While sunscreen is an important tool against UV damage, it’s also vital for your kids that you observe best practices when they’re outdoors. One of those best practices is to put kids face sunscreen on your little one every time they go out, as it doesn’t have to be sunny for their skin to suffer.
We want you and your family to enjoy good skin health, which is why we created this blog. Reading it will hopefully give you a few points on how best to use sunscreen for maximum effect.
Giving Kids Face Sunscreen the Best Chance
The first thing you need to get right is WHEN to put kids face sunscreen on your child. That point is the moment they go out, and by that, we mean that you shouldn’t wait until you’re all outside before you crack open the bottle. If you’re using a chemical brand, then you’ll need to put it on 30 minutes before you go out – to give it time to absorb.
If it’s a mineral brand, then your kids can go straight out after application, although this should be carried out indoors. You need to give your sunscreen the best chance of working, so don’t give the sun any opportunity to hurt your child’s skin before application.
Other Sun Safety Aspects To Consider
So, you’ve nailed when to use your sunscreen, so that’s no longer a problem. Now, you have to think about the other things that can really help keep your child safe. The first of those is to think about when your kids go out. You see, the sun varies in intensity depending on the time of day.
During the hours of around 10 am and 3 pm, it’s at its hottest and highest point in the sky. This is the time when it can do most damage. As such, if you can keep your little ones indoors during these hours, you’ll do much to minimize the damage that can be caused.
Also, give some serious attention to the following:
- Getting your kids to go out with light clothing, sunglasses, and a sunhat will keep much of the heat and UV rays away from their skin. It will help to keep them cooler, too.
- Dehydration on hot Summer days can be a worrying side-effect of playing out for long periods, so make sure they have a water bottle with them every day.
- The best practice is to use at least an SPF 30 for your kids, as their skin is delicate and needs the extra protection it affords over an SPF 15.
- Make sure you buy a product with broad spectrum coverage, or you’re only giving your kids partial protection against the sun.
Kids Face Sunscreen is Only Part of Sun Safety
As we can see, while sunscreen is an unmistakably important part of staying safe in the sun, it’s not the be-all and end-all. It’s advisable to support its use with the sun safety tips laid out above – even if you feel the risk to your child is fairly minimal.
The fact is that even a small chance of sun damage shouldn’t be tolerated where your kids are concerned, so you should do everything you can to offer total protection. Only then can you be certain you’re doing everything you can for them.