New study says UVB is worse than UVA

UVA...UVB...UVA...UVB. Which way? Thataway! It's like playing that whack-a-mole game with only one mallet. Some years back, the sun protection cross-hairs shifted over to UVA as the bad guy. And why not? UVA rays were found to be accountable for 80% of skin damage attributed to photo-aging, skin cancer, and DNA damage. Plus, it was pounded into everyone's brain that UVA rays are loonnnggger. Which means they go deeeeeeper. So we all got the memo and looked for sunscreens with UVA protection.

Now, however, a study from the journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (reported on by CosmeticsDesign-Europe, 7/2/08) states that:

both types of radiation illicit DNA damage, however, the body finds it harder to repair that caused by UVB. This explains why UVB is more likely to cause skin cancer than UVA said the scientists led by Dr. Ahmad Besaratinia at City of Hope National Medical Center.

I don't really find the news too earth-shattering, and I prefer to just stay on the safe side and blame both sets of rays for any and all skin damage. With that, I try to find sunscreens that offer a blend of both physical UV-blockers--ones that reflect the rays, and chemical ones--ones that absorb the rays. Zinc Oxide (physical UV blocker) is known to be the most effective stand-alone ingredient shielding against both UVA and UVB rays. One sunscreen to try that contains zinc oxide as well as a chemical blocker (Octinoxate) is Obagi C-SunGuard SPF 30.

Regardless of what you choose, make sure you cover both UV bases--and wear your sunscreen obsessively.

Have you tried Obagi C-SunGuard SPF 30? Let us know