The Top 6 List
By Phillip Barnhard
Your selection can be the difference between light, dark and extra crispy. The sun will show no mercy this summer, so it’s up to you to find the appropriate protection from its harmful glare. This May, the Top 6 List shields the UVA/UVB/UVC rays by examining the SPF ratings on sunblock.
*Note: The author is not a medical professional. However, since he’s a redhead, he has slathered on more than 500 gallons of sunblock in his short lifespan, so that makes him a well-qualified field analyst.
6. No SPF
When using products without an SPF rating, you receive absolutely no protection from the sun. For people who slather on baby oil, butter, Crisco, non-stick cooking spray or whatever method they want to fry in, there is a high probability their skin will receive erythema – or sunburn as it’s more commonly known. Even if trying to work up a tan, any SPF rating is better for your skin than no rating at all, and by using a lower SPF rating, you can still achieve the tan you want without doing too much damage to your skin. Note to redheads: avoid no-SPF products at all costs.
5. SPF 4
Traditionally packaged in a dark brown bottle and marketed as “tanning oil” or “sunscreen,” products around the SPF 4 to SPF 8 range are intended for tanning use only. Key messaging like “dark” or “rich” give the user the feeling that his or her skin will end up – well, dark and rich. This rating is intended for sun-soakers lying on the beach or at the pool looking to get a few shades darker without receiving irreparable damage to their skin.
4. SPF 15
By using SPF 15, you’re telling the sun, “Hey, I’m pretty tan already, but I wouldn’t mind an extra shade. Just go easy on me because I care about my skin.” This is also the boundary where the marketing terms, sunscreen and tanning oil, officially turn into sunblock – a more preventative ideology. If you burn easily, a higher SPF rating would be the smart choice, but for those wanting to improve their farmer’s tan during a round of golf, SPF 15 is your number.
3. SPF 30
This is the SPF rating where you find most of your “sport” or “performance” messaging. Sunblock manufacturers must assume that when Americans are participating in outdoor activities, they’re searching for a sunblock with an SPF rating of 30 or higher. With “sport” and “performance” marketing, you land sweat-proof and waterproof additives, and you have the luxury of selecting a lotion or spray offering.
2. SPF 50
For a good 10 years, SPF 50 was the top dog. If you wanted the ultimate protection, this was where you found it. Obviously, science improved on SPF performance, and SPF 50 lost its reign of Block Almighty. However, some sunblock enthusiasts believe that this level is the stopping point of SPF protection; anything higher is just a facade. Either way, SPF 50 always has been a safe bet for the fair-skinned.
1. SPF 70+
If the sun is your mortal enemy, your skin’s mightiest shield is an SPF rating of 70 or, dare a redhead dream, 80. Marketed in bottles with silver color schemes, the bottle draws your eye on the shelf with its shimmer over the traditional blues and oranges. While the lotion texture is a little thicker than SPF 30, your trade is for the impenetrable fortress that allows the pastiest skins to be exposed longer than 30 minutes. The freckled and the pasty united and rejoiced with this higher numerical creation. And in the background, President Thomas Whitmore from the blockbuster movie, Independence Day, uttered these encouraging words as the fair-skinned folk stepped out of the shade: “We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”
Or somesuch.
E-mail the author: Phillip Barnhard
