Sunscreen protects you against a kind of sunlight called ultraviolet (UV) light. Experts say that this is the part of sunlight that has the biggest role in causing skin cancer.
There are two main types of UV light that affect the skin: UV-A and UV-B. Both of these can result in damage to the skin and cause cancer.
Certain ingredients in sunscreens protect you against one type of UV light but not the other. However, there are also some sunscreens that protect against both. Certain specialised ingredients give protection against the specific types of UV-A light (known as UV-A-I) and UV-A-B light. All of these types of sunlight can cause skin cancer.
Ingredient
|
Type(s) of UV light that it protects against
|
---|---|
Aminobenzoic acid (also called PABA)
|
UV-B
|
Avobenzone (often called Parsol 1789)
|
UV-A I
|
Cinoxate
|
UV-B
|
Dioxybenzone
|
UV-A II, UV-B
|
Homosalate
|
UV-B
|
Octocrylene
|
UV-B
|
Octisalate
|
UV-B
|
Oxybenzone
|
UV-A II, UV-B
|
Padimate O
|
UV-B
|
Sulisobenzone
|
UV-A II, UV-B
|
Titanium dioxide
|
All UV light
|
Trolamine salicylate
|
UV-B
|
Zinc oxide
|
All UV light
|
Find out more about how to protect a baby in the sun