There is a shopping trip almost everyone recognises. You stand in front of a wall of sunscreen, reading "ultra-light", "invisible", "SPF 50+", "broad spectrum" and "dermatologist tested" on twenty near-identical bottles, and walk away more confused than you arrived. So you grab the one on offer, use it for a week, hate how it feels, and quietly stop. The trick is learning how to choose sunscreen for your own skin and your own routine, not chasing the 'best' bottle on the shelf.

That last part is the real problem. Not the brand. Not the number. The stopping.

Sunscreen is probably the most recommended product in all of skincare, and the one people are worst at using consistently. Part of that is marketing, which has made a simple idea sound complicated. Part of it is that the labels genuinely are a muddle of numbers, stars and letter ratings from three different continents. And part of it is honest: a lot of sunscreen feels greasy, sticky or chalky.

This guide cuts through that. No scare tactics, no miracle promises. Just what sunlight actually does to skin, what the numbers on the bottle really mean, how mineral and chemical sunscreens differ (both have their place), how much you need, when to put more on, and how to pick a texture that fits your actual life. Because the best sunscreen, as dermatologists like to say, is the one you will wear. It sounds like a slogan. It is actually good advice.

First, what are we actually protecting against?

Most of sunlight is visible light and warmth, which do us no particular harm in ordinary amounts. The part that matters for skin is ultraviolet radiation — UV — invisible light just beyond violet on the spectrum. UV comes in three types: UVA, UVB and UVC. UVC is absorbed by the atmosphere and never reaches you, so forget it. The other two behave quite differently, and sunscreen is designed to handle both.

UVB: the burning rays

UVB mostly affects the outer layers of skin and is the main cause of sunburn. It is strongest when the sun is high — roughly late morning to mid-afternoon — more intense in summer than winter, stronger near the equator, and stronger at altitude, where there is less air above you to filter it. That is why you can spend an hour outside in January and notice nothing, then catch your shoulders in twenty minutes in June.

UVB is also the part of sunlight your body uses to make vitamin D, a fact often used in arguments against sunscreen. Public health bodies are fairly calm about this: they do not recommend skipping protection and baking in the sun as a vitamin D strategy. If you are concerned about your own level, a doctor can test it — it is not something to guess at on a sun lounger.

UVA: the quiet, year-round rays

UVA is less intense per minute but far more persistent. It makes up most of the UV that reaches the ground, it is present from sunrise to sunset, it changes much less with the seasons than UVB, and crucially it passes through cloud and window glass. Standard glass blocks most UVB — which is why you do not burn in a car with the windows up — but a good proportion of UVA gets through.

UVA also penetrates deeper, reaching the dermis where collagen and elastin live. Over years, that quiet exposure is associated with premature ageing — wrinkles, loss of firmness, uneven pigmentation — and contributes, alongside UVB, to skin damage more broadly. Think of UVB as the loud one that leaves you red by evening, and UVA as the one doing slow work on ordinary days when nothing seems to be happening.

That is why dermatologists care about daily use, not just holiday use. Most of us get the bulk of our lifetime exposure in small, forgettable doses: the walk to the station, lunch on a bench, driving, gardening. None of those feel like sunbathing, so we do not protect against them — and they add up.

Clouds, shade, winter and water

Clouds reduce UV but do not remove it. A substantial share can pass through light cloud, and a cool breeze removes the heat that would otherwise warn you — you cannot feel UV, only warmth. If the day is bright, assume UV is getting through.

Shade helps a lot, but it is not a force field: you still receive UV scattered from the sky and reflected off the ground. Sand, concrete and water reflect some; snow reflects a great deal, which is why skiers sometimes burn under the chin and nose.

Winter is not a free pass either, particularly for UVA, which barely takes a season off. And water offers almost no protection once you are swimming: UV penetrates the surface, the cool water disguises how much sun you are getting, and your sunscreen is washing off — a classic recipe for the worst burn of a holiday.

None of this makes the outdoors dangerous — going outside is good for mood, sleep and exercise. The point is that UV exposure is less tied to "hot sunny day" than most people assume, and habits work best when they follow the actual conditions rather than the temperature on your phone.

What SPF actually means — and what it doesn't

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. It is measured in a laboratory, precisely but in a way that flatters the product: sunscreen is applied to volunteers' skin at a standard thickness of 2 milligrams per square centimetre — more than most people use — and researchers compare how long protected skin takes to redden against unprotected skin.

The most useful way to read SPF is by how much UVB gets through:

• SPF 15 lets roughly 1 in 15 UVB rays through — it blocks about 93%.
• SPF 30 lets roughly 1 in 30 through — about 97%.
• SPF 50 lets roughly 1 in 50 through — about 98%.

Those numbers surprise almost everyone. SPF 50 is not twice as strong as SPF 25, and it is only about one percentage point ahead of SPF 30. That does not make SPF 50 pointless: if you burn easily, are managing pigmentation, work outdoors or know you under-apply (most of us do), the extra margin is worth having. But it should end the anxiety that anything under 50 is useless. A well-applied SPF 30 beats an SPF 50+ smeared on thinly once at breakfast.

Three other things SPF does not tell you matter just as much. First, SPF is mainly a UVB measure — it says little about UVA, covered separately below. Second, the lab number assumes that generous test application. Real-world studies consistently find people apply a quarter to half of the test amount, and protection drops as the film gets thinner, so a sparingly applied SPF 50 may perform far closer to SPF 15 or 20. That is the biggest hidden variable in this whole subject. Third, no sunscreen blocks 100% of UV, and a higher number is not a licence to stay out all day: sunscreen is one layer alongside shade, clothing, a hat and sensible timing.

So what SPF should you actually buy?

For most people, broad-spectrum SPF 30 is a reasonable daily baseline. SPF 50 makes sense if you are fair or burn easily, are treating pigmentation, use ingredients that increase sun sensitivity, work outdoors, or live somewhere with strong sun. Children and anyone advised by their doctor to be especially careful are generally steered towards SPF 50.

Broad spectrum, PA ratings and stars: decoding the UVA side

Because SPF mostly covers UVB, several systems exist for signalling UVA protection, and which you see depends on where the product was made. They all answer the same question: does this also protect against the deeper, ageing rays?

Broad spectrum, the term used in the United States and seen widely elsewhere, means the product passed a test showing UVA protection in proportion to its UVB protection. It is pass or fail rather than a scale — reassuring, but it cannot tell you whether UVA protection is adequate or genuinely high.

The UVA circle logo, seen in Europe, means UVA protection is at least one third of the SPF, the ratio the European Commission recommends. The star rating, used in the UK, grades UVA from 0 to 5 stars relative to UVB; five is the highest ratio. PA ratings — PA+ through PA++++ — come from Japan, are common on Japanese and Korean sunscreens, and are based on how long skin takes to darken under UVA. More plus signs mean stronger protection; PA++++ is the top grade.

You do not need to memorise all four systems. Just look for evidence of UVA protection in whichever language your local bottles speak — and if you are managing pigmentation, melasma or signs of ageing, aim for the higher end of whatever scale you are shopping in. For long-term skin appearance, that choice arguably matters more than SPF 30 versus 50.

Mineral, chemical and hybrid: an even-handed guide

This is where the internet gets tribal, so let us be deliberately boring and fair. Sunscreen filters fall into two broad families. Both are regulated, both are considered safe and effective by major dermatology and public health organisations when used as directed, and both have genuine pros and cons. Anyone telling you one side is perfect and the other is terrible is selling something.

Mineral (physical) sunscreens

Mineral sunscreens use zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. These sit largely on the skin's surface and work mainly by scattering and absorbing UV. They protect as soon as you apply them, tend to be well tolerated by reactive skin, and zinc oxide gives broad coverage across UVA and UVB. Their historic downside is texture: mineral filters are white powders, so formulas can feel thicker and leave a visible white cast. Modern versions are far better than the chalky stripe of decades past, but the trade-off remains, especially at high SPFs and on deeper skin tones.

Chemical (organic) sunscreens

Chemical sunscreens — "organic" in the chemist's sense, meaning carbon-based, not the food-label sense — use filters such as avobenzone and octocrylene, and a newer generation including bemotrizinol and bisoctrizole where regulations allow. They settle into the very top layer of skin and absorb UV, converting it to a tiny amount of heat. The usual advice is to apply them 15 to 20 minutes before going out, to let the film form evenly.

Their advantage is cosmetic elegance: chemical formulas can be weightless, transparent on all skin tones, and easy to spread at the full recommended amount — which is where real-world protection is won or lost. Downsides are modest but real: certain filters can sting eyes or irritate very sensitive or eczema-prone skin. If that is you, patch testing or a mineral formula is sensible. It does not make one family "bad".

You may have seen headlines about chemical filters being detected in the bloodstream in studies. The honest summary is that regulators were gathering data to complete safety assessments, and detecting absorption is not the same as showing harm. Major medical organisations continue to recommend sunscreen while that research continues. If you feel more comfortable with mineral filters in the meantime, that is a reasonable choice either way.

Hybrid sunscreens

Plenty of modern products quietly combine both families to balance elegance and tolerance. Hybrids are not a suspicious compromise; they are often the formulas people find easiest to wear daily. The filter family matters less than the outcome: does it suit your skin, your tone and your routine? Whatever you choose, let it set for a few minutes before dressing or makeup — a film smeared straight away by a collar is not the film the SPF test measured.

White cast, and why tinted sunscreen deserves more attention

White cast gets its own section because for many people — particularly anyone with medium, brown or deep skin — it decides whether sunscreen gets worn at all. A product that leaves you looking ashen or grey will not survive the morning mirror check, and no health message overrides that.

A few things help. Chemical and many hybrid formulas dry down clear on all skin tones. Among mineral options, look for newer, well-dispersed formulas and apply in two thinner layers, working each in properly, rather than one thick coat sitting on the surface.

Tinted sunscreens are the other answer, and the under-rated one. A tint, usually from iron oxides, counteracts the pale cast of mineral filters and evens out skin tone at the same time. There is a further benefit for pigmentation: iron oxide pigments also help protect against visible light, which can contribute to darkening in melasma and post-inflammatory pigmentation, particularly in deeper skin tones. If pigmentation is your main concern, a tinted product is worth seeking out.

Two honest caveats. Shade ranges are still limited in many lines, and a tint that is too light or too orange is just a different version of the same problem — swatch first if you can. And do not apply tinted sunscreen like foundation, in a thin cosmetic veil: that gives very little protection. Use the full amount described next, or layer the tint over a plain sunscreen.

A word, too, for anyone told they "don't need" sunscreen because their skin rarely burns. Burning is a UVB signal; UVA exposure, pigmentation change and skin damage happen without any burn to announce them, in every skin tone. Melanin offers some natural protection, roughly a very low SPF, but it is partial, not complete.

How much to apply: the part everyone gets wrong

Most people under-apply by a wide margin, and since the labelled SPF assumes a thick application, that habit quietly undoes more good intentions than any wrong product choice.

The test standard, 2 milligrams per square centimetre, translates into real life roughly like this:

• Face and neck: about two finger lengths of sunscreen — a line squeezed along your index and middle fingers covers face and neck together. Some people use a quarter-teaspoon for the face alone and add more for the neck. Either way, the amount should be noticeably more than a pea. A pea-sized amount is not enough. It never was.
• Each arm: roughly a teaspoon, depending on arm size.
• The whole body: about a shot-glass full — around 30 to 35 millilitres, roughly six teaspoons — for an average adult in swimwear. If that sounds like a lot, it is. It also explains why a small, expensive tube should never be expected to last a whole beach holiday.

Applying in two layers makes the full amount far more bearable: one layer, a minute of doing something else, then a second. Each layer feels lighter than one thick coat, you are less likely to miss patches, and most people end up closer to the intended amount without really trying.

Do not forget the odd corners, exactly where people get caught out: ears, back of the neck, hairline and parting, backs of hands, tops of feet, lips (use a lip balm with SPF), and skin around straps, where fabric shifts during the day. Sunglasses with UV protection matter too — the skin around the eyes is thin, and many people avoid sunscreen there because of stinging.

Apply before you go out, not when you arrive: chemical formulas get their 15 to 20 minutes to settle, and you are not doing a rushed job in a car park. If you dress afterwards, take care pulling tight clothes over fresh sunscreen — some will transfer, and redoing smeared areas takes ten seconds.

Reapplication: the beach rules are not the office rules

"Reapply every two hours" is incomplete rather than wrong. The figure exists because sunscreen films break down and wear off — through sweat, friction, touching your face, swimming and time in UV light. Sensible reapplication depends on what you are actually doing, and honest guidance beats blanket rules here.

On the beach, by the pool, or doing sport outdoors: reapply at least every two hours, and sooner after swimming, heavy sweating or towelling off — even if the bottle says "water resistant". That is a regulated claim with a limited meaning: the product keeps a degree of protection after a set time in water. It does not mean waterproof; no sunscreen may claim to be. Towelling removes a large share of what you applied, so assume a swim resets the clock to almost zero and start again.

On a normal working day, mostly indoors: one thorough morning application is what most dermatologists consider reasonable, especially if you are not beside a window in direct sun. If you take a proper lunch-hour walk or exercise outdoors after work, a top-up before that exposure makes sense. SPF powders and sprays over makeup are convenient top-ups, but it is hard to apply enough of them to reach their labelled SPF, so treat them as a boost to a proper morning layer, not your only protection on a high-exposure day.

On a long outdoor day that is not a beach day — sightseeing, gardening, hiking, a festival, outdoor work — treat it like the beach: two-hourly reapplication, shade breaks, and clothing doing some of the lifting. A wide-brimmed hat protects face, ears, scalp and neck, never sweats off and never needs reapplying. Sunscreen plus a hat is a genuinely strong combination.

Finally, make reapplication easy or it will not happen. Keep a small bottle where the moment occurs: in your bag, by the back door, next to your running shoes.

Sunscreen and makeup: making the two get along

If you wear makeup, sunscreen is where routines fall apart, because the ordering questions are genuinely fiddly. The version that works for most people: cleanser if you use one in the morning, moisturiser if you need it, sunscreen, three to five minutes to set, then primer and foundation. That pause is not fussiness — many sunscreens pill or slide if makeup goes straight on top. If pilling persists, silicone-heavy layers are a common culprit, and skipping moisturiser under a moisturising sunscreen often fixes it.

Does the SPF in foundation count? Sort of, but not helpfully. You would need roughly seven times the amount of foundation most people wear to reach its labelled protection, and your face would look like a mask. Treat makeup SPF as a small bonus on top of a real sunscreen layer, never the layer itself. The same applies to moisturiser with SPF: those formulas are tested as complete products, but most people apply moisturiser in a much thinner film than the test assumes.

For topping up over makeup, the options are imperfect. SPF sprays and powders will not disturb your base, but coverage is light. Cushion compacts let you pat protection over makeup reasonably well. And on a genuinely high-exposure day — an outdoor wedding, a festival — accept some disruption: press sunscreen on gently with palms or a sponge rather than rubbing, and touch up afterwards. Skin first, contour second.

How to choose sunscreen by skin type: what to look for on the label

Oily or combination skin. Look for "gel", "fluid", "oil-free", "dry touch" or "mattifying". Fluid sunscreens, often in small shake-before-use bottles, were basically designed for you. Some light formulas contain alcohol for that weightless finish; if your skin is oily but also dehydrated or sensitive, balance elegance against dryness. Many oily skin types can skip moisturiser underneath entirely.

Acne-prone skin. "Non-comedogenic" is not a regulated guarantee, but it is a reasonable starting filter, and gel or fluid textures feel less occlusive. One trap: breakouts blamed on sunscreen are sometimes caused by inadequate cleansing at night — a water-resistant sunscreen left on under a lazy rinse is not your skin's friend, so cleanse properly in the evening. If one product consistently breaks you out, switch formula rather than abandoning sunscreen; reactions to specific filters or fragrance are common.

Dry skin. Cream textures are your friend. Look for moisturising ingredients such as glycerin, ceramides, hyaluronic acid or squalane, and apply over moisturiser if needed — or let a rich sunscreen double as your morning moisturiser, which simplifies the routine and improves the odds of using enough. Avoid the very matte, high-alcohol fluids that delight oily skin; they may leave you tight and flaky by noon.

Sensitive, reactive or eczema-prone skin. Fragrance-free is a sensible default. Mineral formulas are often better tolerated, though plenty of sensitive skin gets on fine with modern chemical formulas; your own history is a better guide than any general rule. Patch test new products for a few days. If chemical sunscreens sting your eyes, use a mineral one just around the eyes and your usual product elsewhere. And if you have a diagnosed skin condition or take medicines that increase sun sensitivity — certain antibiotics and acne treatments can do this — ask your doctor or pharmacist what they recommend for you. That advice overrides any article, including this one.

Skin with pigmentation concerns. Aim high on both measures: SPF 50, strong UVA protection, tinted if you can find your shade, in the full amount, topped up on days out. Pigmentation is stubborn and light-driven, so consistency over months, not a heroic week, is what makes the visible difference.

Children, babies and sunscreen

Children's skin is thinner and more sensitive, and childhood sunburn is something public health guidance takes seriously.

For babies under six months, the standard advice from paediatric and dermatology organisations is to keep them out of direct sunlight and rely on shade, loose clothing and a hat — not sunscreen as the main strategy. Their skin is especially delicate, and fabric and shade are simply better tools at that age. If shade is genuinely impossible for a small area such as the backs of the hands, a tiny amount of sunscreen is generally considered preferable to bare skin in direct sun, but arrange the day so it rarely comes to that. If you are unsure what is right for your baby, ask your health visitor, pharmacist or doctor.

For older babies and children, choose a broad-spectrum SPF 50 product made for children — often mineral or hybrid, fragrance-free and water resistant. Apply before they go out, in amounts that will look like a lot, and reapply after swimming and towelling as a reflex: children wipe, rub and roll in sand, and their sunscreen film has a hard life. Clothing does heavy lifting here — long-sleeved swim tops and rash vests cover shoulders and backs better than any lotion, and hats with a neck flap look faintly ridiculous and work brilliantly. Make it boring and routine, like teeth brushing, and it largely stops being a battle.

Expiry dates, storage and the bottle in your car

Sunscreen has a shelf life; its filters and emulsion break down over time. Check the expiry date, or the period-after-opening symbol — a small open jar marked, for example, "12M", meaning twelve months after opening. If a product has separated into watery liquid and lumps, changed colour or developed an odd smell, retire it. It will not apply evenly, and uneven application means uneven protection.

Store bottles away from prolonged heat where you can. The classic mistakes are a car glovebox in summer, a sunny windowsill, and a beach bag living in a hot boot all season; heat accelerates breakdown. A bottle kept in a cool cupboard and brought out for the day is fine. One kept baking for three months is a gamble.

Honesty about volume helps too: if one family tube lasts your entire summer, you are not using enough. A sunny week with daily swimming can reasonably use several hundred millilitres per adult. Buy the big bottle, and do not ration the last third on the final day — reliably, that is the day people burn.

Spray sunscreens: convenient, with real caveats

Sprays are the most convenient format and the most misused. First, coverage: much of a mist drifts away in a breeze, and what lands is often surprisingly thin. Spray generously until skin looks visibly wet, then rub it in with your hands; unrubbed spray almost always has gaps. Second, inhalation: never spray directly onto the face — spray onto hands and apply from there — and avoid spraying in enclosed or crowded spaces. Third, many aerosol sprays are flammable until fully dry, so keep away from barbecues and open flames until then.

Used properly, sprays are legitimate, and for a wriggling child or an unwilling teenager they may be the option that actually happens. Just do not let the speed of the format fool you into treating it like body spray.

The reef question, discussed calmly

"Reef-safe" and "reef-friendly" labels deserve a balanced explanation rather than a slogan. The concern comes from research suggesting certain UV filters, most famously oxybenzone and octinoxate, can contribute to stress in coral under some conditions. A few places, including Hawaii and Palau, have restricted sales of sunscreens containing specific filters on this basis.

The fuller picture, as environmental scientists tend to present it, is that coral decline is driven overwhelmingly by warming oceans, with pollution, runoff and disease also significant. Sunscreen washed off swimmers is considered a much smaller, more localised factor, most relevant in heavily used, enclosed bays. "Reef-safe" is also not a regulated claim, so the label alone guarantees little.

What can you sensibly do? A rash vest reduces how much sunscreen you need and how much washes off — good for the reef and your shoulders. Some people prefer mineral zinc oxide formulas for ocean swimming, often choosing products described as "non-nano" in this context. Keep perspective, though: no major health body advises skipping sunscreen for environmental reasons, and shade, clothing and timing are the lowest-impact protection of all — and free.

Five myths that refuse to die

"A base tan protects you." A tan is skin responding to injury that has already happened. Its protection is estimated at roughly SPF 3 — negligible — acquired at the cost of the very exposure you are trying to limit. There is no healthy way to build protective colour from UV, from the sun or a sunbed, and dermatology organisations are blunt about sunbeds in particular: avoid them.

"I only need sunscreen on sunny days." Burning rays weaken on cloudy days, but UVA carries on regardless, and bright overcast days still deliver meaningful UV. Checking the UV index in your weather app beats guessing from the sky. Health bodies commonly use this guide: when the UV index is 3 or above, protection is worth bothering with.

"Higher SPF means I can stay out all day." SPF 100 does not give a day of cover. Films wear off, everyone under-applies, and nothing blocks everything. Choose a high number if it suits you — just do not let the number change your behaviour in the wrong direction.

"Sunscreen stops vitamin D production, so I should skip it." Studies of everyday use have generally not found that ordinary sunscreen use causes deficiency in practice, partly because nobody applies it perfectly and incidental exposure still happens. Protect your skin in strong sun, and discuss testing or supplements with a doctor if you are in a group advised to consider them — UK guidance, for example, suggests many people consider a daily vitamin D supplement in autumn and winter.

"Last year's half-used bottle is fine forever." Maybe, maybe not — which is the point of the expiry section above. An expired or heat-damaged emulsion applies patchily and protects less than its label claims.

Frequently asked questions

1. Do I really need sunscreen every day, even in winter?

If you spend the day indoors away from windows and commute in darkness, it is a minor consideration. But UVA is present all year and passes through glass, so if you walk, drive or work near windows in daylight — especially if you are managing pigmentation — a morning application is a sensible year-round habit. Using the UV index as your trigger, protecting when it reaches 3 or above, is a sustainable middle path.

2. Is SPF 50 much better than SPF 30?

Only slightly, in filtration terms: roughly 98% versus 97% of UVB blocked at test thickness. In real life, where everyone under-applies, SPF 50 gives a bigger margin for error — a perfectly good reason to choose it. But an SPF 30 applied generously will outperform an SPF 50 dabbed on thinly because you dislike the feel of it.

3. Can I mix sunscreen with my moisturiser or foundation to make it easier?

Please do not. Mixing dilutes the sunscreen and disrupts the even film it needs to form, making protection unpredictable and lower than labelled. Layer instead: moisturiser first if you need it, sunscreen over it, makeup last.

4. How do I stop sunscreen stinging my eyes?

You are not imagining it — some chemical filters migrate into eyes as you sweat. Keep those formulas away from the immediate eye area, use a mineral sunscreen around the eyes specifically, wear sunglasses, and try stick formats on the face, which migrate less. If one product reliably stings, switch.

5. What should I look for if I have darker skin and hate white cast?

Start with chemical or hybrid formulas that dry clear, or a tinted mineral sunscreen close to your skin tone — the tint also helps against visible-light-driven pigmentation. Apply in two thin layers rather than one thick one. Ignore the old advice that deeper skin does not need sunscreen: burning is less common, but UVA exposure and pigmentation occur in all skin tones.

6. When should I see a professional about a spot rather than just covering it with sunscreen?

Sunscreen is prevention, not assessment. Get any new, changing, itching, crusting, bleeding or non-healing spot or mole checked promptly by a doctor — do not watch it through a summer. Early assessment matters more than any product in this article, and a check that turns out to be nothing is never wasted.

The short version

If this article were a note on your fridge, it would say: UVB burns, UVA quietly ages and damages skin all year, so choose a product that covers both. SPF 30 blocks about 97% of UVB and SPF 50 about 98%, so the amount you apply matters more than the number you pick. Two finger-lengths for face and neck. A shot glass for a body. Reapply after swimming, sweating and towelling, roughly every two hours on big outdoor days, and more pragmatically around office life. Mineral, chemical and hybrid sunscreens all work — pick the texture your skin and skin tone are happy with, because that is the one still on your face in February as well as July.

That is the whole secret, if there is one. Sunscreen is less a beauty product than a boring, brilliant habit — closer to seatbelts and toothpaste than to serums — and habits survive on comfort and convenience, not guilt. Find one you like, keep it where you will see it, and use plenty of it.

Disclaimer

This article is general information about sun protection and skincare only. It is not medical advice and is not a substitute for professional assessment or treatment, and it does not diagnose any condition. If you have a changing or worrying mole or skin lesion, a photosensitive condition, take medicines that increase sensitivity to sunlight, or have any other concern about your skin, please consult your doctor, dermatologist or pharmacist for advice specific to you.

Sources

The guidance in this article reflects information published by the following organisations.

• American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) — sunscreen and sun protection guidance, including its sunscreen FAQs and public sun-safety resources.
• World Health Organization (WHO) — fact sheets and guidance on ultraviolet radiation and health, including the UV index.
• Cancer Research UK — SunSmart and sun safety guidance on sunscreen use, SPF and UVA protection.
• NHS (National Health Service, UK) — advice on sunscreen and sun safety, vitamin D, and when to seek medical advice about moles and skin changes.