"We've found if you teach kids early on to protect their skin, they'll continue as they get older," says Adelaide Hebert, MD, director of pediatric dermatology at The University of Texas Medical School in Houston.

Protecting your skin isn't JUST about using natural sunscreen, although it does help! There are so many things in this world that can affect our skin. The sun, what we eat and how much water we drink are just some of the factors that can affect our bodies.

Parents, help your kids browse around our healthy habits page and learn more about what you can do to start forming healthy habits!

Sun Protection Facts:

Myth: There is no real difference in how UVA and UVB rays affect skin.
Truth: UVB rays only penetrate the top layer of skin causing it to burn. UVA penetrates deeper and causes damage to skin elasticity and more importantly, causing skin cancer, when searching for a sunscreen please remember a "broad spectrum" natural sunscreen is best.

Myth: Everyone knows how to put on sunscreen.
Truth: Only 30% of the population uses sunscreen protection and only 50% of those people put it on correctly.

Myth: Sunscreens protect all day.
Truth: Regardless of the SPF or what the label says, sunscreens must be reapplied every 80 minutes or less. Users mistakenly think a high-SPF product will protect them all day with one application, when in fact all sunscreens must be reapplied regularly.

Myth: Skin cancer is so rare my chances of getting it are almost impossible.
TruKid: Not necessarily, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in some form in their lifetime. Melanoma in children has been increasing almost 3% a year.

Myth: Some sunscreens are waterproof or sweat proof.
Truth: The FDA is banning the word "waterproof." Now "water/sweat/perspiration resistant" is accurate but this only means the sunscreen offers SPF protection after 40 minutes of water exposure. "Very water resistant" gives 80 minutes of protection. Re-apply, re-apply, re-apply!

Myth: Sunscreen can provide total sun block.
Truth: No sunscreen blocks 100 percent of UV rays. SPF 15 protects against 93 percent, though. SPF 30 protects against 97 percent. SPF 50-60 shut out 98 percent. The higher the SPF the more harsh chemicals are in the product.

Myth: Sunscreen is all you need to stay safe.
Truth: Sunscreen is only one piece of the puzzle. Other pieces include seeking shade between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM, covering up with clothing, wearing broad-brimmed hats and UV-blocking sunglasses, completing self-exams/exams on your children, and scheduling for annual professional skin evaluations.

Myth: All sunscreens block some UVA.
Truth: Many sunscreens provide some UVA protection; some safe ingredients found in broad-spectrum sunscreens include zinc oxide, and titanium dioxide. These reflect the sun by sitting on top of the skin and not by being absorbed.

Myth: An SPF 60+ provides double the protection of an SPF 30.
Truth: This is exactly why the FDA is putting a Cap on high SPFs. SPF 30 provides skin with 97% protection, where as SPF 60 provides skin with 98-98.6% protection. There is less than 1.6% difference in protection factor. A SPF 60+ needs more chemicals to achieve a higher SPF, potentially putting more toxins in your body.

Myth: When using aerosol sunscreens, you can easily cover your body without missing a spot, therefore effectively protecting your skin.
Truth: While being applied, aerosol sunscreens can lose much of their protection during transfer from the bottle onto the skin, as not all of the molecules land on your body.

Thank you to askmen.com for the above information.

The Correct Way to Apply Sunscreen:

What is the right way to apply sunscreen?

How much should you apply?

Should the zinc in our product remain white on your skin like those lifeguards' noses of the 80’s?

Well we’re going to answer that last question first with a big, NO! No one, especially not kids, likes to be all white and sticky on the beach! SkinCareBaby's sunscreen will not have you and your family looking like Frosty the Snowman & Co. in the middle of the summer. Our mineral sunscreen has micro particles of zinc which have been found to be safe and efficient in protecting your skin, without leaving that sticky white residue. So when you apply our sunscreen, rub it in all the way because you don’t have to see the minerals sitting on your skin to still have the full protection. This is why we LOVE our minerals!

Now that we have that settled, we’ll move on to how much you should apply each time. If you’re getting ready for the day, adults should use about 1 ounce of sunscreen for your entire body (think shot glass). For kids, you should use an adult’s handful worth of sunscreen. This is before you get dressed for the day.

Throughout the day, reapply standard sunscreen every 80 minutes (this is really if you are outside for most of the day). If you’re swimming and not wearing a water resistant protection, reapply every time you get out of the water. However, if you are wearing water resistant sunscreen, protection is retained for 80 minutes when swimming or sweating. You should only need a couple of handfuls to cover all of your exposed skin.

Contrary to chemical sunscreen, our sunscreen is mineral based so protection is immediate. If you are using a chemical sunscreen you will want to put it on 20 minutes before you go out into the sun.

What’s the difference? Our sunscreen is mineral based which means it sits on top of the skin for a physical protection. Chemical sunscreen must be absorbed into the skin before it works.

We hope this helps and please feel free to contact us if you have any other questions.

Exactly How Much Sunscreen?

Use the “rule of 9’s”. If you think of your body as being split up into 11 sections and each section equals 9% of your body surface area you should apply at least TWO fingers worth of sunscreen onto each section. That means the length and width’s worth of two fingers for each of your 11 sections to be fully protected for your day in the sun.

We took the following chart directly from the University of Washington’s page to show you exactly how this is divided up!

• Head, neck and face = 9%
• Left arm = 9%
• Right arm = 9%
• Upper back = 9%
• Lower back = 9%
• Upper front torso = 9%
• Lower front torso = 9%
• Right upper leg and thigh = 9%
• Left upper leg and thigh = 9%
• Right lower leg and foot = 9%
• Left lower leg and foot = 9%

Have a wonderful, sunny day!