"Mr. 80 SPF Sunblock Wearer" & Little-Known Facts About Sunscreen

Now onto the SPF Humor & Funny Sunscreen Links...

• Sun protective clothing
• 100 great things about being HIV+ (#44 "You've got sunscreen at every conceivable SPF level")
• You know you're in Texas when... ("...a formula less than 30 SPF is a joke" and "...sunscreen with less than 50 SPF is called hand cream")
• Cartoon: SPF 50,000
• Men who are sex symbols ("Outdoorsy men are applying suntan lotion with SPF 10,000 and yet by the age of 30 they still look like dried chili peppers in pants. Compare that with the healthy glow of a man who spends 12 hours a day in front of a video screen.")
• The rules of housecleaning ( #3 "Layers of dirty film on windows and screens provide a helpful filter against harmful and aging rays from the sun. Call it an SPF factor of 5 and leave it alone.")
• You know you've been in Arizona too long when... ("...sunscreen is sold year 'round, is kept at the front of the checkout counter. A formula less than SPF 30 is a source of humor amongst shoppers waiting in line, and you apply it just to go to Circle K.")
• How's the weather in Kabul? ("...SPF 12000 sun block highly recommended if standing near an outside structural wall of less than one meter thick.")
• Photo: Mexican sunblock
• Commencement address at MIT by Kurt Vonnegut (...and a couple of parodies: a motorcyclist's rendition and White Zinfandel bashing)
• Cartoon: Frying like bacon
• Sun-safe UV clothes
• Waterproof sunscreen causes blindness in children
• You know you're an adult when... ("...you actually buy scarves, gloves, and sunscreen.")
• Laura Bush unplugged ("For sunscreen, she prefers Armor-All.")
• You know you've been in the cadets too long when... ("...you use cam-paint as sunscreen.")
• You may be a female river runner if... ("...you spend more on sunscreen than on hair care and makeup combined.")
• What makes geologists tick ("Forgot the #$%&*#! sunscreen again!")

Little-Known Facts About SPF
SPF (Sun Protection Factor) is the number (2 through 60) that tells you the amount of time it will take your skin to burn with sunscreen on, compared to the amount of time before you'd burn with no sunscreen.

Did you know?....

...Mosquito-repellents and sunscreen products containing oxybenzone should never be used together, especially on children. Here's why.

...SPF ratings are based on the estimate that one can be in the sun for about 20 minutes before burning without using ANY sunscreen.

...An SPF of 15 means that you could be in the sun for about (20x15=...) 300 minutes, or 5 hours, before you would start to burn.

...That is, of course, so long as the sunscreen remains intact on your skin, rather than becoming washed away by washing, swimming, or perspiring.

...Here's a cool gadget called MyTan that determines precisely how much sunscreen you need to prevent a sunburn!

...The ingredients and sun-blocking agents inside suncreens tend to degrade over time. So, if you're still holding on to last year's sunscreens, don't. Instead, by a fresh sunscreen each year.

..."Waterproof" indicates that the product provides protection for at least 80 minutes even when swimming or sweating, whereas "Water-resistant" means that the product provides protection for only 40 minutes while swimming or sweating.

...The difference between sunscreen and sunblock: "Sunblock" is typically attributed to any product with an SPF 60, including some forms of clothing. "Sunscreen" refers to those products with less than an SPF 60 rating.

...If you are more sensitive than most people are to the sun, then you need to determine your own base number (probably less than 20 minutes) as the length of time that you can be in the sun until you start to burn. Then, multiply THAT number times the SPF number to determine your true coverage.

What I Learned Today:
I thought the SPF indicated how deeply the sun's rays were blocked from reaching my skin. Instead, SPF refers more to the lasting power of the gel, cream or spray.