As an athlete your lifestyle includes being exposed to the sun for long hours, so it is wise to take precautionary measures to keep your skin safe. Even on Cloudy Days Up to 80 percent of the sun’s rays can pass through clouds, so if you assume it’s OK to forgo protection, think again. Sunscreen is an important preventive health care habit that should be maintained all year, including the winter months. Choosing the right sunscreen is critical for shielding you from the sun’s dangerous ultraviolet rays. Here’s an explanation of SPF (Sun Protection Factor) ratings, the meaning behind all those numbers and ultraviolet radiation. it takes about 10 to 20 minutes without sunscreen for a person’s skin to start burning. An SPF 15 product would prevent skin from burning for 15 times longer – so about 150 to 300 minutes, or about 2.5 to five hours.
It is a common misunderstanding that “SPF 30” is twice as good as “SPF 15”. But that’s not how it works. A sunscreen with an SPF 15 blocks about 94 percent of the sun’s dangerous rays. SPF 30 products block about 97 percent of such rays, and SPF 50 sunscreen shields against about 98 percent of rays. There’s really no need to go any higher.
PA simply means Protection Grade of UVA rays, which is used to measure the SPF of a sunscreen. PA+ means the sunscreen can provide UVA protection with factor of Persistent Pigment Darkening (PPD) between two to four. PA++ can provide moderate protection against UVA rays with a factor of PPD between four and eight. It is ideal for normal skin individual exposed to medium UV radiation. PA+++ is designed for normal skin that expose to strong UV radiation. It provides good UVA protection with a factor of PPD of more than 8 -12.
PA++++ can provide protection against very strong UVA rays. It is the most suited for tropical conditions like in India. Long story short, the going for higher SPF is only going to marginally improve the blocking capacity. But higher PA (protection grade) will really ensure high level of protection against harmful UV rays in the hottest of summers.