Protect yourself against the spring sunshine – 12 face creams with sun protection

It used to be the case that we all wanted a suntan. Now that’s a fashion on the downturn as more and more people are learning about the effect of direct sunlight on the skin. Other than spending a sensible amount of time on the beach in the summer, it can be a good precautionary measure to choose a face cream with sun protection.

It’s not a nice thought, but skin cancer – malignant melanoma – is one of the fastest increasing types of cancer. And some Britons have been far too careless with sunscreen, and a bit too keen to get a quick suntan on a sunbed. Now we understand the value of applying sunscreen thoroughly on the beach or on a foreign holiday. But your face is actually exposed to a lot of sunlight every day without you even thinking about it.

And the skin on your face is thin and sensitive. So make sure you’re kind to your face by choosing a face cream with a high sun protection factor. This way, you make using sun protection part of your everyday skincare routine. And of course, if you know you’re going to be even more exposed to sunlight, you should use your normal sunscreen as well as your face cream. Best of all is to try to keep your face in the shadow as much as possible, for example by wearing a cap.

What is SPF?

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. And it works like this: if you get sunburned in 10 minutes when you aren’t wearing a sunscreen, it’ll take you 150 minutes in the same intensity of sunlight to develop the same degree of sunburn if you're wearing a sunscreen with an SPF of 15. Of course this is just an estimation, to give you an idea of how much protection the cream provides. One thing that’s important to remember is that darker skin generally tolerates sunlight better than lighter skin. But everyone, regardless of skin type, should use sunscreen to protect themselves against skin cancer.

How high should the SPF be?

The sun’s rays contain two different types of ultraviolet radiation – UVA and UVB. How well a sunscreen protects against radiation varies. The SPF shows how effective it is at preventing UVB from causing skin damage.

• SPF 6-10 Low protection
• SPF 15-25 Medium-high protection – SPF15 protects you against 93% of UVB radiation
• SPF 30-50 High protection – SPF 30 protects you against 97% of UVB radiation
• SPF 50+ Very high protection – SPF 50 protects you against 98% of UVB radiation

Things to remember when choosing a face cream

• Choose a day cream with as high an SPF as possible
• Don’t skimp on the cream – apply liberally
• Sun protection in your face cream also prevents wrinkles