[arbol]

Not directly answering your question but related: "early sunscreen formulations were disastrous, shielding users from the UVB rays that cause sunburn but not the UVA rays that cause skin cancer. Even today, SPF ratings refer only to UVB rays, so many users may be absorbing far more UVA radiation than they realize."

https://www.outsideonline.com/health/wellness/sunscreen-sun-...

[samename]

How can you know if it does both? Look for UVA on the bottle?

[jvanderbot]

Zinc Oxide does. Kid sunscreen is almost always zink oxide to prevent hormone disruption from the nasty stuff they put in adult sunscreen.

The term "broad spectrum" is used to denote UVA/UVB protection in the US, and is an FDA-regulated term.

[mattlondon]

The UK - and I presume Europe - has a star rating for UVA protection in addition to SPF. Some details here: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/seasonal-health/sunscreen-and-s...

Tl;Dr - you want minimum 5-star 30 SPF for your daily cream.

[collegeburner]

Do people actually use sunscreen every day? I wouldn't think a little sun (well before a burn) is that likely to cause problems?

[Balgair]

I do. But I live at a fairly high altitude. If I don't put on the sunny, I'll get a bad burn in ~15 minutes of being outside. That's short enough that mowing the lawn or taking a walk will burn me. I got tired of always having a bright red nose or arms that just hurt. So, now I just have a bottle sitting by the door and schmear some on before going out. Also stopped wearing sunglasses, as they make burns worse. Again, I live at altitude.

[FullStackAda]

I do. Aside from sunburns, sunscreen helps to prevent or delay photoaging and reduce inflammatory response to UV in the skin - meaning less acne, rosacea and hyperpigmentation. I use only European sunscreens with proper UVA protection.

[mattlondon]

Yes the recommendation is SPF15 every day, even in winter.

Many daily moisturisers will have at least SPF15 so it's no hardship since you're already moisturising every day anyway.

[shard]

Look for PA+++ ratings. You might have to buy sunscreen made outside the US, such as sunscreens made in Korea.