Photoaging...cont'd

The first line of defense, as you no doubt have heard over and over, is to adequately protect your skin from these harmful rays. But here are some guidelines that you may find illuminating (no pun intended).

At the bare minimum you should apply product with an SPF of at least 15. The SPF number times 10 (i.e.15 x 10, 30 x 10, etc.) is a guide to how many minutes of protection at a given percentage, (generally 94-97%) a product will provide with a single application. If you are of lighter complexion, or know that you tend to burn rapidly, you should automatically go with a higher SPF. But whether the SPF value is higher or lower, like feeding a parking meter, you will have to replenish the sun block on your skin each time the clock runs out to assure uninterrupted protection.

Consider, also, that filtration technologies once only available in Europe can now be found in products marketed in the United States. One such ingredient, Parsol 1789, was approved as a category 1 sunscreen by the FDA in 1997. It is a patented UVA filter that provides protection throughout the entire UVA spectrum. You will find it as part of a broad-spectrum UVA/UVB filter in premium formulations such as ProVive SPF30 from Promedis.