Er, no. In fact, we need to be applying sun protection every day — yes, even in the depths of winter — to ensure adequate protection from those pesky UVA and UVB rays. There’s no denying, however, that this time of year prompts increased sales of SPF.
Supermarket aisles are filled with a menagerie of options, from pre-beach or water application to skin-soothers if you’ve managed to get a little red. Furthermore, when it comes to purchasing suncare, if it’s not a regular on the shopping list it can seem like a) a minefield and b) quite costly. Online beauty retailer Face The Future wants to make daily sunscreen a habit and in April it launched the 366 Days of SPF campaign alongside a YouGov survey of more than 2,000 participants.
It highlights that the UK population is not adhering to SPF guidelines, putting their skin health at risk. The vast majority of the UK does not currently follow SPF guidance and does not feel like it is necessary to do so. Beauty standards of seeking a tan currently outweigh attitudes of worrying about the possibility of skin cancer, while almost half of the population are not familiar with the symptoms of skin cancer.
A large proportion of people find SPF to be expensive (64%), which is putting their skin health at risk, with only 22% of the UK applying SPF daily. Of that latter figure, only 40% of those surveyed buy SPF when they go on holiday. Furthermore, almost half of the UK population (45%) say they do not follow medical advice on wea.
