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What does the Sun Protection Factor , or SPF , in sunscreen mean?

April 26, 2017Factor mean SPF Sun sunscreen

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What does the Sun Protection Factor , or SPF , in sunscreen mean?

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The Sun Protection Factor (SPF) was developed to describe the amount of protection that a sunscreen provides. SPF numbers tell a person how much longer he/she can stay in the sun without burning while wearing sunscreen as opposed to not wearing any sun protection. For example, if your skin usually burns in 10 minutes (without any type of sun protection,) then an SPF of 15 means that you can stay in the sun 15 times longer (10 x 15 = 150 minutes) until you begin to burn. But remember, in order to get that full protection time from the sunscreen, you MUST reapply sunscreen can wear off with wind and sweat, even waterproof ones.