PZWL 1997. 2. Sun protection during sports - internet materials provided by the Central Institute for Labor Protection - National Research Institute of CIOP-PIB
3. Hyperpigmentation pigmentation disorders as a cosmetic problem; Aneta Urbańska; New Medicine - Dermatology V notebook 120 (1/2003).
4. Sun and skin - a series of publications; dr. Catherine. med. Katarzyna Prystupa (allergist-dermatologist), Edward Ozga-Michalski, Anna Gotowiec; My health; 1997-2000
5. Genetic determinants of melanoma, Advances in Dermatology and Allergology 1/2006; Team of doctors: Urszula Brudnik, Anna Wojas-Pelc, Wojciech Branick
6. Primary malignant melanoma of the head and neck; Karolina Hydzik-Sobocińska, Marcin Sobociński; "THERAPY" No. 6 (153), JUNE 2004; Chair and Clinic of Otolaryngology at the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Krakow; Head: prof. dr hab. med. Jacek Składzień
