Yolanda Holmes: Hello, I am Yolanda Holmes, a Board Certified Dermatologist in downtown Washington, DC. We will now talk about sunscreens. Sunscreens are important in protecting in the skin from Ultraviolet Radiation, the sun. The two main components of ultraviolet radiation that affect the skin are UVA and UVB. UVA is responsible for photoageing and sun damage. UVB is primarily responsible for the development of skin cancers which include Basocell, the most common form of skin cancer, Squamous cell and melanoma which can be deadly. There are two broad categories of sunscreens, chemical sunscreens and physical sunscreens. Chemical sunscreens are more likely to cause allergic reactions and they include things like Avobenzone, Homosalate, Parsol-17 and Padimate O, among others as the active ingredients. Physical sunscreens contain chemicals like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. These sunscreens put a physical barrier on the skin to protect against the sun. Physical sunscreens may be less desirable because they sometimes put in an opaque or whitish mask on the skin.

Newer forms of physical sunscreens are micronized which means the particles are smaller and they have a shearer appearance and are less noticeable on the skin. The two categories of sunscreens include chemical and physical sunscreens. The best sunscreen is a broad spectrum sunscreens which protects against both UVA and UVB rays. Physical sunscreens contain titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. They put a physical barrier on the skin which sometimes appear as very chalky and leaves a mask on the skin. Newer forms of physical sunscreens contain micronized forms of the chemicals which are shearer on the skin.

Next, we will talk about Microdermabrasion.