Sun protection factor: Calculate duration of action for sun protection - Calculate Now

Determining the effective duration of the sunscreen based on the self-protection time

Sunbathing in summer is the most natural thing in the world. The effective duration of the sunscreen depends not only on its sun protection factor, but also on your skin type. The darker your skin type, the longer the self-protection time of your skin and thus the duration of sunbathing. The sun protection factor calculator calculates the duration of protection.

Each skin type has a different self-protection time

The first skin type is the Celtic skin type: This is characterized by a light skin and freckles, which are not only limited to individual skin areas but occur on the whole body. People of the Celtic skin type do not tan very quickly but are more susceptible to sunburn. If you have such a very fair skin, then your self-protection time is at most 10 minutes.

Nordic skin types, on the other hand, do develop a tan, but it takes quite a long time to see it. They have blond hair and also freckles on certain areas of the skin (e.g. the face).Nordic skin types bring a self-protection time of up to 20 minutes.

A mixed type has dark blond or brown hair, does not develop sunburn quite as quickly, and can stay in the sun for about 30 minutes without sunscreen.

The skin of people with a Mediterranean skin type has a light olive or brown tone even without sun exposure. The hair of people with this skin type is brown or black, yet they tend to sunburn rather rarely. They have an inherent protection time of up to 40 minutes.

Dark skin types have naturally dark skin color and rarely if ever develop sunburn. For dark skin types, the self-protection time is up to 60 minutes, and even up to 90 minutes for very dark skin types .

These are estimated values that can vary from person to person.

Skin type overview: a distinction is made between six different skin types

1. Type I - very light skin, light blond, reddish hair, freckles

2. Type II - fair skin, blond to light brown hair, sometimes freckles

3. Type III - medium skin color, dark blond to brown hair

4. Type IV - Mediterranean type, brownish to olive skin color, brown to black hair

5. Type V - dark skin color, black hair

6. Type VI - dark brown to black skin color, black hair

The darker the skin, the higher the self-protection time. This can therefore also be increased by pre-tanning, although pre-tanning in a solarium is not sufficient.

So how do you calculate the time you can spend protected by sunscreen in the sun?

The formula is quite simple. It is:

Self-protection time x sunscreen protection factor = number of minutes you should be protected by sunscreen.

You can find out very quickly with our sun protection online calculator.

What does the UV index mean?

The UV index, on the other hand, indicates how strong the sun's rays must be to cause sunburn. It varies depending on the time of day and the position of the sun, the season, cloud cover and reflections. On average, a UV index of 8 is assumed, which corresponds to the midday sun in Central Europe in summer.

What does the sun protection factor mean?

The sun protection factor is also decisive for the duration of sunbathing. It indicates how much longer you can stay in the sun with a sunscreen. A sun protection factor (SPF) 20 increases the self-protection time twentyfold.

So to calculate the maximum sunbathing time, you need the above information. These are entered into our online calculator and it automatically calculates when you should stop sunbathing.