Screen out wrinkles safely

We hear it over and over again, but it bears repeating: Always apply sunscreen to your face, neck, and other exposed skin before you go outdoors. But when you do, keep these two guidelines in mind:

• To achieve optimal protection, choose a product with an SPF that’s between 30 and 50.
• Always buy sunscreen labeled “full-spectrum,” which means it’s been proven to protect against both UVB rays, which burn your skin and  increase your risk for skin cancer, and UVA rays, which damage collagen and accelerate the aging process.

When you’re picking out sunscreen in the store, take a look at the label. The jury is still out on how damaging chemical-based sunscreens really are, but with scads of highly effective natural products on the market, why take chances? These three culprits have been shown to be especially damaging to your health and your looks. (And the higher the SPF is, the more chemicals a product contains.)

1. Oxybenzone. This is an active ingredient in most commercial sunscreens. It can cause skin irritation and allergies, and (worse) it reacts with UV rays to create cell-damaging free radicals, which are linked to hormone disruption and increased cancer risk.

2. Parabens. These are synthetic preservatives that disrupt hormones and may stimulate cancerous tumors. In small quantities, they pose little or no risk. The problem is that they’re used in so many beauty and personal-care products, including deodorants, shampoos, shaving creams, makeup, and sunscreens, that you can give yourself a dangerous dose without knowing it. Fortunately, they’re easy to spot because they generally appear last on ingredient lists. Look for methylparaben, propylparaben, and/or butylparaben.

3. Retinyl palmitate (a.k.a. vitamin A). When exposed to UV rays, it breaks down into toxic free radicals, causing premature aging and raising cancer risk. 

SP-Huh? Here’s How to Decode Sunscreen Labels

With so many brands of sunscreen crowding the store shelves, manufacturers have to work hard to garner their fair share of the market. Some of them even resort to downright untruths, so avoid any sunscreen that makes claims like these on its label:

It’s waterproof and/or sweatproof. Nonsense. According to the FDA, it’s technically impossible for any sunscreen to be waterproof or sweatproof. A product may be water-resistant, but only if it retains its original sun protection factor (SPF) after at least 40 minutes in water.

It’ll last all day. Hogwash. Dermatologists recommend reapplying sunscreen every two hours, and more frequently if you’ve been sweating heavily or you’ve been swimming.

The higher a sunscreen’s SPF number is, the more protection it gives you — right? Right — but only up to a point. The SPF measures the percentage of UVB rays that a sunscreen blocks. For example, SPF 15 blocks 93 percent of rays, 30 blocks 97 percent, and 50 blocks 98 percent. If you see a number higher than that, don’t waste your money—any extra blocking action will be minimal. To achieve optimal protection, choose an SPF between 30 and 50.

For years, sunscreen manufacturers have touted their products’ ability to guard against the sun’s damaging UVB rays. Well, guess what? UVA rays can be even worse. While UVB rays do burn your skin and put you at risk for skin cancer, UVA rays penetrate deeper. Not only can they cause other types of skin cancer, but they also damage collagen, thereby accelerating the aging process. The bottom line: Always buy sunscreen labeled “full-spectrum,” which means it’s been proven to protect against both kinds of rays.