Sun Protection

TOP TEN TIPS FOR SUNBATHING
It all started when Coco Chanel caught the sun sailing in the Mediterranean.  Whatever she did was fashion news, and overnight the once-fashionable pale ‘English Rose’ complexion was old-hat.  A deep tan showed you were rich enough to holiday in the sun.

Today, we know better.  Recently the boffins have suggested we need to give ourselves about 20 minutes of sunlight exposure a day – but this no excuse to stop the SLIP – SLAP – SLOP which helps protect us from deadly skin cancers.    Slip on sunhats, loose, covering clothes;  slap on the suncream and slop it on whenever you have been out for over two hours, or come out of water.

If you’ve bought sunscreen lately, you may have noticed that the SPF factor has increased – 50 is not unusual, and I have been trying products with an SPF of 60 or even higher.

But applying sunscreen before going out, and often, and lots of it, is more important than the SPF number on the label.  Researchers seem to agree that SPF 15 is lowest number to use,  SPF 30 is best all-over protection, and some research says that if you use an SPF 50 or 60 each time you swim protection diminishes by about Factor 10 every time you come out of the water.  However, this is not proven – so be careful.  Better to be safe than sorry.

1.  Slapping on a double layer of SPF 8 still only gives you a Factor 8 protection
2.  Minimum for Winter/Spring/Autumn days should be around SPF 15 – and boffins say use this whenever we go out on our face – supposed to retard signs of ageing.
3.  Factor 30 is probably minimum most will recommend for Summer.

SPF numbers have less to do with time in the sun and more to do with the amount of harmful ultraviolet light making its way to your skin, according to the Food and Drug Administration. And now that SPF numbers are breaking into the triple digits – a handful of products boast a sun protection factor of 100 – the lowly SPF 15 sounds like a sunburn waiting to happen.

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas, USA, is as good as it gets for cancer advice worldwide, and their Dennis Hughes says “Buying a sunscreen with a high SPF is not as important as using enough sunscreen, getting it on all the places and reapplying when you need to. People also forget that sunscreen doesn’t start working the minute you apply it. It takes up to 30 minutes. You should be applying it before you go outside.”

4.  Wear a hat if possible – particularly men with thinning hair
5.  If hair is short, put lotion on the tops of ears and back of neck

Never, ever use a sunbed.  The sad fact is that skin cancer is now probably most prevalent cancer amongst the 20 – 30 years age group – and many of them have just not got the message.

If you don’t wear sunglasses (even when swimming) put extra protection on the sensitive areas around the eyes, where the skin is thin and particularly prone to sunburn and wrinkling.  One M. D. Anderson tip is to apply  lip balm with SPF around the eyes – but do make sure it is a very soft one, otherwise you could be stretching the skin as you apply.

Most people apply far too little – for best coverage

6. Apply half an hour before you go out in sun
7. Don’t rub in – apply a good coating and leave to soak in (I use Anthelios which seems to sink into skin quicker than most.
8.  Take a bottle with you and re-apply every two hours – or more frequently if you feel you are burning
9.  Simple test is to place palm of hand on hot skin.  If skin feels hot, re-apply suncreen IMMEDIATELY
10.  Every time you come out of water, re-apply sunscreen.

And when you are sitting under an umbrella, don’t automatically assume you are safe.  You can get burnt by sun’s rays reflecting off concrete, white walls, water, etc.

And if you want a fashionable tan, use a fake one.  If you are on drugs, have had chemo etc. it is best to use one of the kind that builds up gradually, such as Clarins, rather than an immediate tanning solution.  If you use one that gives a dark tan, you can find the drugs react on your skin, and you come up looking like a patchwork quilt.  Using a lighter, gentler self-tanning lotion means you can build this up and re-apply on areas that are patchy.

And if you go out in the sun a lot, you could help reduce the cost of sunscreen by writing to your MP and asking them to ask the Chancellor to STOP slapping VAT on this vital protection. In other countries sunscreen has no tax – yet our Chancellor slaps this extra charge on what is a medical and life saving product.  “Removing VAT from the price of sunscreen would really help to bring down the price of protecting yourself against skin cancer”, says Sarah Woolnough of Cancer Research UK.

Have (careful) fun in the sun!