Skin Protection In Summer: Correct sun protection ideas and methods

Sunlight is considering one of the main causes of aging and skin cancer, especially the
ultraviolet rays. The short-wave ultraviolet (UVB) causes sunburn while the long-wave ultraviolet (UVA) causes skin tanning. Apart from the long-term skin damage cause by UVA and UVB, recent studies have shown that infrared ray also harms to the skin. Yet, the destruction of ozone layer may lead more ultrashort wave of ultraviolet (UVC) penetration and result in greater damage to the skin in the future. The effect of sunlight is accumulative and irreversible since one was born. When we accumulate certain amount of sun exposure, the aging process starts with pigmentation, vessel dilatation, thickening of corneum, wrinkles, lose of skin elasticity, and for the severe case - skin cancer. The damage of sunlight can be seen by comparing the face and bottom of a person. It’s known that if one can avoid exposure of sunlight in the earlier life (age 10-20), the chance of getting a skin cancer will reduce by 78%. On the other hand, if one had severe sunburn during the age of 10-20, he will have double chance to get a skin cancer. Thus, the popular skin tanning services in western countries is not advisable.

From the above, sun protection is very important, especially to the ladies who care about their appearance. In order to have prettier and healthier skin, sun protections should be considered as a daily routine. Here are few tips

  1. Avoid outdoor activity between 10AM to 2PM because the amount of UVB is the most during this period.
  2. Sun-protection closing (broad-brimmed hat, long sleeve shirt and pants) should be worn when doing an outdoor activity. The textile of the clothing should not be white and should be closely knitted
  3. Choose the right sunscreen. Dermatologist suggests apply the sunscreen with an SPF 15 or higher, to block UVB. It is recommended to choose the suitable sunscreen by skin type, and water proof is a plus. The sunscreen should be applied 20 minutes before going outdoors and should be reapplied every three hours; Sunscreen should be applied even under the following conditions including under water, mountain, snow and cloudy weather. Because the UVB is able to penetrate the water (for 1 meter depth) and clouds. And snow reflects 80% of the UVB.
  4. Sun protection should also be done on lips. Because the skin cancer of lips is high malignancy and easy metastasis.
  5. Extra care should be taken after skin treatment ( laser, dermabrasion ,Chemical peel…)
  6. Correct sun protection knowledge should be educated since childhood by parents and teachers.

To conclude, sun protection should be done before sun exposure. However, there is no perfect way of sun protection. Health studies have shown that practicing sun protection may decrease intake of vitamin D. However, the synthetic process of vitamin D only takes a few minutes and Vitamin D can be absorbed through daily meals. Therefore, sun protection process will not lead to the shortage of Vitamin D. It is advised to perform sun protection and seek assistant from a certified dermatologist.

How to choose sunscreen produce and the usage
Summer is coming; most people understand overexposure of sunlight will lead to lentigo, sunburn, aging and skin cancer etc. So sunscreen lotion and moisturizer are applied to protect skin from the damages of sunlight. However, not all people understand how to choose a suitable sunscreen and the usage of sunscreen products. Before buying a sunscreen product; the package must be read carefully. This is because the package expresses the important information.

Firstly, it should be known that if the product is a lotion or moisturizer. Generally speaking, the sunscreen moisturizer is adding of sunscreen ingredient to the moisturizer, so it is not as effective as the sunscreen lotion. Thus, sunscreen moisturizer should be only use for daily activity. For long term sun exposure sports and swimming, it is advised to use sunscreen lotion.

Secondly, we need to know the sun protection factor (SPF) of the sunscreen product. Generally, SPF15 is adequate for each skin type in daily activity. However, for the whitish skin people who suffer from long-term sun-exposure, patients of vitiligo, photosensitivity, or lupus erythematosus, people who applied topic isotretinoin, senior citizen and infant should apply higher SPF (SPF15-30) sunscreen. Apart from that, it should be known that if the sunscreen product protects against both UVA and UVB? Because UVA is the main cause of skin aging and amplifying the damage causes by UVB. In addition, many photosensitivity patients are allergy to UVA. Thus, sunscreen product that blocks both ultraviolet A and B is recommended.

Next, we need to know if the product is waterproof. Base on the FDA’s recommendation, in order for a sunscreen to be labeled as waterproof, the product should be able to protect against sunlight after eighty minutes of underwater activity. Thus, a waterproof sunscreen should be applied for water sports. The main side effect of the sunscreen is allergy because it might contain allergen – PABA. Apart from this, some people might be allergy to fragrances. Thus, people with allergy history (e.g. atopic dermatitis), infant, and senior people should apply sunscreen that does not contain PABA and fragrances. Most sunscreen products tend to be greasy, especially products with higher SPF. Therefore, acne patient should applied the kind of sunscreen which will not causes acne or products with medium SPF.

Finally, sunscreen should be used twenty to thirty minutes prior to sun exposure. And it should be applied on dry skin i.e. after swimming the sunscreen should be applied after drying the skin. The frequency of reapplying the sunscreen product depends on the SPF value and the efficacy of sunscreen tends to diminish by water, friction and sweating. Thus, sunscreen product should be reapplied to maintain its effectiveness. The ultraviolet will penetrate even during cloudy weather, near window, early in the morning, afternoon. So it is also advised to applied sun protection under these conditions. In addition sunscreen product should be enhanced around the following area: water, snow, tropics and mountain or places that reflect sunshine or direct exposure to sunshine.