Wednesday, 18 March 2015

Does your sunblock protect against UV rays?

Titanium Dioxide

An excellent mineral for UV protection. The active ingredient prevents sun’s ultraviolet from reaching the deeper layers of the skin, or by reflecting the radiation. Protect against both harmful UVA & UVB rays.

What is Titanium Dioxide?


Titanium dioxide is the family of nanoparticles. It made from two minerals: the effectiveness of sun protection and the potential for health concerns varies. In addition, titanium dioxide is a mineral used as a whitening, thickening, lubricating and sunscreen ingredient in cosmetics. It can protect the skin from UVA & UVB radiation and it is considered as no risk of skin irritation.



 (Pic from http://www.skincancer.org/)


Why Dr Anshaw used titanium dioxide for sunscreen?
  • An excellent broad-spectrum UV radiation blocker
  • Its whitening formula that provides bright reflection
  • Decrease the risk of skin cancer and sunburn
  • Defence against harmful UVA & UVB

What is SPF?

SPF stands for sun protection factor. It refers to the theoretical amount of time you can stay under the sun without getting sunburned. Let’s say your skin start to become red without sunblock in 15 minutes, applying a sunblock with SPF 30 increases the time by a factor of 30. Therefore, you could stay in the sun of 450 minutes with SPF 30 sunscreen. In addition, a higher SPF blocks out more rays–a product with an SPF of 15 will filter out approximately 93% of UVB rays; SPF 30 filters out about 97%.


Minutes to burn without sunscreen x SPF number = maximum sun exposure time



(Pic from http://www.badgerbalm.com/)

Types of UV Rays

UVA Rays - Stand for Ultraviolet A or more easily remembered as "UV Aging rays"- they are the cause of long term skin damage & photo-aging. In other words, they cause premature ageing, wrinkles and sun spots.

UVB Rays - Stand for Ultraviolet B and are often referred to as "UV Burning rays"- they are the chief cause of skin reddening and sunburn, tends to damage the skin's more superficial epidermal layers. It plays a key role in the development of skin cancer and a contributory role in tanning and photoaging. .


UVC Rays - Stand for Ultraviolet C. UVC rays are the most dangerous wavelength of UV light. UVC rays cause extreme damage to your skin, and are the main reason why scientists are worried about the ozone layer's depletion. As the ozone layer becomes thinner and thinner, its ability to filter out UVC light is decreasing.





UV rays and their effect on skin
(Pic from http://www.liveultrahealthy.com/)




UV rays on the earth's surface
(Pic from http://eschooltoday.com/)




Differences of PA + & PA++ & PA +++

PA stands for protection grade against UVA, UVA causes aging problems. Most Asians use PA to measure sun protection level which based on the Persistent Pigment Darkening (PPD) reaction reading at 2-4 hours of sun exposure. PA is only a rough indicator to measure the amount of UVA protection in the sunscreen. Moreover, there are three grades of PA which is PA +, PA++ and PA+++.

  • PA+: Provides some UVA protection with a factor of PPD 2-4. It protects sensitive skin from low to medium UV radiation.
  • PA++: Provides moderate UVA protection with a factor of PPD 4-8. It has better protection against UVA rays and suitable for people with normal skin who exposed to normal UV radiation.
  • PA+++: Provides good UVA protection with a factor of PPD 8-16. It is a strong grade of UVA protection; used for normal skin with direct exposure to sunlight.
  • PA++++: Provides great UVA protection with a factor of PPD >16. It is ideal for long hours of outdoor and water activities. The texture of sunblock PA ++++ is usually more oily compared to sunblock with lower protection grade.  
  • PA+ is enough for normal daily activity, but if you stay long hour in the sun, Dr Anshaw suggest you go for PA++ or higher.





Visit official website for more information: www.meridianclinic.com.my
Address: 22-2, Jalan Solaris 4, Solaris Mont Kiara, 50480 Mont Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Contact Number: 03 6203 6006
Email: customerservice@meridianclinic.com.my

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