Sunscreens with higher sun protection factor (SPF) do not prevent the skin from getting tanned, although they do provide protection against sunburn, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said.
The FDA made the announcement in a post on its Web site dedicated to dispelling rumors to clear a common misconception about sunscreens. The post is titled: “Is it more difficult to get tanned if I apply sunscreens with higher SPFs?”
For example, if the skin normally gets burned after 10 minutes in the sun, applying an SPF 15 sunscreen allows the person to stay in the sun without getting sunburned for about 150 minutes, it said, giving a formula of 10 minutes multiplied by the SPF of 15.
However, skin damage, melanin pigmentation and tanning can still occur even if the skin is not burned, the FDA said.
Levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation this month reached “very high” to “extreme” levels nationwide, according to the WHO’s UV Index.
The FDA advised people not to only look for high SPFs when choosing sunscreens, but also take into consideration their skin type, reaction to sunlight, the activity they take part in, the intensity of sunlight and the amount used when choosing and applying sunscreens.
However, sunscreens play only an assistive role in protecting the skin against UV rays, so people should also wear long-sleeve UV-protective clothing, a hat and sunglasses, and use an umbrella, and avoid going outdoors when UV levels are at “very high” or “extreme” levels, it said.
UV radiation is classified into three types according to their wavelengths: UVC has a short wavelength of 200 nanometers (nm) to 290nm, but it is completely filtered by the atmosphere, UVB has a medium wavelength of 290nm to 320nm and is mostly absorbed by the ozone layer, but the rays that reach the Earth’s surface can cause inflammation, redness and burns on the skin, and significantly increase the risk of developing skin cancer, the FDA said.
UVA has a longer wavelength of 320nm to 400nm and can penetrate deep into the skin, causing damage to the structural components of the dermis, including collagen and elastic fibers, and is responsible for tanning, melanin pigmentation, skin aging and wrinkling, and can increase the risk of skin cancer, it said.
AGING: While Japan has 22 submarines, Taiwan only operates four, two of which were commissioned by the US in 1945 and 1946, and transferred to Taiwan in 1973 Taiwan would need at least 12 submarines to reach modern fleet capabilities, CSBC Corp, Taiwan chairman Chen Cheng-hung (陳政宏) said in an interview broadcast on Friday, citing a US assessment. CSBC is testing the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, the Hai Kun (海鯤, Narwhal), which is scheduled to be delivered to the navy next month or in July. The Hai Kun has completed torpedo-firing tests and is scheduled to undergo overnight sea trials, Chen said on an SET TV military affairs program. Taiwan would require at least 12 submarines to establish a modern submarine force after assessing the nation’s operational environment and defense
A white king snake that frightened passengers and caused a stir on a Taipei MRT train on Friday evening has been claimed by its owner, who would be fined, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. A person on Threads posted that he thought he was lucky to find an empty row of seats on Friday after boarding a train on the Bannan (Blue) Line, only to spot a white snake with black stripes after sitting down. Startled, he jumped up, he wrote, describing the encounter as “terrifying.” “Taipei’s rat control plan: Release snakes on the metro,” one person wrote in reply, referring
The coast guard today said that it had disrupted "illegal" operations by a Chinese research ship in waters close to the nation and driven it away, part of what Taipei sees a provocative pattern of China's stepped up maritime activities. The coast guard said that it on Thursday last week detected the Chinese ship Tongji (同濟號), which was commissioned only last year, 29 nautical miles (54km) southeast of the southern tip of Taiwan, although just outside restricted waters. The ship was observed lowering ropes into the water, suspected to be the deployment of scientific instruments for "illegal" survey operations, and the coast
Taiwan’s two cases of hantavirus so far this year are on par with previous years’ case numbers, and the government is coordinating rat extermination work, so there should not be any outbreaks, Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said today in an interview with the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper). An increase in rat sightings in Taipei and New Taipei City has raised concerns about the spread of hantavirus, as rats can carry the disease. In January, a man in his 70s who lived in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) tested positive posthumously for hantavirus, Taiwan’s
RSS