BFF Blog: Tips and Tricks to Picking Out the Best Sunscreen

Hello Beautiful BFFs, Welcome back to the BFF Blog! On this week's blog we are going to be talking about how to stay safe in the sun. Summer is approaching us, and after being inside for months, I think it’s safe to say that almost all of us will want to hit the beach as soon as possible. Now, before you start enjoying the sun, there are some important tips and tricks you need to know. 

The sun, as beautiful as it is, can be very dangerous. The UV rays produced by the sun can damage and kill skin cells resulting in sunburns and wrinkles, which can sometimes lead to skin cancer. There are two different types of rays that the sun can produce, UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays don’t cause sunburns, BUT they do penetrate deep enough to cause wrinkles and increase your risk of skin cancer. UVB rays cause sunburns and are a cancer causing UV rays. Even when you can’t see the sun, both of these rays can still reach you and penetrate layers of skin. 

With two different types of rays to watch out for, how do you stay safe in the sun? There are many different types of sunscreen circulating the markets, but not all of them have the same level of protection. Some tips to help you pick out the perfect sunscreen are:

• Look for broad spectrum or multi spectrum protection. This helps protect against UVA and UVB rays. 
• Some ingredients(but not all) that offer broad spectrum protection are: oxybenzone, cinnamates (octylmethyl cinnamate), sulisobenzone, salicylates, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, avobenzone (Parsol 1789) and ecamsule (Mexoryl SX).
• Inorder to protect against UVA rays, you need to look at the ingredients. Some ingredients(but not all) that protect against UVA rays are : oxybenzone, titanium dioxide, or zinc oxide.
• Inorder to protect against UVB rays, you can look at the SPF of a sun screen. SPF 30 is sufficient for most people. SPF 30 is predicted to filter out around 96-97% of UVB rays.
• If you are going to be swimming at the beach or working out, look for water/sweat resistant sunscreen. The sunscreen will stay effective for up to 40 minutes in the water. However, after your swim you will always need to re-apply. 
• Are you choosing sunscreen for your children? Make sure to stay away from ingredients that are likely to irritate their skin. Some Ingredients to stay away from are: para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA), dioxybenzone, oxybenzone, or sulisobenzone. Some ingredients to look for are: titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. These ingredients help protect against the sun ray without having to be absorbed into the skin which causes less irritation. 
• Do you have sensitive skin? You can also look for sunscreens with titanium dioxide and zinc oxide rather to help decrease the risk of irritation.

We hope some of these tips helped you find the right protection against the sun! Have any questions? DM us on instagram or email us at yourbff@beautyfluff.com