A No-Sunburn Summer
Last year Australian households alone spent some $A42 million on sunscreens. Why? To protect themselves from the damaging radiation of the sun.
The sun’s radiation that penetrates our atmosphere consists of a number of different types of radiation; primarily ultraviolet A (UVA), ultraviolet B (UVB), visible and infrared. Visible light enables us to see the world around us, the infrared is what we feel as heat, UVB causes sunburn and UVA causes tanning, along with premature ageing, tissue and DNA damage.
Most people buy sunscreens as protection from the immediate effect of an excess of sun—sunburn. While it’s important to protect yourself from burning, exposure to both UVB and UVA radiation leads to skin cancer. Years or decades can pass between bad sunburn or a nice tan, and the detection of cancer, or premature ageing, but once the damage has been done, it’s with us for life.
choosing a sunscreen
A sunscreen doesn’t have to feel awful to be effective. Shop around; sunscreens can be purchased from many locations in addition to pharmacies and come in a variety of forms, including lotion, cream, spray and gel. Just find one you like. You don’t have to settle for a thick goopy sunscreen.
Use a sunscreen for the occasion. A water-resistant sunscreen will feel heavier than a regular sunscreen, so if you don’t need water resistance, say for gardening or golfing, chose a light milk. Men, pick an alcohol-based sunscreen—they don’t mat hairy arms and are great for follicle-challenged heads. And if you don’t like the whitening effect of sunscreen, pick one with a tint.
what is a quality sunscreen?
A quality sunscreen protects against both UVA and UVB, but how do you know which sunscreen is best? For years I believed all SPF 30+ sunscreens were equal, but this is not so. An SPF 30+ sunscreen could be SPF 31 or SPF 100+, you have no way of telling from the label. In general, with sunscreens, you get what you pay for. The two most important ingredients in sunscreens—the sunscreen actives and the film formers—are expensive.
The sunscreen actives are the ingredients in the sunscreen that actually do the work. They protect you by absorbing or reflecting the UVA and UVB before it reaches your skin. For the sunscreen actives to work at their best they must form an even, unbroken film on the skin.
To ensure this occurs when you apply your sunscreen, film formers are used. Although your skin feels smooth to touch, it is actually a series of ridges and valleys. Using poor film formers the sunscreen will sink into the valleys and leave the ridges unprotected. Sunscreen with quality film formers will maintain protection of the ridges as well as the valleys.
Always purchase sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more and a “broad spectrum” claim on it. Broad spectrum means that it passes the Australian Standard for UVB and UVA protection. Also, in Australia, if you purchase a water-resistant sunscreen, the SPF of the sunscreen must remain at the claimed SPF after the water resistance period.
Always purchase sunscreen that has a use-by date.
In Australia, sunscreens are considered medicines, and are manufactured under the same laws as medicine. Just as you would not use out-of-date medicine, never use out-of-date sunscreen. Australia has some of the toughest laws for testing sunscreens in the world and, as a result, we produce the best, most reliable sunscreens.
Store the sunscreen according to the instructions.
For optimal performance, it’s vital that sunscreen be stored according to the instructions. Treat sunscreen with the same respect that you would treat your medicines!
Most sunscreen packaging will state “store below 25°C or 30°C,” yet many people store their sunscreen in the car where the summer heat can take the sunscreen well above this temperature. When a sunscreen is heated above the storage temperature, changes occur within the sunscreen. These changes can result in the sunscreen having a reduced SPF. For the same reason, never use sunscreen that is out of date or doesn’t look right.
how to use
Apply the sunscreen liberally at least 20 minutes prior to sun exposure.
What does “liberally” mean? An adult needs 30 ml of sunscreen to achieve the claimed SPF protection. Studies have shown that the average person applies only half this amount. If you apply half the amount of sunscreen, you only get a third of the stated protection. For example, using 15 ml of an SPF-30 product gives an SPF-10 protection.
For a sunscreen to be effective, it must be allowed to dry properly and bond with the skin. This is particularly important if you go into the water. If you apply your sunscreen and jump straight into the water, the sunscreen will wash off. Once the sunscreen has dried and bonded, however, you will get the full protection as stated on your sunscreen.
Reapply sunscreen every two hours, after swimming or towelling dry.
For sunscreen to work properly, it must form an unbroken film on the skin. Sweating, rubbing clothing, swimming and towelling will remove sunscreen and leave patches of skin exposed. Reapplying sunscreen regularly ensures you’re always protected.
Sunburn can occur in as little as 10 minutes.Many people don’t apply their sunscreen until they are already in the sun. However, sunscreen needs 15-20 minutes to dry and bond before it is working optimally. If you don’t apply your sunscreen until you are in the sun and you burn in 10 minutes, you may already be burning before your sunscreen can protect you best.
The amount of sunlight a person can take before they start to burn is an individual thing. Those of middle European descent can usually take a little more than those of British decent; however, once you have started to burn, applying more sunscreen cannot stop the burning process. Once you have started to burn there are two things only that can be done to prevent further damage: first, get out of the sun and, second, apply a lot of moisturiser. The moisturiser helps the skin rehydrate and can prevent peeling, depending on how bad the sunburn is.
Sunscreen does not stop sunlight reaching our skin; it just reduces the amount that reaches your skin in a given time. For example, an SPF-30 sunscreen will reduce the amount of sunlight reaching your skin to 1/30 of normal.
Think of sunlight as water running to a bucket, with the bucket representing your skin. When the bucket is full, you begin burning. With the tap on full, it may take 10 minutes to fill the bucket. If we slow down the water flow to 1/30 of normal, it will take 300 minutes to fill the bucket. It may take longer to fill the bucket with the reduced water flow, but once the bucket is full, the only way to stop the bucket overflowing is to take the bucket away from the water flow. In the same way once your capacity to absorb sunlight without burning has been reached, you must get out of the sun or get burnt.
take care when you’re young
Studies have shown, however, that by the time you’re 18, 80 per cent of the sun-related skin damage is already done, the effects of which may not be noticed for several decades. But it is often not until adulthood that the sun-smart message begins to sink in.
Toddlers running through the sprinkler on a warm afternoon, a child getting a bad sunburn on a Queensland holiday, or teenagers tanning in salons or on the beach to get the in-vogue look—all these scenarios seem harmless enough in isolation, but the innocent accumulation of sun exposure in our youth can have serious consequences later on.
It is vital that children and young adults are taught the importance of sun protection and be taught that the consequences are real. While parents can ensure their children put on sunscreen, teenagers can be harder to convince. For the latter, this is where shopping around for a sunscreen that’s easy to use with a nice look and feel is important.
all-round skin care
An alarming recent trend is to use a tanning salon. They usually advocate a “safe” tan. But note, no tan is a safe tan! Tanning salons usually use UVA to achieve a tan without burning, however UVA damages collagen, DNA and leads to premature ageing as well as being linked with skin cancer. So while you may look nice and brown today, you’ll end up looking old before your time.
The sun shines all year around. Although summer is the most obvious time to protect your skin with sunscreen, protection all year round is vital. Wear sun protection daily, for incidental sun exposure. Daily-use sun protection products are widely available, and should be used by men and women. For periods of more obvious sun exposure, pick a sunscreen that you like.
Sunscreen is an investment not only in the immediate prevention of burning, but also in your long-term appearance and health. A quality sunscreen will protect against both the short-term damage of burning and the long-term damage of premature ageing, DNA damage and tissue damage.
You are never too old or too young to begin to use sun protection.
To maximise protection:
- Prepare in advance. Apply sunscreen about 20 minutes before going out. Use it even on cloudy or hazy days. UV rays can penetrate cloud cover.
- Cover all exposed areas. Don’t forget your nose, lips, ears, feet, hands, bald spots, the back of your neck and the part in your hair. Also apply to areas under bathing-suit straps, necklaces, bracelets and sunglasses. Be careful when applying sunscreen around eyes.
- Apply sunscreen thickly and thoroughly. Most people use sunscreen too sparingly. A liberal application is 28 g (1 oz) to cover all exposed skin.
- Reapply regularly. To maximise protection, reapply your sunscreen every two hours. Heavy perspiration, water and towel drying can remove the protective layer, even from waterproof sunscreens.
- Use with other protective measures. Limit your time in the sun between 10 am and 4 pm. Seek shade whenever possible. Wear a wide-brimmed hat and clothing made of tightly woven fabrics.
Source: Mayo Clinic Health Letter
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