Sun cream is essential for protecting your skin from the sun during outdoor sports activities. The most important thing is the cream's sun protection factor.
Prolonged exposure to the sun during physical activities, or just when you're out and about, can seriously harm your skin. Sun cream is therefore absolutely essential.
Whether it's the height of summer or the depths of winter, protecting yourself from the sun's harmful rays is a must.
That's where sun cream comes in: it effectively protects from UV so that you can enjoy the outdoors with peace of mind.
The most important thing about sun cream is its sun protection factor. There are two criteria that will help you to choose the right one: how sensitive your skin is, and how much you'll be exposed to the sun.
When choosing your sun cream, you need to know how sensitive your skin is to the sun. This is referred to as your "phototype".
There are 4 phototypes:
- extremely sensitive skin that always burns or never tans.
- sensitive skin that burns easily and tans slightly.
- medium skin that burns rarely and tans fairly easily.
- resistant skin that never burns and that tans easily.
You also need to know how you'll be exposed to the sun. Bear in mind that the more intense the sunshine, the more you should protect yourself from the sun.
There are 3 exposure categories:
- moderate: outdoor activities, etc.
- high: watersports or prolonged outdoor activities.
- extreme: activities in the mountains or the tropics.
Based on these two criteria, choose the SPF that suits you the best: SPF 30, SPF 50 or SPF 50+.
For kids, we recommend always using SPF 50+. The same is true for people with a very sensitive or a sensitive phototype, or who are doing an activity that involves high to extreme exposure. This will protect your skin from UV rays.
Remember to reapply your sun cream every 2 hours and to complement the protection it gives you by covering any exposed skin with clothing and by wearing a hat.
There are two types of formula: organic and mineral. The difference lies in the filters used to make them.
Organic filters, also known as chemical filters, absorb UV. Your skin needs to absorb the cream in order to be protected, which is why you should apply your sun cream before exposure to the sun. However, this type of formula can trigger allergies and affect our hormones because our skin is impregnated with the ingredients.
Mineral filters reflect UV. Sun creams with mineral filters are therefore effective as soon as you have applied them, don't risk triggering allergies and don't contain endocrine disruptors. Besides being perfect for sensitive skin, this type of cream doesn't pollute the oceans and coral reefs, because the filters are natural. The only downside is that you have to reapply it more frequently than an organic cream.
How to choose your sun cream
Carlos explains in detail how to choose a sun cream.
For the least inconvenience and most suitable protection, we recommend thinking about different size and application options. Do you need a cream that can fit in your pocket, an easy-to-apply spray, or even a big bottle that you can share as a group?.