The National Solar Report

And girlfriend, have you been enjoying the sun like I have? in the sun the past few days? It could very well be that you, like me, have ended up with a slightly sunburned face from the weekend. Because what turns out? The sun was extra strong and research shows that we could really use a lesson in sun knowledge. ‘No, I don't put on sunscreen, then I won't get tanned’, ‘it's cloudy so I don't need to apply’, and: ‘I'm lying in the shade.’ Recognizable? Then read on. Because not all of us are well-informed about the sun and its power. This is evident from the National Sun Report published by UV-Fashions based on research by PanelWizard among over 1000 Dutch people.

To begin with, questions arise when we talk about the differences in radiation. Only 72 percent of the Dutch do not know the difference between UVA and UVB radiation. But there is a very handy mnemonic for that. UVA radiation penetrates deeper into your skin and causes wrinkles and pigmentation spots. UVB rays penetrate less deeply into the skin and are responsible for your sunkissed skin, or for a sunburned skin.

The strength of the sun is sometimes stronger than at other times. And that has nothing to do with the temperature, but with the amount of UV radiation in sunlight that reaches the earth. According to Mischa Stubenitsky from KWF Cancer Control, people only half understand how important it is to apply sunscreen properly. ‘Sunburn at a young age increases the risk of skin cancer later in life. Skin cancer is now the most common form of cancer in the Netherlands, and therefore it is important to continuously apply sunscreen, even when it is cloudy or when you are in the shade,’ says Jan-Willem van der Sterre, founder of UV-Fashions.

Source image: Clarisse Meyer and Eddie Kopp