Beauty, Pro-Ageing, Skincare, Suncare
Many people only consider applying sunscreen when they are away on holiday, at the beach or when exposed to bright sunlight for long periods of time. Daily protection against ultraviolet light can help prevent premature ageing, wrinkles, sagging skin, age/liver spots, sunburn, eye damage and genetic mutations that can lead to skin cancer. If skin has tanned then DNA damage has occurred.
Cases of skin cancer have increased dramatically over the past 70 years, in 1930 the instances for melanoma were 1/1500 and today it’s 1/52. Interestingly there wasn’t sunscreen in the early 30s (Boots introduced Soltan in 1939), people wore more clothes and travel wasn’t so widely available. 1 in 5 people will develop skin cancer in their lifetime, and you are at greater risk of developing skin cancer between the ages of 55 and 64. So, there has never been a better time start making sunscreen part of your daily skincare routine.
There are two types of sunscreen, physical and chemical.
Physical sun block sits on the surface of the skin causing UV rays to bounce off. Physical sunscreen is likely to contain Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide which give a thicker appearance and a white finish.
Chemical sunscreens are absorbed by the skin, and deactivate sunlight when it comes into contact with your body, absorbing the light and releasing the heat. Chemical sunscreens may contain mexoryl, oxybenzone, or avobenzone.
A broad spectrum product may contain both physical and mineral ingredients.
Sunscreen efficacy is measured by its sun protection factor, or SPF. There is a misconception that SPF indicates the amount of protection you will get, which isn’t entirely true, in fact it just indicates how long it will take UVB rays to redden the skin when using the product, compared to how long skin would take to redden without any sunscreen at all. Skin’s own SPF, melanin, will protect to SPF 2-3 before reddening and will allow approximately 10 minutes in the sun before burning occurs.
If you use a product with an SPF of 15 it will take 15 times longer to redden than it would without sunscreen.
SPF 15 sunscreen screens 93% of the sun’s UVB rays; SPF 30 protects against 97% and SPF 50 98%.
In 1992 Boots introduced the star rating which has now become an industry standard for measuring the efficacy of sunscreen.
Dr Marko Lens renowned surgeon and skin cancer specialist, advises choosing a product of SPF 30 as the overall increase in protection compared to SPF 50 is only 1%, yet the chemicals used to take the product from factor 30 to 50 are not beneficial to the skin. High SPF products require higher concentrations of sun-filtering chemicals than low SPF sunscreens. Some of these ingredients may pose health risks when they penetrate the skin, where they have been linked to tissue damage and potential hormone disruption. Some may trigger allergic skin reactions. There is no evidence that higher SPF products are better at reducing skin damage or cancer risk.
Look for a photostable product, as many break down with the intensity of light exposure, it should be broad spectrum, protecting against both UVA and UVB, with a minimum SPF 15 for the body and SPF 30 for the face. Sunscreen is expensive which is due to the high cost of the raw ingredients; and those which block the damaging UVA rays have to work even harder at protecting the skin.
Use at least a shot glass full of sunscreen for your body and another teaspoon full for your face. If in doubt use more than you think you need – you undoubtedly will need it!
Apply sunscreen to all exposed areas; don’t forget the back of the neck, ears, hairline and parting, paying special attention to the backs of hands to prevent age spots. Make sure shoulders are well covered and reapply throughout the day. Reapply as soon as you come out of the water. Use a lip balm with an SPF to protect lips and carry a handy touch up stick for areas of the body constantly in the sun. Apply sunscreen before dressing, to avoid missing areas under straps, and apply at least 30 minutes before leaving the house. This gives the sunscreen time to activate otherwise you will be unprotected for the first 30 minutes of exposure to the sun.
Facial skin is always exposed to the elements, unlike your body which spends a large amount of time under wraps. Just as you wouldn’t use a body lotion on your face, you should invest in a different sunscreen for your face and body. The best facial sun products are formulated to the same standards as skincare, and offer more than sun protection, they help to repair and rejuvenate sun damaged skin.
Although your makeup and skincare may contain an SPF this won’t be enough to protect your skin from damaging rays. Dr Marko Lens advises, ‘many cosmetic products containing SPF 15, which would correspond to medium protection, do not provide broad-spectrum protection covering both UVB and UVA light. While some makeup products provide some protection against the sun if you want to have proper sun protection I would still recommend use of a proper sunscreen with broad spectrum SPF 30’. Sunscreens should be applied before makeup.
Don’t be tempted to use that leftover bottle of sunscreen from last year. The active ingredients in sunscreen have a limited shelf life, so replace regularly.
Understand more about ultraviolet light and how it damages skin HERE
