The atmosphere of the earth allows us a certain degree of protection from the harmful ultra violet and infra red rays that stream towards us continuously from outer space.  The sun’s rays contain potentially skin damaging properties and while the ozone layer does manage to shield us from some of them, it’s a good idea to double up the security by adding sun screen to our skin.

Now what exactly is sun screen and how does it help? The main components of a good sun screen usually include zinc oxide in heavy oil or white particles of titanium dioxide. These are inorganic particles which opaque sun blocks use as an effective layer of paint on the skin to shield it from the harmful rays of the sun.

In a lighter clear sun cream you will find organic compounds such as phenyl benzimidazole. While this will allow the visible rays of light’s spectrum into the skin, it will still protect it against the ultra violet block of rays. Most good sun screens have done some scientific study and tend to use a combination of the organic and inorganic compound particles to give a better range of protection to the user.