By Abigale Paterniti, Staff Writer
According to John Hopkins Medicine, M.D. Anna Lien-Lun Chien, SPF is crucial because it is important for preventing sun spots, skin cancer, and burns, especially on a hot day when the UV index is high. It should have the same priority in your everyday routine as brushing your teeth or washing your hair. To get a better understanding of what people really think about sunscreen, a group of sophomores at River Hill High School provided their opinions.
The first question is, what are some benefits of sunscreen? Sophomore Samara Winrose confidently states, “I won’t get burned.” However, sophomore Sharvi Wankhade shares why there is more of a science behind “not getting burned.” “The biggest benefit for me is the protection against UV rays,” Sharvi remarks, and Hopkins would agree. The real benefit of sunscreen is the protection it gives against the sun, specifically UV rays, that limits the severity of sunburns, or from even getting burned at all.
Sophomore Emily Jones, a swimmer for Harper’s Choice, has a lot of experience with using sunscreen. Her response showcases the benefits of sunscreen and goes one step further, “The benefits of sunscreen are preventing skin cancer, wrinkles and uneven skin tone, and dark spots.” Experts agree with Emily, as, according to John Hopkins Medicine, “Wearing sunscreen is one of the best — and easiest — ways to protect your skin’s appearance and health at any age. Used regularly, sunscreen helps prevent sunburn, skin cancer, and premature aging.”
Students at River Hill prioritize sun protection to varying degrees when asked, How often do they use sunscreen? All three sophomores remarked that they “use it every day,” yet they also mentioned that they use it in store bought moisturizers that have SPF in them. So, the real question is whether people use enough sunscreen in their everyday routine, even if they understand the benefits.
Even when people have an understanding of the benefits of sunscreen, and use it every day, there is still the problem that the moisturizers people use do not have high enough levels of SPF. “For day-to-day use, pick a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30” (Hopkins Medicine). Similarly, Cynthia Bailey, a board-certified dermatologist, says, “In an SPF 15, you’re blocking about 93 percent of the UVB…at SPF 30, you’re blocking 97 percent, and at SPF 50, you’re blocking 98 percent. When you get up to 30, you’re pretty much there.”
This leads into the final question: what are the popular everyday moisturizer sunscreens that people are using, and what are their SPFs? While some may choose higher-priced sunscreens like Supergoop and Coola. Emily, who has been a swimmer for a long portion of her life, and therefore has more experience with applying sunscreen not only on her face but also on her body on a daily basis says, “I like Banana Boat Sport Ultra, especially when I’m swimming.”
Supergoop and Coola face sunscreens almost all have an SPF of 40, however they are very pricy, for a 1.7 fl oz of face sunscreen from Supergoop, the cost is $40 dollars. From Coola, a 1.7 fl oz bottle of face sunscreen with a SPF of 50 costs $32 dollars. On the other hand, Banana Boat Sunscreen is drastically cheaper, a 2 fl oz bottle of face sunscreen with a SPF of 50 from Target is only $10.99. Even though the cost of sunscreen varies, the SPF value is what truly matters.
All in all, the conclusion is drawn that to receive the benefits of sunscreen, it is evident from research and public insight, that one must first be educated on the benefits of sunscreen, and use affordable, high SPF sunscreen every day, to sustain healthy skin in the long term.