Sun protection factor of South African-tested sunscreens

Sun protection factor of South African-tested sunscreens.

Measuring the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of Sunscreens

Sun protection products, including sunscreen lotions, are designed to absorb or reflect the sun’s UV radiation to protect the skin from damage. The rating system for sunscreens specifies a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) value, which can be thought of as a time factor for the protection of skin compared to exposure without any protection. For example, if a person would show visible erythema (sunbur...

Sunscreens: Is Looking at Sun Protection Factor Enough?

The sun protection factor (SPF) has widely been used to evaluate the protective value of sunscreens. However, SPF only reflects the effectiveness of the sunscreen to protect against acute sunburn which is mainly due to ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. The deleterious effects of UVB are well known and UVB was believed in the past to be the spectrum responsible for the damages arising from ultravio...

Comparison of UVA protection afforded by high sun protection factor sunscreens.

UVA protection afforded by 6 different sunscreens with a sun protection factor of 21 or more was compared by means of the persistent pigmentation darkening method. Colorimetric and visual assessment showed significant differences in UV radiation-induced pigmentation at 2 hours. The labeled sun protection factor of the tested sunscreens was not predictive of UVA protection level.

Sun beds and sunscreens - friends or foes?

When absorbed, a photon of a given energy has the same chemical and biological effect whether it comes from the sun or from an artificial, man-made source like a sun bed. If the spectrum and intensity of a sun bed are the same as those of the sun, the biological effects will be exactly the same. The main difference between radiation from sun and sun beds is that sun beds emit less visible light...