3 questions about sunscreens
After an afternoon working in the garden or a pleasant afternoon on the terrace, you suddenly have red and painful skin. It’s only April! Is it time to use sunscreen yet? Three questions about the power of the spring sun.
1. Is the spring sun harmful?
Let’s start with the good news: a little UV radiation from the sun is good for you, because it causes the body to produce vitamin D. But it soon becomes too much. The sun can burn your skin and that can lead to skin cancer in the long run. In addition, the sun can damage your eyes and that can lead to cataracts.
How harmful the sun’s rays are, can be read from the UV power† The more UV radiation is expected, the higher the number. The KNMI provides a forecast for this UV power every day, it can be read here. In the coming week the prediction of UV strength is 0 to 4. With UV strength 4 you can sit unprotected in the sun for 25 minutes before you get burned. That will soon be over, so rubbing with a sunscreen product is definitely recommended.
2. Which sunscreen is best?
The Dutch Cancer Society (KWF) advises a sunscreen product with a factor of 10 to 30, depending on your skin type. Even though lubrication is important, the UV filters in the products are often harmful to nature and even to your own health. Lubrication remains the advice, because the sun itself is even more harmful to the skin, but work is being done on safer sunscreen creams, Read more about it here. The Consumers’ Association has practical information about choosing safe and responsible products† For example, a product with titanium dioxide as a UV filter is better for the environment than a product with Ethylhexyl Dimethyl PABA.
3. Is last year’s cream still usable?
Sunscreen does not last indefinitely. After opening, the cream can officially be used for another 12 months. Did you leave the cream in the sun? Or in a warm car? That does not benefit the protection factor. But the Consumers’ Association writes that measurements show that last year’s creams are often still quite usable. The good news is further: cheap creams protect just as well as expensive ones. The sunscreens that came out on top in the 2021 test were from Kruidvat and Trekpleister and cost 5 to 8 euros.
