Summer is a special time of the year. There is so much to do and places to visit. There is a potential problem in being out this time of year which is the sun and what it could do to your skin.The sun can cause allot of damage to your skin if you are not careful or take the right precautions. So, we decided to give you some tips in taking care of your skin this summer from Web MD.
Sun Shields
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the U.S. There's strong evidence that excessive sun exposure raises the risk of
melanoma, the deadliest form of the disease. According to the American Cancer Society, there will be about 62,000 new cases of melanoma in 2006, and nearly 8,000 will die of the ailment.
Sunscreens. Sunscreen is a highly recommended defense against
sunburn and skin cancer. It is now available in lotions, creams, ointments, gels, wax sticks, and spray. Some have glitter and tint, too.
What's the best kind? That depends on you. "It's nice to use a product with a higher SPF, but it's more important you find a sunscreen that you like because you'll use it more," says Andrew Kaufman, MD, a dermasurgeon and a member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery.
Make sure to apply sunscreen 15 to 30 minutes before you go out. Put on enough so that it takes a full minute to rub in. If at the beach, spread at least 1 ounce -- enough to fill a shot glass -- on your face and entire body. Use more if you need to for good coverage. If you swim, sweat, or are outdoors for a long time, reapply every two hours. Your sunscreen should also have the following qualities:
It is water resistant. Sweat or water cannot easily remove it.
It has SPF of 15 or higher. According to The American Academy of Dermatology, sunscreen-SPF rating is calculated by comparing the amount of time needed to produce a sunburn on sunscreen-protected skin to the amount of time needed to cause a sunburn on unprotected skin.
For example, with an SPF 2 sunscreen a person who normally (without sunscreen) would turn red after 10 minutes of sun exposure would take 20 minutes to turn red. A sunscreen with an SPF of 30 would allow that person to multiply that initial burning time by 30, which means it would take 30 times longer to burn. However, SPF should not be used to determine time in the sun.
Skin damage can happen even without a burn. Plus, higher SPF numbers do not give proportionate protection. SPF 15 deflects 93% of sun-burning rays, whereas SPF 30 deflects 97%, reports the AAD.
It provides broad-spectrum protection, which is in sunscreens containing benzophenones (oxybenzone), cinnamates (octylmethyl cinnamate and cinoxate), sulisobenzone, salicylates, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, and avobenzone (Parsol 1789).
Unless it has these agents, the sunscreen may filter only UVB light, the major culprit for sunburn and skin cancer. Yet, protection from UVA is important, too. It is responsible for premature aging and the development of skin cancer.
Clothing and Lip Balms
Clothing. Start with a hat, because those harmful rays reach your scalp and your ears when you leave your noggin unprotected. And remember, baseball caps are not nearly as effective as hats with broad brims, because they leave your ears exposed.
Garments designed to ward off skin-cancer-causing rays are now available in specialty stores. These are given an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) rating, indicating how much of the sun's rays are absorbed by the fabric. Articles with UPF 30, for example, allow only 1/30 of UV light to penetrate.
These clothes are a foolproof way of shielding against skin damage, says Cyndi Yag-Howard, MD, FAAD, a dermatologist and SPF clothing entrepreneur in Naples, Fla. "They basically act like a really good sunscreen," she says, noting most people don't apply enough sunscreen for it to be effective.
At the same time, there's no need to buy special products for sun protection. Try your closet. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, clothes with certain qualities can prevent harmful rays from reaching the skin.
Garments made of unbleached cotton, high-luster polyesters, and thin, satiny silk can absorb or reflect UV radiation, preventing damaging rays from reaching the skin.
Darker materials tend to absorb UV light, keeping it away from your body.
Clothes with tight weaves or knits prevent penetration of harmful rays.
Lip balm
The lip is a common site for skin and lip cancer, primarily because of extended sun exposure. Cracked, peeling, scaly lips that aren't helped by lip balm or petroleum jelly may be signs of actinic keratoses. The condition can be the earliest stage of the development of skin cancer, and has the potential to progress to deadlier forms of the disease. People either forget to put sunscreen or balm in the area, or lick it off. To fully protect lips:
Look for lip-specific products that have SPF 15 or higher, recommends Shelton. Use a lip balm with SPF 30 or higher if you have a history of lip and skin cancer.
Apply lip product every two hours or so, based on the amount of contact with the UV rays.
While in the sun, stay away from baby oil, petroleum jelly, or high-shine lip gloss.
If you decide to wear lipstick, try darker shades as they provide more UV defense than sheer, glossy ones.
Better yet, wear lipstick with SPF, or apply a lip conditioner with SPF and antioxidants under lipstick for extra moisture and protection.
Sunglasses and Cosmetics
Sunglasses. Oversized sunglasses are in again this year, with the likes of Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton sporting their large shades. Even aviator styles for men are rounder and bigger.
The trends have no better fan than Neil Hodur, OD, professor of optometry at the Illinois College of Optometry. "The more of the eye you can cover, the less the intensity of light ... to reach the back part of the eye," he says.
Prolonged UV exposure can redden the whites of eyes, just as the sun can burn skin. Over time, this can cause eye problems, such as
cataracts and
macular degeneration. To prevent eye damage, choose sunglasses with the following qualities:
UV 400 protection. It blocks up to 400 nanometers of UV light.
Impact resistant. The shades can possibly withstand active lifestyles or an accident.
The right color. Translucent-colored sunglasses are hot, but to ward against distortion of colors, stick to gray and brown shades.
The right price. Effective eye defense can fit any budget, from $10 to $1,000.
Cosmetics
Can makeup protect against the sun's harmful rays? The answer is a qualified "yes." While any kind of coating on your face can help block UV light, cosmetics by themselves do not have enough protection to prevent sunburn or
skin cancer.
Mineral makeup, darker foundations, powders, and eye shadows do have better sun-protective qualities than other cosmetics. Yet makeup can be applied unevenly and wiped off during the course of the day, losing its ability to effectively block UV light. For surefire protection, Shelton recommends wearing sunscreen first, and then applying makeup on top.
Makeup that contains broad-spectrum SPF has UV-filtering qualities as well. However, Shelton says that makeup with SPF is not as effective as sunscreen by itself. Makeup doesn't bind to the skin as well as sunscreen. Plus, when you combine sunscreen with something else, he says it often does not retain all of its UV-filtering properties.
Sunless Tanning
Forget dangerous sun worshipping and tanning booths. Sunless tanning products are better than ever with streak-proof varieties. They come in lotion, cream, gel, and spray form. With the active ingredient dihydroxyacetone (DHA), dead skin cells are safely coated with color. The tint disappears when the cells are either washed off or sloughed off.
Some cautions:
Find the right
sunless tanning product for you. Since some self-tanners can turn some skin orange, test the product first in a small area of
your body.Self-tanning preparations do not necessarily contain sunscreen. Read labels carefully. The FDA requires tanning products without sunscreen to contain a warning statement indicating it does not protect against sunburn.Stay way from "tanning pills." They are not approved by the FDA and may cause unwanted side effects such as eye discoloration.
Now you can use these helpful tips to enjoy the sun and keep your skin protected.
If you would like to contact us with any questions or feedback, you can reach us by email.
Joseph A. Jones & The WellLife Team
