Sun burns

Havent been updating this blog for quite some time. If u follow my other blog, u'll understand why. =)

Got a bit of a writer's block also... dunno wat trivia shld i write... =p nobody suggesting anything =p.

After observing how horrible my tan lines are. (it's very ugly rite now) I've decided that i shld learn more abt sun burns.

It'll be very useful too. Cos it's the holidays. Surely many of ya wld be gg out to the 'wonderful' sunny outdoors!

Abt Sunburn:

The sun emits three types of UV rays: UV-C, UV-B and UV-A. UV-C doesnt do much damage to our skin and most of it is screened effectively by our ozone. UV-A is the harmful one as it penetrates the skin and the eyes.

Approximately 90% of UV-B is absorbed by the epidermis and about half of UV-A reaches the dermis and subcutaneous fat.

The primary offender in sunburn are the UV-A rays.

Girls and Guys who love their good looks take note:

Sunburn accelerates the aging process, manifested by wrinkles and a pebble stone appearance of skin, which develops over time. It is also a culprit in the increased risk of cataracts and skin cancer.

So it's very impt to use sun block/ sun tanning lotion to protect ur skin!

What does SPF on sun blocks mean?

SPF is actually short for Sun protection factor.

What is the SPF value on sunscreen?

This is defined by a ratio of energy that is required to produce minimal redness of the skin penetrating the sunscreen, compared to the amount of energy required to produce the same reaction with the absence of sunscreen.

This gives you some idea of how long you can remain in the sun before burning.

An example as provided by Dr. McKay, if one would normally burn in 10 minutes without sunscreen, applying a 15 SPF would provide you approximately 150 minutes in the sun before burning, approximately 15 times the protection.

A sunscreen of 15 SPF filters out about 90% of UV rays. It should be noted that filtration or protection of UV-A in sunscreen is only about 10% of the UV-B rating.

[a really gd reference]