Know Your Sunscreen

We all know wearing sunscreen is very important, especially when there’s many options to choose from. Trying to figure out which one is the best for you can be difficult. Many people have heard of the these terms sunblock and sunscreen and wonder if they mean the same. Many people use these terms interchangeably, but they are two different types of sun protection. We’ll go ahead and explain the difference between the meaning of sunblock and sunscreen.

Sunblock vs. Sunscreen?

According to VeryWell Health, Sunblock, on the other hand, reflects the sun’s rays from the skin, blocking the rays from penetrating the skin. It may be called a physical sunscreen. Sunscreen is the more commonly used type of sun protectant. It filters or screens the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. It keeps most rays out but lets some in. It may also be called a chemical sunscreen.

Different ingredients?

Another difference between sunblock and sunscreen is the different chemicals that are use to protect your skin against UV rays. Sunblock usually contains titanium oxide or zinc oxide as the active ingredients. As a result, sunblock tens to be much more thicker in consistency, whereas sunscreen contains active ingredients like oxybenzone or avobenzone that penetrate more into the skin.

All in all, the most important to remember is to make sure it protects you from both UVA and UVB rays.