UK weather is set to reach 31C this weekend as Brits plan to flock to the beach and rejoice in rolling out the BBQ.
However, all that fun in the sun could be spoiled by not applying sunscreen. We’ve all been there, right? Not slathering enough of the SPF lotion on, nor frequently enough, to only to be left feeling sore and sorry for yourself the next day.
But, hang on a minute. What does SPF even stand for? Well, it turns out that a lot of you don’t know the meaning of the letters on the bottles of cream that could prevent you from looking like a tomato this weekend.
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One bunch of women racked up thousands of views on their TikTok video as they struggled to guess the three words within the acronym of SPF.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
In the clip, the staff at US beauty parlour Allure Medspa were tasked with answering the question, “what does SPF stand for?” And even some of the aestheticians struggled to get the answer right.
“How can I be an aesthetician and not knowing? I don’t know,” one giggled. Another guessed: “Oh my gosh. All I know is sun protection.”
While a third member of staff answered: “Sun protection foundation?” And a fourth said: “Sun protection…I don’t know what F stands for.”
Meanwhile, a fifth member of staff stated: “Sun protection filament.” They managed to get the first two letters correctly, but failed with the ‘F’.
(Image: Getty Images/Science Photo Library RF)
In fact, the ‘F’ in SPF stands for ‘Factor’ so all together the acronym means ‘Sun Protection Factor’. Now you’ve got that down, you should know why the three letters are important to protecting your skin.
According to the official NHS website, “the sun protection factor, or SPF, is a measure of the amount of ultraviolet B radiation (UVB) protection.
“SPFs are rated on a scale of 2 to 50+ based on the level of protection they offer, with 50+ offering the strongest form of UVB protection.
(Image: Getty Images)
“The star rating measures the amount of ultraviolet A radiation (UVA) protection. You should see a star rating of up to 5 stars on UK sunscreens. The higher the star rating, the better.”
The advice on the website urges that you should be applying at least SPF 30 to ensure that you give your skin the best chance of being safe in the sun.
But, you shouldn’t just rely on sunscreen to do the honours. To prevent any sun-related illnesses, you should also proactively cover up, stay in the shade between 11am-3pm and take extra care with children exposed to the sun.
To access more information on sun safety, you can do so on the NHS website here