What to Look for in a Sunblock

Summer is supposedly almost over. But guess what? The sun is high and soaring like a mad king these days, not to mention the humidity trying to suck all the energy off your body. It did not help that Manila’s summer peak (April) was bombarded with at least a couple of typhoons. The month of April practically rained right through us and now the summer heat is back with a vengeance.

Truth be told, we could use the extended summer season to our advantage. Our family leaves for Boracay in 24 days and we would rather have the sun on our backs than the rain. But with the unpredictability of our climate, there really is no way of knowing when summer will officially end.

Whether the summer will notoriously sizzle on us on our beach vacation or not, we have  to be armed with the highest sun protection factor (SPF) grade sun block we could get our hands on. I personally do not like the sun very much, but my boys do. And there is no way I will have them bask on the shores of Boracay, nor am I going to pose for pictures beside those lovely outdoor dining sets of the guesthouse we will be staying at, without our skin protected from the harsh rays of the sun.

Choosing a sun block lotion can be tricky. There are a whole bunch out there in the market. Of course, it is easy to just grab the one with the highest SPF grade, right? Wrong. You also have to check the label if it has “broad-spectrum protection.” This would mean that the sun block lotion protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Prolonged exposure to UVB rays ups your risk to get skin cancer. While UVA rays is the culprit to melasma, premature aging, wrinkles and it destroys the skins elasticity. As for the numbers, it simply would tell you the times it will take for your skin to burn if you don’t have the sun block lotion on. So let’s say for instance, you choose the sun block with SPF70 and it takes your skin to burn in 10 minutes without sun block. 70 x 10 is 700. That is the number of minutes for your skin to actually burn if you have the lotion on.

Be wise and wear sun block, not just during the summer season but every time you step out of your house. Every single day of the year, if possible. So far, I am still in the look out for a good all year round sun block. The truth is, the sticky feel turns me off from using it as regularly as I should. How about you, what’s the best brand of sunblock you have used by far? Anyone, care to recommend a non-greasy, high SPF grade, broad spectrum protection sunblock brand?