With warm weather on the horizon and an ever-proliferating number of sunscreens on the market, Health decided it was time to find out more about protection from the sun.
People also have more leisure time that they spend outdoors.
The most important reason why sunscreen use is so important is the dramatic rise in the incidence of skin cancer. Sunscreen manufacturers throw a lot of numbers at us. The way SPF is calculated is based on MED, which stands for minimal erythema dose. Erythema means redness. The MED is the minimal amount of ultraviolet rays that will cause redness 24 hours later, which is the peak reaction time.