Best & Worst Sun Protection

With the summer holiday season almost upon us, supermarkets are stocking up their shelves with sun creams all claiming to offer us the optimum protection available from the sun, although recent tests have just revealed that 3 leading sun creams do not offer the protection promised on the bottles, first of all M&S's factor 15 only scored 7.1 in lab tests, Tesco's Factor 15 only came out as 12 and finally Malibu High Protection Lotion only scored 10.2 & not 15 as claimed.
Other brands were scored as well & some of the highly rated ones were Sanisbury's Factor 15, Ambre Solaire, Nivea as well as the one I would recommend, Boots Soltan. Sainsbury's lotion is only £3 which just shows you really don't have to splash the cash to get the best results.
Taking note of the SPF number of suncare products is very important, the numbering system applied to sunscreens is to advise on selecting the correct sunscreen for your skin type. The higher the number the greater the protection, the number indicates how much time can be spent in the sun before burning. For example if you use an SPF of 4, you could stay in the sun four times longer before burning as you would without any protection.
If you have fair skin it is more likely that you will burn quickly without any sunscreen and you may well still burn if your SPF is not strong enough. SPF 30 should provide sufficient coverage of any skin type, a higher SPF such as SPF 50 will provide more protection for very fair skins as well as young children. Medium skinned people are probably best to use SPF 15 or higher, darker skins do not need as much protection to their skin although the skin can still be damaged with over exposure to the sun so it is best to use SPF8.
To maximise your skin's protection from damaging sunrays, sunscream should be re-applied at least every 4 hours and more frequently if you are in & out the water. Apply generously to face, nose, neck, hands and feet as these areas are generally prone to burning, as well as the shoulders, chest & neck.
Always apply an After Sun lotion in the evening to moistuise & sooth the skin, even with sun cream applied your skin will loose moisture in the heat, also look out for creams that are rich in Vitamin E & Aloe Vera as these are great for the skin after being in the sun.