Sun protection: “Checking the SPF of your sunscreen is not enough”

Often forgotten and sometimes denigrated, in favor of a tan that we hope will be golden, the tube of sunscreen is nevertheless essential for bare skin exposed to the sun. According to Public Health France , unprotected exposure to ultraviolet rays is the leading cause of skin cancer. An important reminder in this first strong heat wave to hit France this year, relayed for Libération by Professor Christophe Bedane, dermatologist at the Dijon University Hospital. Even if, "the use of sunscreen must be combined with other precautions" such as "wearing suitable clothing", "the technicality" of sunscreens has developed significantly. On the condition that good practices are respected by consumers.

How does sunscreen work?

Inside a sunscreen, we find sun filters, that is to say chemical molecules which absorb UV photons [solar particles with a short wavelength, editor's note] in order to prevent them from