Sun cream: what protection factor to use?

The Protection Factor (SPF) of sun creams is a number that indicates the time that the product increases the skin’s defense capacity against the sun.

“If the skin can be exposed to the sun for 10 minutes without getting red, a protection Factor of 15 would protect for approximately 2 and a half hours,” explains Martín Ramírez de Diego, pharmacist at the Farmacia Ramírez de Diego, CB, in Asturias. That is, 15 minutes x 10 = 150 minutes . “With an SPF of 30 – continues – we would be protected 30 minutes x 10, that is, 5 hours, and with a FPS of 50, 8 hours”.

So, why renew the cream every 2 hours?

The question that arises is why it is strongly recommended to replace the sunscreen every two hours if an SPF50 protects for 8 hours. ” In two hours we touch our skin and sweat . In addition, the degree of absorption of each person is different. Even in the same body there are more delicate areas than others, where the skin is thinner. For all this, you can not establish a fixed rule of so much factor, so many hours , because, among other things, not only depends on the exposure time, “explains Ramírez de Diego.

Each person and each type of skin is different and the pharmacist explains that “in the awareness campaigns are generalized recommendations to be valid for the majority of the population.”

Which sunscreen to choose

To choose the appropriate protective factor, it is important to take into account the Phototype of the person. The phototype “is determined by characteristics such as pigmentation of the skin, eyes, hair, and the ability to tan . The sensitivity of people to ultraviolet radiation and redness depends on this, “says the expert.

These are the different phototypes:

• Phototype I: very pale skins, like that of redheads. They almost always burn and it is difficult for them to get a tan. They tend to suffer allergic reactions to the sun.
• Phototype II: white and sensitive skin. They are usually people with blond or light hair. They also do not get to brown and are also sensitive to allergic reactions by the sun.
• Phototype III: skins of intermediate color. They usually correspond to people with brown hair, able to catch some tan.
• Phototype IV: dark skin of people with black hair. They tan easily and quickly.
• Phototype V: skins characterized by being somewhat darker than in the previous phototype.
• Phototype VI: skins of black people .

In addition to the phototype, the Ministry of Health states that, when choosing FPS, the ultraviolet radiation index must be taken into account . These indexes are divided into:

• Low UV radiation : values ​​1 to 3.
• Average radiation : values ​​4 to 6.
• High radiation : values ​​7 to 9.
• Extreme radiation : greater than 10.

Considering the level of radiation and the type of phototype, the Ministry of Health recommends that the FPS be chosen in this way:

Other factors to consider are the time of day, the altitude, the geographical location, the season of the year and whether it is in water, snow or sand.

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