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If you find sunscreens and SPFs confusing, watch this video to figure out what is right for you! But if you prefer reading, enjoy the transcript below!
Transcript
Question - MenopauseWize: These SPFS, you know they can be so confusing. Can you tell us more about SPF?
Answer - Dr. Deepti Ghia, MD: SPF is more for sun protection factor which is for UVB rays, and is more as a cancer protector because UVB rays are the ones which lead to skin cancers and for the Caucasian or the the fair skin type it is cancers which are a big problem. So different skin types have different problems. So fair skin patients do have more cancers, and melanomas as their problem whereas darker skin type patients have more pigmentation melasma and those are an issue. So your SPF will just give you UVB protection levels, but anything above SPF 30 will give you almost 96% of protection from UVB rays, and then SPF 50 gives you 98%. The difference is minimal. There's a marketing gimmick. Most people want to buy the best SPF thing. I use SPF100, you know, but SPF is giving you UVB protection. Aging and you know tanning happen. They happen through the UVA rays. And for that, there are different ratings which are available. The Boots star rating is there, and the PA plus plus plus ratings are there. So four plus or five plus PA plus ratings are good for UVA protection.
There's also water resistance which is there, so you need to see what if you're swimming then you should use a water-resistant sunscreen. And then you know, for usually for children we prefer using only purely physical sunscreens, but for you know adults we use a mixture of physical with chemical sunscreens which help got it.
Question - MenopauseWize: So basically if you use a 30 SPF you should be OK
Answer - Dr. Deepti Ghia, MD: But not for hiking and you know, not for going outdoors but SPF 30 is good for city life where you are, you know, getting. Off into a cab or you know, something that you're a vehicle that takes you to from one place to another, and then again you go to an indoor covered place. So it's good for that use. But suppose you're going trekking, hiking, swimming, you know, for long hours and you need higher SPF because it gives you longer cover. When the SPF goes up, the decay goes down of the sun protection factor. So the only advantage of higher SPF is that you get longer coverage. So if you have a 30SPF it would be like you know you'll have to reapply it every three to four hours. That's important: sunscreen effects last only for three to four hours. So every time you're stepping out in the sun, you must put the sunscreen on.
Question - MenopauseWize: That's a lot of work.
Answer - Dr. Deepti Ghia, MD: That's the ideal scenario as you asked for the ideal scenario, but I have a lot of patients who do that because it's just part of getting into routine. It's like brushing your teeth. Now you know you brush your teeth every day and you know it just becomes part of you. So like, if you start putting moisturizers on screens for a few months regularly, then it just becomes part of your routine as long as you get the correct products. See, sometimes if you feel you put sunscreen and your skin is feeling sticky and oily means you need to change your product. Should be so comfortable for you that you put them every day and you should never feel, you know, sticky, oily or you know, you shouldn't feel like oh you want to get it out or it shouldn't be so dry that you want to put more cream. You know it has to be the perfect balance, right?
Question - MenopauseWize: As they say there is, there is nothing like bad weather. There is just bad gear for the weather. So also your sunscreen, there's nothing like bad sunscreen. It is about just finding the right one
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