FAQ on Suncare

My beautician keeps emphasizing sun protection.  I don’t really stay under the sun much, do I really need it?

I say you should thank your beautician for giving you the right advice. She has done her job well, because the importance of sun protection cannot be over-emphasized. Experts tell us that sun damage and photo-aging are by far the most important factors in aggravating the aging of our skin, and 90% of skin cancer can be attributed to the sun. Average skin takes about 15 minutes to be burned, and you don’t even have to be directly under the sun to get burned.  It will take even shorter for sunburn to occur if your skin is sensitized by the use of Retin-A products, or you are on medications that increases you sun-sensitivity.  Therefore, it is so very important that you wear sunblock or sunscreen to protect yourself during the day.  It has been said that if you can only put one thing on your skin, then make it a sunblock.  There is a great deal of wisdom in that saying. Besides sunblock, you should also wear a pair of sun glasses (that filters off UV rays, of course) to give you delicate eye area some added protection, because the skin around your eyes is thinner and more susceptible to sun damage.

What causes sun-sensitivity?

There is a long list of culprits.  But it is important to know that not everyone reacts in the same way. In general, pregnancy, some oral anti-biotics, blood pressure medications, hormone replacements, oral contraceptives, Retin-A and other Vitamin A derivatives, antihistamines, ibuprofen pain killers, chemical peeling and laser re-surfacing, can cause sun-sensitivity to varying degrees. We can never avoid all these 100%. The important thing is that we know we are vulnerable and so protect ourselves accordingly with full spectrum sunblock.

What are the different categories of Sun Protection products?

There are 2 main types of sun protection products: Chemical Sunblocks and Physical Sunblocks. Chemical sunblock works by absorbing the high energy from UV rays and release it at much lower energy level. This category of sunblock needs to be applied about 30 minutes before sun exposure to be effective. Examples of this category of sunblocks are PTR Ultra-lite Oil-Free sunblock and Beach and Pool Sunblock. On the other hand, physical sunblock contains Titanium Dioxide or Zinc Oxide that physically blocks the UV ray, and therefore can be effective immediately upon application. The all new Instant Mineral SPF30 is an excellent example, combining instant protection and convenience in an innovative package. Of course, some bright sparks have thought about combining these 2 categories, and the result is PTR’s Oil-Free Sunblock SPF30, which contains both Oxybenzone and Titanium Dioxide, providing full spectrum protection against the sun.

I saw some products claiming to be SPF40, is it better than SPF 30?

First of all, SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor and is measured such: If a normal average skin would burn after 15 minutes in the sun, then in theory, an SPF10 product will protect the skin such that it would burn after 150 minutes. But sunburn is caused by UVB, so the SPF number does not tell you anything about UVA, which cause more serious long term skin damage, including skin cancer. In general, sunblocks containing Parsol-1789, Oxybenzone, Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide are known to provide full spectrum protection, that is, able to protect against both UVA and UVB. All PTR sunblocks provide full-spectrum protection.  More about the SPF numbers: under new labeling regulations published by US FDA, all products that offer more than SPF30 must be labeled as SPF30+, to prevent companies from making unrealistic claims (such as all-day protection), and because SPF above 30 does not offer any significantly better protection. Worse still, a 2003 survey found that an SPF of 30+ may translate into lower UVA protection.  Anyway, be smart and don’t let all the claims lull you into complacency. The important thing about using sun protection is to make sure that it is full- spectrum, applied before sun exposure, and reapplied often (within 1 hour, or less in case of heavy sweating or wiping) during exposure.

All PeterThomasRoth Suncare is recommended by Skin Cancer Foundation in United States!