PA+++ vs PA++++ for Kids: What the Pluses Mean

A mother messaged me last month with a photo of two sunscreen boxes on her kitchen counter. One said PA+++. One said PA++++. Her question was blunt: "Is the four-plus one better for my 7-year-old, or am I being sold an extra plus sign?"

Short answer: the plus signs measure UVA protection — the rays that cause tanning, pigmentation and long-term skin ageing — while SPF measures protection from UVB, the burning rays. PA+++ means UVA protection roughly 8 to under 16 times baseline. PA++++ means 16 times or more. Both sit in the "high protection" band. For a child in India, the jump from three pluses to four is real but small. It is almost always smaller than the difference made by how much sunscreen you actually apply.

What do the plus signs after PA actually stand for?

PA stands for Protection Grade of UVA. It came out of Japan and is now the standard shorthand across most of Asia, including India. The rating comes from a lab measurement called PPD — Persistent Pigment Darkening. Testers apply a measured dose of sunscreen to skin, expose it to UVA, and see how much longer it takes for that skin to darken compared to bare skin.

The PPD number becomes a plus grade:

Look at how the bands widen as they climb. A product at PPD 15 and a product at PPD 8 both carry PA+++. And PA++++ is open-ended at the top — PPD 16 and PPD 25 wear the same four pluses. The label gives you a band, not a number. Which is why I keep telling parents to stop treating the fourth plus as a tier of safety they're missing out on.

Why UVA needs its own rating at all

UVB is the shorter wavelength. It hits the epidermis, and it's what turns your child's shoulders pink after a sports day. It's seasonal, it's stronger between 10am and 4pm, and glass blocks most of it.

UVA is longer. It penetrates deeper — into the dermis, where collagen and elastin live. It's roughly constant through the year, present from morning to evening, and it passes straight through window glass and thin cloud. That includes the school-van window your child dozes against every afternoon. It's the main driver of tanning and of pigmentation that sits stubbornly on cheeks and forehead. It doesn't announce itself with redness, which is exactly why it went unregulated for so long. A sunscreen could post SPF 50 and offer almost nothing against UVA, and nobody would notice until years later.

That's the gap the PA scale closed.

PA+++ vs PA++++ for children: does the extra plus matter?

I formulate these products. So, plainly:

Going from PA+++ to PA++++ moves you from high UVA protection to somewhat higher UVA protection. Like SPF, the curve flattens hard at the top. The first plus buys you a lot. The fourth buys you a sliver.

What actually decides how much UVA reaches your child's skin:

• Dose applied. Ratings are measured at 2 mg per square centimetre. Real-world application is usually well short of that, and protection doesn't drop proportionally. It drops steeply.
• Reapplication. A PA++++ product applied once at 7am is worse by 1pm than a PA+++ product reapplied at lunch.
• Coverage. Ears, back of neck, the strip between sock and trouser hem. That's where I see tan lines on school kids.
• Whether it's worn at all. A sticky, white-casting sunscreen a child fights every morning has an effective rating of zero.

That last one is not a throwaway. Compliance is the single biggest variable in paediatric sun care, and it's a formulation problem more than a parenting problem. Get the texture wrong and the routine collapses by week two.

How a formulator actually earns UVA protection

Here the ingredient list matters more than the plus count. Zinc oxide is inherently broad-spectrum — a single mineral filter that covers UVB, UVA II and, unusually, well into UVA I (the longest, deepest wavelengths). Titanium dioxide is a strong UVB filter but tapers off in UVA I. So a mineral sunscreen relying on titanium dioxide alone will struggle to earn a high PA grade honestly. One built on zinc oxide at a meaningful percentage can.

Organic (chemical) filters get to a high PA differently — by combining several filters, some of which need photostabilisers because they degrade in sunlight. Nothing wrong with that, and the newer-generation filters are good. But the UVA rating then depends on the whole system staying stable on skin, in Nagpur heat, under a school bag strap, through a 40-minute auto ride.

For a child, I lean mineral. Not because chemical filters are unsafe — that's a myth I've spent a lot of time correcting — but because zinc oxide is a photostable single filter with a long paediatric-use history, and it sits on skin rather than being absorbed to any meaningful degree. Fewer moving parts. For that whole debate, the Janma Journal has a full piece comparing mineral and chemical filters for kids.

The school-day sun routine that makes the rating count

None of this is theory. Do it, and a PA+++ sunscreen will outperform a PA++++ one used carelessly.

Morning, before the uniform goes on

• Apply on bare skin first, not over the shirt collar. Sunscreen goes on before dressing, so you can reach shoulders and the back of the neck properly.
• Use the two-finger measure for face and neck. Squeeze a line of sunscreen along the length of your index and middle fingers. That's roughly right for a child's face, ears and neck together.
• Add a teaspoon per limb if arms and legs will be uncovered. On a full-uniform day, face, ears, neck and hands are the honest minimum.
• Ears and the nape. Say it out loud as you do it. These two get skipped almost every single morning.
• Wait 2 minutes before the shirt. Mineral sunscreens need a moment to settle, or half of it ends up on the collar.

At school — the reapplication problem

Most Indian schools won't let a child carry and apply sunscreen mid-day, and most children won't remember anyway. So build around that:

• Send a stick or a small tube in the bag if the school permits it, and teach one specific trigger: "before you go out for games period."
• Ask about the games slot. An 8am period is one thing. If sport is at 11am — and in most April timetables it is — a lunchtime reapplication matters far more.
• A cap with a brim beats a second coat. Physical shade is the most reliable UVA protection there is, and it needs no reapplying.
• Sunglasses on sports day. UVA reaches the eye and the thin lid skin all day, not just at noon.

Evening, after school

• Cleanse properly. Mineral sunscreen sits on the surface, so it needs a real wash — a gentle cleanser, lukewarm water, then rinse. Water alone won't shift it.
• Moisturise while skin is damp, within three minutes of the bath. A day of sun and sweat is dehydrating, and a barrier-supporting cream helps the skin recover overnight.
• Check for tan lines once a week. A sharp line at the sleeve edge tells you the application is stopping too early. Adjust, don't panic.

What to look for on the box, in order

At the chemist counter, in this order:

1. Broad spectrum with a stated PA rating of PA+++ or higher. No PA rating on the box is the actual red flag — not a missing fourth plus.
2. SPF 30 to 50. Above SPF 50 the returns are negligible and the texture usually suffers.
3. The filter itself. Zinc oxide, ideally non-nano, if you want mineral.
4. Texture your child will tolerate. Test it once on a Sunday, not on a school morning.
5. Water resistance if there's swimming or heavy sweating — and remember that means reapplying after towelling.

What to look for matters more than which brand supplies it. If you want a mineral option built for Indian conditions, our Daily Defender Kids Mineral Sunscreen SPF 40 PA+++ was formulated around exactly this logic — zinc oxide, a rating that's genuinely high rather than cosmetically maximal, and a texture that survives a real school morning.

When to see a doctor

Book a paediatrician or dermatologist visit if you notice:

• A sunburn with blistering, or a burn accompanied by fever, chills or vomiting.
• A mole that changes shape, colour or size, or a new pigmented spot that looks different from the others.
• A rash that appears reliably after sun exposure — this can indicate photosensitivity, which sometimes has a medication cause.
• Patches of pigment loss, or dark patches that spread rather than fade.
• Any reaction to a sunscreen beyond mild transient stinging — swelling, hives or persistent redness.

A child who burns very easily, or who is on medication that increases sun sensitivity, deserves a proper conversation with a doctor about protection rather than a guess at the chemist.

So, which one should you buy?

Buy the PA+++ or PA++++ sunscreen your child will let you apply every morning without a fight. If two products are otherwise identical, sure, take the four pluses. But don't pay a premium for it, don't switch away from something that's working, and don't let the extra plus give you permission to apply less.

The plus signs are a floor, not a scoreboard. Cross the threshold, then spend your attention on dose, coverage and consistency. That's where the actual protection lives.

After a long day in the sun, sun-tired skin recovers better with a barrier-supporting cream — our Hydra Healing Moisturizing Balm is what I reach for on my own family's post-school routine.

Frequently asked questions

Is PA++++ better than PA+++ for children?

Marginally, yes — PA++++ means a PPD of 16 or higher versus 8 to under 16 for PA+++. But both sit in the high-protection band, and the difference in real-world UVA blocked is small. How much sunscreen you apply and whether you reapply matters far more than the fourth plus sign. Choose the one your child will actually wear daily.

What is the difference between SPF and PA?

SPF measures protection against UVB — the rays that cause sunburn. PA measures protection against UVA, the longer rays that penetrate deeper and drive tanning, pigmentation and long-term skin ageing. UVA is present all year, all day, and passes through window glass. A child needs both numbers on the box, not just a high SPF.

What PA rating should a school-going child in India use?

PA+++ or higher is genuinely sufficient for daily school use in India. Pair it with SPF 30 to 50. The bigger wins come from applying a proper amount — roughly two fingers' length for face, ears and neck — covering the back of the neck and ears, and adding a brimmed cap for outdoor periods.

Does a mineral sunscreen give good PA protection?

It can, if it's built on zinc oxide. Zinc oxide is inherently broad-spectrum and covers well into the long UVA I wavelengths, so it earns a high PA rating from the filter itself. Titanium dioxide alone is a strong UVB filter but tapers off in UVA, so a titanium-only formula will usually rate lower on PA.

Why do some sunscreens show no PA rating at all?

PA is a Japanese-origin standard used widely across Asia, so some imported products use other UVA marks instead — such as a circled UVA logo or a stated critical wavelength. A product with no UVA indication of any kind is the real concern, because SPF alone tells you nothing about UVA protection.

Do children need sunscreen indoors or on cloudy days?

UVA passes through window glass and thin cloud, so exposure continues on overcast days and near a sunny classroom window. For a child spending most of the day indoors away from windows, it's low priority. For anyone with outdoor periods, travel time or a window-side seat, daily application through the year is the simpler habit.