Debora Mendonça
- Feb 7, 2022
- 5 min read

All about Sunscreen

Hi ! Today's post is about a very important subject. The effects of inadequate exposure to the sun are extremely harmful, so I'm here to show you everything about sunscreen, including what we should avoid in them! Did you know that sunscreen also has chemicals that can harm our health? Well, let's understand a little more in this post.

First let me tell you why I'm talking about this subject here on the blog: I've always taken good care of my skin (at least I thought I did) but I've always moisturized, put on sunscreen and my skin has always had a very good texture, I only had a few sardines , which is very common in very light skins. After the age of 30, bigger spots began to appear, mainly because of contraceptive use. Even so, I managed to keep my skin good and the makeup always corrected the stains very well. In February of that year, I traveled to Hawaii (a dream come true!) and even though I put on sunscreen every hour, wearing a hat all the time and staying in the shade, my spots got bigger and darker!! From there, it started to bother me a lot to the point that only digital makeup (air brush) can hide the stains. So I decided to research and got in touch with beautician Claudia Theodoro to help me clarify all my doubts about sunscreen, because I used it on my vacation and it didn't help!! Talking to her, I learned that my sunscreen is not only not stable, but also has other chemical components that are also harmful to my health! And of course, yours too!! But all is not lost, I also learned a lot of interesting things that will be very useful for you! I decided to make a video and she with great affection, accepted to participate in this chat about the pros and cons of using the protector! The video was too long but I wanted to leave everything as explained as possible so I could really contribute to your learning! It's worth watching and starting to really take care of your skin, the skin of your children, friends and family.

Let's go to the interview and soon after I still have a few more questions that were left out of the video and all the extra information that Claudia commented are below.

And then!? What do you think? You can be impressed, right?

I also asked Claudia:

What is the difference between the protective factors? For example: between SPF 15 and SPF 30, what degree of protection or how long do they protect?

Claudia: To understand what FPS values 25, 50, 100 mean, let's use an example. A person is in summer, at noon (peak sun) and without sunscreen. Under these conditions, it takes 20 minutes to develop erythema (redness). Now, that same person is in the summer at the same time with SPF 15 sunscreen (applied correctly). With that, she can theoretically be exposed to the sun for 300 minutes, because 20 minutes without protection times the factor 15 is equal to 300 minutes (20 x 15 = 300). So it is concluded that the higher the FPS, the longer the protection time. But it's not just the SPF value that matters, sun protection depends on several other factors. The above account is put in a theoretical way, because if a person without protection took 20 minutes to have redness once, it doesn't mean that it will always take 20 minutes.It will depend on the individual resistance to having erythema, the season of the year, the weather conditions on the day of application and the amount of protector applied, for example.

Should all skin types, white, black, yellow, mulatto, (etc) use sunscreen?

Claudia: Yes, everyone should protect their skin properly, however, darker skin is more resistant to erythema. Find out more in the table below:

As mentioned by Claudia, for each type of person and situation, one should look for the most suitable protector. So be careful, if it's for a child, pregnant woman, post peeling, athlete, person with skin cancer, oily and/or acneic skin .. always consult a dermatologist or beautician to find out what's best for you. Here are some chemicals that should be avoided in sunscreens, as they are linked to estrogenicity – hormonal changes:

– Oxybenzone also called Benzophenone 3 (besides being called Milestab 9, Eusolex 4360, Escalol 567, KAHSCREEN BZ-3)

– 4-Methylbenzylidene Camphor (4-MBC)

– Synthetic musks

– Synthetic fragrances

– PABA

– Phthalates

Another thing mentioned by her (not in the video), is that in pharmacies and cosmetics stores, it is not possible to find protectors that really protect, in a stable way, against UVA rays, especially in the USA because to keep the protector stable , one of the chemicals used is Tinosorb, and this is not approved here. So it's easier to find in compounding pharmacies in Brazil. Or with Claudia herself, in NY, as she brings it from a trusted pharmacy. I already bought mine! It has a great texture, stays dry and I'm sure it's protecting me, as you can see in the video. At Claudia's request, I cannot yet disclose the protector as she is patenting the formula. But if you're in Brazil, you can talk to your dermatologist or beautician about what you've learned here, and ask them to recommend a suitable protector!For those who are in NY, you can contact Claudia (info in the video) or me.

As explained in the video, PPD is usually not specified on protectors. But some can be identified by the degree of protection itself, for example: PPD10, PPD 17, PPD20 or it can be written as in the table below, on the product packaging. There are protectors with higher PPD, the minimum recommended is 20.

Super interesting news! There are some protectors that are completely organic and natural! That's right, some can even be ingested like coconut oil for example, and it has a sun protection action.

Here are some of them, the oils of: coconut, peanut, cotton and sesame. Extracts: Aloe, chamomile, propolis, coffee and boldo.

Calendula extract also protects against UVA rays!

We are talking about physical protection, which reflects the ray and also protects against heat (infra red). These are the two most common components that protect against UVA and UVB: : Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide

– They act by forming a barrier (film) of reflection and dispersion of radiation on the skin.

- are not absorbed

- They are photostable

-Hypoallergenic appeal

- Thermal insulation (heat protector, mentioned in the video)

Our! How much information! I hope it was clear to you and that from now on you can take good care of your skin, your son or daughter if you have one and that you can help your friends and family to take care of themselves too!

Here's another video, recommended by Claudia, which shows how we were born with beautiful and pimpa skin, without any blemishes! And how it gets over the years if we don't take proper care. Claudia explained to me that some chemicals in the sunscreens show the sunscreen in a black tone and others show it in a white tone, like the one I used in her spa! Check it out, it's very interesting and encouraging!

All about Sunscreen

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