Heat arrives and with it increases the skin's exposure to ultraviolet rays. To avoid this, we resort to buying a sunscreen. And in all the packages we see an acronym: SPF (sun protection factor) or FPS (sun protection factor) accompanied by a number. But… do we really know what this number means?
It is very frequent to hear that the number indicates the time in which we are “protected”. For example, if we apply a cream with SPF30, we will be protected for 30 minutes. It is right?
Not quite!. This is a very common mistake, which today we want to help you understand and that finally this number ceases to be an unknown.
Actually, it indicates the number of times that the protector increases the natural resistance that our skin has to the effects of the sun, or in other words, it is the number that multiplies the time we can be safely exposed to the sun.
For example, an SPF30 + cream, such as Hamsa of Light o Crystal of Light, multiply by 30 that time to which our skin can be exposed in a natural way. That is, if, for example, a person due to their skin type can be exposed without burning for 15 minutes to the sun without protection, using an SPF30 cream, they will have a protection of 450 minutes, that is, 7 and a half hours (15 minutes x factor multiplier 30).
However, we have to be very careful not to fall into the false sense of security. We could think ... Applying an SPF50, it would be multiplying by 50, which would mean 750 minutes of protection. This equates to 12 and a half hours. That's great! not?
Well no, absolutely not! We have to take into account many external factors, such as rubbing with the towel, lying in a hammock, sweat or something as common at this time as taking a bath either in the pool or on the beach.
Therefore, from Emocosmética we consider that an SPF30 is more than enough to maintain a perfect protection or SPF50 for delicate skin such as that of a baby, together with a renewal of it every 3 hours at most. In this way we will be keeping our skin safe, and we can enjoy the summer season in a healthy way.
