UV radiation
What is UV radiation? We’ve been hearing a lot about the importance of protecting our skin from the sun. UV protection is a popular topic online and in beauty, lifestyle, and health magazines, particularly in the summer months. This increased coverage is great, as daily UV protection is important.
UVA-radiation
UVA radiation has the same strength throughout the year. While you can’t feel UVA radiation, it penetrates deeper into the skin and causes skin damage.
The A in UVA stands for ageing. UVA radiation can penetrate cloud cover, which means it can damage the skin even on cloudy and overcast days.
UVA radiation can also penetrate windows and clothing, which is why it’s important to protect your skin every day, even when indoors. Your face tends to get the most sun exposure and therefore the most radiation exposure. This is particularly true for people who drive a lot or work in a home or building with lots of windows.
While you can’t feel UVA radiation, it does penetrate more deeply into the skin, causing wrinkles, premature ageing, pigmentation spots, and skin cancer.
The difference between UVA and UVB radiation
“In addition to UVA radiation, we are also exposed to UVB radiation.
This type of radiation is what causes our skin to tan.
The B in UVB stands for burn. These rays can be felt and are associated with sunburn and skin cancer. UVB radiation is largely blocked by clouds, windows, and clothing.”
The main difference between UVA and UVB radiation is that UVA radiation is present year-round while UVB radiation is only present on sunny days. UVA radiation penetrates the skin more deeply, causing wrinkles and skin ageing. UVB radiation is responsible for producing sunburn.
UV protection
It’s important to protect your skin daily against the harmful effects of UV radiation, which can cause sunburn, skin ageing, and in some cases skin cancer. You should protect your skin every time you go outside, not just when you go to the beach or plan on spending all day in the sun.
SPF powder is a broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against both UVA and UVB radiation
“UVA = Radiation responsible for skin ageing
UVB = Radiation responsible for sunburns”
A round UVA logo is used to indicate whether a product protects against UVA radiation. Read more about UVA.
SPF is used to indicate whether a product protects against UVB radiation. Read more about SPF.
Broad-spectrum means the sunscreen protects against both UVA and UVB radiation.
