The dog days of summer are upon us. The heat is high and the sun is strong! You are armed with your SPF to prevent aging and sunburns, but what is even more important than sunscreen?
Planning your outside activities at the right time. In this blog, we are out to show that an ounce of sunscreen is just as important as an ounce of planning.
The Ultraviolet Index (or UV index) is a tool the World Health Organization endorses and sets guidelines for that helps sun-seekers understand how quickly they can be harmed (aka sunburned) while in the sun. It is a scale from 1 – 12. The lower the number the lower the risk and less likelihood of getting burned. The higher the number the higher the likelihood of burning and greater risk to skin and eyes. It’s pretty straight forward.
A UV index rating is applied to a specific place on the globe. A specific area or city’s index rating is determined using several pieces of information; including elevation, forecasted ozone levels, forecasted cloud level and the ground level strength of ultraviolet radiation. Depending on the calculation model, there are sometimes other factors included as well.
Finding a UV index now a day is pretty easy. Most major newspapers publish it on the weather page. Google offers a quick UV rating for your location. We love Apps for your smart phone! UVLens is a free app available in the Apple App Store, and it allows you to enter information about your skin tone and coloring to give an idea of how quickly you would burn in your current location. (We are not paid endorsers of this app, we are just sharing a tool that we have found helpful!) It also allows you to check the UV index forecast for the near future, so that you can AVOID the sun when the UV index is at its peak. Because sometimes a little bit of avoidance is worth so much!
Don’t have your phone with you? Trust the shadows. A quick way to determine how quickly you will burn is to see how long or short your shadow is. The shorter your shadow is when standing outside, the higher your risk is. The longer or taller (than you) it is the less your risk is.
Whenever possible, avoid being outside during peak UV times. This usually is in the middle of the day. When you have to go out during peak hours, make sure you’ve got sunscreen AND a hat AND sunglasses. If the numbers are really high, clothing is helpful and knowing your shady areas in advance.
For sunscreen recommendations, sun safety tips, help getting rid of sun damage and more, call us! We will help you have the skin you’ve always wanted!
403-287-1477
