Check your medications. Some prescription and non-prescription drugs can heighten the skin's sensitivity to light. Ask your doctor or pharmacist if you need more protection. Beware of sunlamps, tanning parlors, or tanning pills. They can be just as harmful as the sun.
Some sunscreens serve a dual purpose.
Commissioner Hoffman also pointed out other preventative options. New Yorkers with extremely fair skin and parents of children who are in the sun all day can consider sunblock as an alternative. Unlike sunscreen, which absorbs ultraviolet rays, sunblock actually blocks the rays. Sunblocks containing titanium dioxide or zinc oxide are the most effective in deflecting the sun s rays.