June 13, 2021

Reasons why Spf should be your new Bff

“Spf is your bff” or a variation of that statement is probably something you have heard before or even over and over again if you traverse the skin care community. If this is your first time hearing this, then you are probably wondering why this is true or even why you should care about sunscreen…. well, let’s take a little dive into this (because a deep dive will definitely include some calculations)

Every day we interact with the environment and that includes the sun, the air and pollution. These elements have an impact on our skin and so when taking care of our skin health, we need to factor this in. The most common element we interact with is the sun, which emits ultra violet rays. These rays however invisible affect our skin and determine things like how we age and our general skin health.

Spf stands for sun protection factor and is generally used to refer to sunscreens because that is how they are most commonly measured by. It is used to measure the efficacy of sunscreen against the UVB rays. Since the sun is one of our most concerning elements of the environment, here’s why you should be wearing sunscreen every day.

Preventing aging

As I hinted earlier, UV ray break down collagen. Collagen is the protein responsible for making our skin elastic and lack of it means our skin begins to form fine lines and wrinkles. By preventing the damage from the UV rays, less collagen is broken down and that prevents our skin from showing the signs of aging.

Preventing dark marks

UVA rays in particular do a good job of promoting tanning in the skin. This can lead to uneven darkening of some parts of the skin e.g. pimple scars or skin injury scars. These tend to be darker than the surrounding skin already and the sun definitely worsens the situation. By applying sunscreen, it prevents further darkening and also supports any anti dark marks treatment that you may be using.

Preventing sun burns

Getting a sun burn sure sounds painful. How about if I told you that some of the burns that you get may make you prone to certain types of skin cancers? Sounds scary right? Unfortunately, its true and there’s a bunch of studies about that. It’s not only UVB rays but also the UVA rays (the ones that give you a great tan). This is probably the biggest reason why wearing sunscreen and practicing sun safe habits is so important.

Spf is your bff

In the same way a great desert crowns a meal, sunscreen crowns and seals your skin care. It makes it all worthwhile…so hey!! remember to wear your sunscreen today.