Again and again, we receive questions from you asking about the exact difference between UVB and UVA rays and how you can best protect yourself from them.
In this article, we will answer this question and provide you with additional tips and insights on the topic of sunscreens.
Contents:
4. What does Broad-Spectrum Protection Mean?
5. Protect Yourself and Your Skin Properly!
Sun and UV Radiation
UV rays are ultraviolet rays, generally divided into two groups: UVA and UVB rays. These are important for many bodily processes, such as the formation of vital vitamin D3. However, these rays can also cause short-term and long-term health problems, such as acute sunburn or, in the worst case, skin cancer. To protect our skin from UV radiation, we therefore need sunscreen, appropriate clothing, and a few important basic rules, especially for children.
What are UVA Rays?
UVA rays account for about 95% of solar radiation and are constantly with us – even when it's cloudy or raining. Therefore, you should know exactly what these rays can cause. UVA rays penetrate deep into the skin and destroy the elastic fibers of the skin. The result can be premature skin aging. A good mnemonic for this is to think of "A" for aging.
What are UVB Rays?
Unlike UVA rays, UVB rays do not penetrate as deeply into the skin. But what problems does UVB radiation cause? UVB rays can cause skin redness, sunburn, and other changes on the skin's surface. Here again, a mnemonic can be derived: "B" for burning.
In our northern hemisphere, UVB rays are strongest from April to October, so you should protect yourself particularly well during this time of year. Note that the rays are much more intense at higher altitudes and are reflected by snow and water.
What does Broad-Spectrum Protection Mean?
A sunscreen with broad-spectrum protection means a sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB rays. There are filters that are particularly effective against UVA or UVB rays and these must then be combined to protect against both types of UV radiation.
Mineral sunscreens have the great advantage that UV filters like zinc oxide (INCI: Zinc Oxide) offer high broad-spectrum protection. This means that zinc oxide fully protects against both UVB and UVA radiation. Our natural sunscreens also use zinc as a UV filter.
Good to know: Our sunscreens all have broad-spectrum protection with PA++++, which is the scale for classifying broad-spectrum protection.
How many UV rays are actually blocked depends on the sun protection factor (SPF) you use: The relationship between SPF and UV protection is logarithmic: From an SPF of 20, approximately 95% of UV rays are already blocked, while lower SPF values only partially achieve this protection. An SPF of 30 even offers around 97.3% UV protection. From this point on, the protective effect increases only minimally.
An SPF of 50 is recommended especially for people with very sensitive skin, for children, or in extreme sun exposure, such as in tropical regions or during stays in the mountains. An SPF of 50 can also be useful for people suffering from skin conditions such as neurodermatitis or rosacea, or who are prone to sun allergies.
Source: Own representation based on Höger: Physiologie und Pflege der Haut in den ersten Lebensjahren; consilium Themenheft 04.2017.
Protect Yourself and Your Skin Properly!
Proper sun protection is particularly important and should not be underestimated. We recommend our med sun balm SPF 50 for your face and sun-exposed areas, and for your body, depending on your skin type, our (med) sun milk with SPF 50, sunscreen with SPF 30, or sensitive sunscreen in SPF 30 or SPF 50. Make sure to reapply regularly. Only with the right protection can you keep your skin healthy.
So: apply plenty of sunscreen and then relax and enjoy the sun! ☀️
O U R E X P E R T
Dr. med Michaela Hagemann I boep founder, doctor & mother of 3
