Each year over five million cases of skin cancer is diagnosed in the United States, it is the most common type of cancer.

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month, and one way you can protect your skin is by using sunscreen. Administrator of Washington County Public Health Danielle Pettit-Majewski explains what the SPF on sunscreen bottles stands for, “SPF stands for sun protection factor and its protection against UVB radiation, and that’s the radiation that burns skin. However, it does not protect against UVA radiation which is what penetrates deep into the skin and that’s what can accelerate our skin to age and cause cancer. So a lot of people look at the sun protectant factor, SPF, and they’re like, ‘Oh, this is 100 [SPF] this is great, I’m going to use that.’ What I recommend, and what is recommended is at least a 15 [SPF] but really no more than 50 [SPF], because otherwise it lulls you into a false sense of security that you can be out in the sun for a long time without reapplying.” She recommends putting sunscreen on about 20 minutes before going outside so your skin can absorb it and then reapply sunscreen every two hours.

The Centers for Disease Control recommends a broad spectrum sunscreen which will have both UVA and UVB protection.