SPF is a measure of UVB protection, the section of solar wavelength responsible for sunburns. However, this comes out to just 0.25% of the total sunlight wavelength spectrum.
UVB is 5% of UV radiation. 95% is UVA.
“Look dude, I just don’t want a sunburn or skin cancer”
I’m with ya. Sunburns are the worst. Skin cancer is scary. A high SPF sunscreen is the easiest way to prevent sunburn, no doubt. It requires minimal effort to apply SPF 70 a couple times while you’re out there having fun. However, with every shortcut, there’s an inherent tradeoff.
High SPF sunscreens, by nature, must contain either tons of the chemicals scientists are finding to be toxic for humans or lot’s of zinc oxide, in which case you’re going to look like casper the friendly ghost.
Plus, high protection sunscreen interferes with the vitamin D synthesis pathway. Sun exposure is really the only way to achieve high levels of vitamin D in your body, it’s very difficult to achieve the active form and the byproducts through supplementation. I HIGHLY suggest you read our blog on Vitamin D to see why it’s so important to maintain sufficient levels.
High SPF sunscreens, in our view, are a band-aid over a bullet hole. That’s one of the reasons we started Daybreak. We’re passionate about the benefits of smart sun exposure and through our lifestyle choices we don’t have a need for high SPF sunscreen, even on a UV 10 day. We’ve documented this process for y’all in a step by step guide HERE.
What SPF is Sunbutter?
The FDA regulates SPF ratings and between our small size and our general distaste for the SPF system, we haven’t gotten the Sunbutter FDA approved. If you don’t like that, no judgment, we understand.
That being said, there is a rule of thumb for sun protection formulations using Zinc Oxide. Every 1% of Zinc by total volume, you get ~1.5 SPF. This would put Sunbutter on par with an SPF 15-20 sunscreen. It’s a light protection product. If you’re pale, eat a ton of seed oils, and plan to just bake at the beach, you will get a sunburn. The Sunbutter is meant to provide light protection while healing your skin to aid in developing a healthy tan (natural resistance).