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  • "SPF 30 Doesn't Get Your Any Bonus Points" and Other Sunscreen Myths
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Using above SPF 30 doesn't really get you any bonus points. So SPF 30, by the FDA guidelines, 30 or above, can claim on a bottle that it prevents skin cancer. Less than SPF 30 cannot claim that. The thing is that if you're in the sun you do have to reapply every two hours. So what SPF really means, Sun Protection Factor, the number is, for example, 30 times, with an SPF 30, it takes 30 times longer before you burn. Right? When you go from SPF 30 to 50 and 100, you're saying it's going to take longer before you burn. However you need to reapply anyway every two hours because it wears off, so it doesn't really have much of an extra benefit to go above 30. It is very important to be broad spectrum UVA and UVB coverage and I prefer the physical sunscreens. Those are the mineral ones, so titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are two very important ingredients to look for and that can also protect you from infrared as well as visible light. All of these things contribute to aging so it's important to kind of have a broad spectrum agent that you're using.

"SPF 30 Doesn't Get Your Any Bonus Points" and Other Sunscreen Myths

Dr. Jennifer Ahdout dispels some misconceptions about sunscreen and some of these points were a real surprise!