Be Safe Under The Sun

Sun Protection

How do sun filters work?

The key technology used in any sunscreen is the UV filter. UV filters can be either chemical or physical.

Chemical filters work by absorbing UV light and converting it to higher wavelength rays that are less harmful to the skin.	Physical filters reflect, transmit or partially absorb light and can protect against both UVA and UVB radiation. The two most common physical filters are titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.

Most sunscreens use a combination of filters, with higher degrees of protection usually requiring increasingly varied filters.

What does Sun Protection Factor (SPF) mean?

The Sun Protection Factor (SPF) specified on your bottle of sunscreen tells you how much protection your sunscreen offers against UVB rays.

In general, the higher the number, the greater the protection, so that an SPF 6 or 10 offers low protection, SPF 15, 20 or 25 offers medium protection, SPF 30 or 50 offers high protection, and SPF 50+ offers very high protection. This is measured using a standardised test.

The SPF number indicates how many times longer you can stay in the sun before starting to burn. The way it works is that you take the number of minutes it normally takes your skin to burn in the sun with no protection (let’s say 15 minutes). Then, you multiply that number by the SPF number (in this case, factor 6). Since 15 x 6 = 90, you should have 90 minutes before you start to burn. In other words, the higher the SPF the greater the protection. But remember these are theoretical values. In reality the time depends amongst other factors on your skin photo type and the local UV intensity. 

To choose the right SPF, you need to consider several factors. The most important of these is your skin’s phototype, which includes the colour of your skin before exposure to the sun, your hair and eye colour and other factors. You also need to think about where you are going on holiday and what time of year it is.

How do I choose which SPF is right for me?

Use the PIZ BUIN® online Product Finder to find out which SPF is right for you.  

What is photostability?

To protect the skin, sunscreens use UV filters that absorb radiation from the sun. When a sunscreen is exposed to this radiation, it can alter the chemical structure of the UV filters, thus degrading their protective capabilities.

A "photostable" sunscreen is able to withstand the effects of UV exposure better, so it keep's its level of protection. 

What does "broad-spectrum protection" mean?

Broad-spectrum protection means the ability to protect against the harmful effects of both UVA (aging rays) and UVB (burning rays). To be classified as offering broad-spectrum protection, a product needs to absorb or reflect at least 90% of the UV rays from the 290 to 400 nanometres (nm) wavelength range.

All PIZ BUIN® sun protection products provide broad-spectrum protection.

Water resistance

It’s important that your sunscreen is water resistant when you go swimming because UV radiation half a metre below the surface of water is still 40% as intense as it is on the surface. You also need to protect the part of your body that’s above the surface, as water reflects some 25% of UV radiation and can intensify the harmful effects.