Medical Minute - Sunscreens

Dr. Howard Smith teaches you how to prevent sunburn and skin damage for yourself and your kids by knowing how to use the SPF = sun protection factor listed on your suncreens to calculate how long you can safely remain in the sun. The formula: SPF X 30 minutes (for average complexion) - number of safe minutes. Use 20 minutes for babies and light complexion and 40 minutes for olive skin or dark complexion. For safety, use half the listed SPF (15 instead of 30) so the formula becomes: (SPF/2) X 30 minutes (for average complexion)= number of safe minutes.