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Sunscreen with a factor below 30 does not protect against burns and skin cancer
Medical expert of the article
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
Millions of people are at risk of sunburn or even skin cancer due to incorrect use of sunscreen. The UK National Health Service (NHS) has recommended that citizens use creams with sun protection factor 15 (SPF15). However, experts say this is not enough.
For reasons of comfort, people cannot apply the amount of cream needed for protection and often use much less than necessary. In this regard, it is better to use creams with a higher protection factor, says an article published in the journal Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB).
"The NHS advice is wrong and not in the interests of public health," says DTB editor Dr Ike Ajinacho. He points out that SPF 15 sunscreen only provides adequate sun protection if applied in a 2cm layer. But in reality, people usually apply far less - at best, no more than half the recommended amount.
The ideal dosage assumes that in such quantity the cream will simply flow off the skin surface, causing a lot of inconvenience to the person. Then, it is very uneconomical. So, in order to smear the whole body, a person will need about 35 milliliters of cosmetic product. And the NHS recommends applying cream at least every two hours. Therefore, a sun lover will have to buy 200 milliliters of cream every 2-3 days, Aykhinacho states. Probably, it is more practical to use creams with a higher coefficient than 15 (for example 30 or higher), the expert concludes.
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