The sun is essential for life and has positive effects on the body, such as facilitating vitamin D synthesis and improving mood.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, ultraviolet radiation from the sun also has negative effects. It weakens immune defences, prematurely ages the skin and can cause the appearance of skin cancer and eye cataracts.<\/p>\n
Factors to take into account are:<\/p>\n
Types of sunscreen<\/strong><\/p>\n The index that estimates how much extra time you can expose yourself to the sun is known as the Sun Protection Factor (SPF)<\/strong> and this value is found on all packages. For example, if your skin reddens after an exposure of 10 minutes, a sunscreen with SPF 15 would allow you to be exposed for up to 15 times longer without burning. In other words, 150 minutes (2.5 hours), although in practice this is only an estimate.<\/p>\n When you are first exposed, you need a high SPF and can reduce it over the following days. The SPF must be higher for low phototypes<\/strong> (people with fair skin tone): children, days of prolonged exposure time, in the mountains, in contact with water, snow, grass, asphalt or earth and for people at risk.<\/p>\n Depending on the composition, protectors are classified into three types: physical filters<\/strong> (mineral screen effect), chemical or organic and biological<\/strong>. Because they\u2019re less harmful (they aren\u2019t absorbed) and effective, organic filters are the most highly recommended.<\/p>\n Most sunscreens offer good protection against UVB light but not against the action of UVA. You must look at the packaging to check if they\u2019re wide spectrum filters that cover both and if they also filter the infrared even better.<\/p>\n Recommendations<\/strong><\/p>\n Exposure to the sun should be practised responsibly:<\/strong><\/p>\n