The scientists from the US have found that a significant number of people who use sunscreens do not understand what is written on the packaging. Consequently, they may receive less protection they need.
Most people are well aware that it is necessary to use a sunscreen in summer. It will protect us from sunburns as well as from life-threatening diseases like cancer. It is worth mentioning that skin tumors are the most common type of cancer, so sunscreens should be the most important method of preventing this disease.
However, if you look at how most people choose these products in the stores, you can easily see that buyers are interested in almost everything, except for the level of protection against ultraviolet spectrum and the SPF label. To better understand this phenomenon, the researchers from Northwestern University have decided to conduct an experiment to see how well people understand the inscription on the sunscreen.
In total, 114 people responded to the questions, but the results fully met the expectations of the experts. For example, 49% of the volunteers did not know how to interpret the SPF (sun protection factor). It is known that the higher the SPF, the better is the cream. However, few people realize this. 71% of the volunteers had not heard about the existence of another type of UV rays – UVB, associated with cancer risk.
UVA are long rays, which cause most sunburns. But UVB is a medium-length wave of ultraviolet radiation, which plays an important role in skin aging. It is important that the cream should have signs “SPF, IPD and PPD filters”, which provide maximum protection of the skin from the sun.
