True and false about sun protection creams – the dermatologist explains

Spring sun and warmth – yes, then most of us want to go out and enjoy!
But at the same time, there is a warning about the sun’s harmful rays.
– Wear protective clothing and sunglasses and supplement with sunscreen, says dermatologist Petra Verga Kjellman.

Humans need the sun – but too much of a good thing is never good, as you know. We have been told how important it is to protect ourselves from the harmful effects of the sun and one way to do that is to use sunscreens. But there are many ideas about sunscreen – the question is which ones are correct? Dermatologist Petra Verga Kjellman unravels what is truth and what is myth in Nyhetsmorgon.

No difference between SPF 30 and 50

One claim that figures is that if you use sunscreen, you will not get the good effects of the sun.

– The risk is very small that you would use sunscreen in such an effective way. We obviously need to get sunlight, if we don’t get sunlight at all we get sick. But on the other hand, it is indisputable that overexposure to the sun leads to an increased risk of skin cancer.

Another idea is that there is hardly any difference between sun protection factor 30 and 50.

– I agree with that. Both 30 and 50 belong to what we call a high sun protection. SPF 30 blocks about 95 percent of the sun’s rays and 50 about 98 percent, so there is little difference. But most people don’t use as much sunscreen as they should, so we pretty much never have the protection we think we have.

How much cream should you take then?

– An adult should have a handful of sunscreen, we’re talking 30 to 40 milliliters. And if you bathe and sweat, you need to top up.

Warns of natural oils

Oils are sometimes touted as more natural sun protection than regular sunscreens, and one oil trending on social media is raspberry seed oil, which is said to have an SPF of 40.

– If you have oil with sunscreen in it and buy it at, for example, a pharmacy, then I have no opinion on whether it is oil or cream. But I have understood that there are a lot of trends on Tiktok and the like where you work with natural oils. That they should have natural sun protection – I think you should be more careful there. You can end up in a false sense of security. I wouldn’t rely on it, I must say.

Another common belief is that you can only get skin cancer if you burn in the sun.

– No, the accumulated total solar radiation is also important. Burns give an increased risk linked to dangerous skin cancer, malignant melanoma. There is an increased risk – but total accumulated solar radiation over the years also plays a role, says Petra Verga Kjellman in Nyhetsmorgon.