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What is sunburn?
Sunburn is a reaction to exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The top layers of your skin release chemicals that cause your blood vessels to expand and leak fluids, causing inflammation, pain and redness.
Without sun protection factors, UV radiation (both UVA and UVB) will immediately start to penetrate deep into the layers of your skin, damaging the skin's cells.
Skin turns red within two to six hours of being burnt. It will continue to develop for the next 24 to 72 hours.
UVA radiation
UVA radiation penetrates deep into the skin, affecting the living skin cells that lie under your skin's surface. UVA causes long-term damage like ageing problems such wrinkles, blotchiness, sagging and discoloration, and also contributes to skin cancer. UVA = Ageing
UVB radiation
UVB radiation penetrates the top layer of skin and is the main cause of skin tanning and sunburn. UVB = Burning
Peeling
Damaged skin cells self-destruct and peel off in tatty sheets. It is the body's way of getting rid of damaged skin cells that might develop into cancers.
Sunburn and skin cancer risk
• Repeated sunburn increases your risk of melanoma.
• All types of sunburn, whether serious or mild, can cause permanent and irreversible skin damage. Further sunburn only increases your risk of skin cancer.
Sun Protection Factors
What does 'SPF' mean on sunscreen lotion?
The SPF, or Sun Protection Factor, is a measure of how much a sunscreen protects your skin from burning. The higher the SPF, the greater the protection. It is measured by timing how long skin covered with sunscreen takes to burn compared with unprotected skin. So, if your skin would burn in 10 minutes in the midday sun, using an SPF of two would double the time spent before burning to 20 minutes. However, you should use sunscreens to give yourself greater protection rather than to stay in the sun for longer.
Which SPF should you choose?
Choose an SPF with a minimum factor of 15. But please limit the amount of time you spend in the sun, too.
Don't forget to apply it thickly over all exposed areas and re-apply regularly, especially after swimming. Remember areas such as ears, neck, hands, feet and bald patches! |
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