Using sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful sun rays, because summer time is not far.
For those of us who will have to remain outdoors for education, work, or anything at all it is the right time to learn the ways to protect ourselves from the harmful rays of sun.
Let us find out what and which is the best way to do it?
Sunscreen is the first thing that comes to our minds when we talk about protecting our skin from sun rays.
The important thing here to understand is that applying sunscreen is one of the first steps towards preventing skin cancer.
Here in this article our main area of concentration is going to be, how to choose sunscreen and how important is SPF and How to choose it.
Sunscreen lotions and tubes come in various SPF, UVA and UVB permutation and combination. Which ultimately creates more confusion than anything else. Let us learn important points about SPF.
SPF stands for Sun Protecting Factor. The SPF number helps you know how much longer you can stay out of the sun without harming and burning your skin.
Remember the higher the SPF number- the better protection it is supposed to provide against the harmful UVB rays of the sun. But it hardly means highest SPF will give the best protection.
SPF of 50 provides only 1-2% better protection than an SPF of 30.
Please be informed that SPF is available in factors from 2-60.
The American Academy of Dermatology suggests wearing an SPF of 15 or higher for maximum protection against harmful rays of sun.
Experts recommend an SPF 15-30 with UVA and UVB ray protection. Fair skin is more sensitive and less immune to the damage that the harsh sun rays can cause as compared to dark skinned people.
Fair skinned people may choose an SPF of 25-30.
People with dark or olive toned skin can go for an SPF15 or more to protect from burning.
Sun also harms dark skinned people but less as compared to fair skinned ones.
Likewise lips also have o be protected from sun or it can result in burning the skin of lips or lip cancer.
It is advised that one applies a lipstick, gloss, or balm that contains sunscreen.
Coming to UVA and UVB rays. UVA rays are responsible for the aging effect of the sun.
The more alarming fact is that overexposure to UVA rays can also result in skin cancer. Majority of skin cancer cases are due to over exposure to sun. As far as UVB rays are concerned they are responsible for sunburns and skin cancer.
Therefore while choosing sunscreen one should always read the instructions regarding UVA and UVB Protection.
One should also keep the waterproof and water resistant angle of the sunscreen in mind. Waterproof” sunscreen should ideally provide protection in the water for about 70-80 minutes, where as “water resistant” provides only 30-40 minutes of protection against harsh rays of the sun.
Apart from choosing the sunscreen its also worth understanding how to apply the product that you have paid for. Unless you apply it properly as per the instructions the whole exercise to learning and choosing the right sunscreen is futile.
Keep this sunscreen, SPF, UVA, UVB bit in mind. Summers are approaching and once they do they will play havoc. Let’s play safe.
Does Sun Increase The Risk of Skin Cancer?
Strong sunrays can harm your skin like nothing can – To the extent that over exposure to sun can lead to skin cancer.
The risk of getting skin cancer is higher in people who are exposed to direct sun, than those who are not. Little wonder why people in the olden times when they went to the beach they covered themselves.
Their intention was to protect their skin from harsh rays of sun. And that’s exactly we are not doing. On the contrary we have tanning booths now! This is extremely harmful.
Besides ageing skin faster there is an increased risk of getting cancer.
A dermatologist, MD James Grichnik at Duke University Medical Center, has confirmed the potential dangers of UV radiation. The main responsible factor is exposure to ultraviolet light, which is increasing for all of us in our day-to-day life.
Prevention is better than cure. And if the cure is simple, you cannot ask for more. The best way to reduce the risk of skin cancer due to exposure to ultraviolet rays is to try and minimize the outings during two hours on either side of noon when the temperature is highest, or say peak noon.
This is the time when three fourth of the harmful rays hit the earth and people who are outdoor during that time. Second thing to keep in mind is to cover up your body nicely while going out in the sun.
The third point is never go out in the sun without applying sunscreen. This point has been debated many a times. It is suggested that the SFP in sunscreen lotions or ointments should be at least 15.
Sunscreen contains zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which help to reflect the light away. According to study is published in the September 2005 issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, sunscreen with high SPF but a low protection against immuno suppression, or IPF, could on the contrary increase the risk of skin cancer.
An interesting fact is that the number of moles a person develops is known to predict the risk of skin cancer in a person. And moles are a result of sun exposure. Mostly they develop due to sun exposure.
Which means more moles means more exposure to UV rays and more exposure to UV rays mean higher risk of developing skin cancer. Children are also advised to apply sunscreen. It a potential tool to avoid or minimize the chances of skin cancer in future.
Apart from sunscreen, children should be encouraged to cover themselves while going out in the sun and wear shades whenever they are outdoors.
Look After Your Skin, Men!
You like that tanned look all golden and healthy looking. But do you know that you get it at a price if you are sunbathing?
The sun’s ultraviolet rays damage the skin. Men don’t take as much care of their skin as women do so they don’t pay attention to those telltale moles and changes in the skin.
And the statistics show that men are at higher risk of skin cancer than women, especially older white males. And an increased number of sunburns puts you further at risk.
About 30,000 men are expected to develop skin cancer this year according to the American Cancer Society. Skin cancer can be either non-melanoma or melanoma and of these there are the squamous carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma.
If you have freckles and tan easily then make sure you wear a wide-brimmed hat (protects the neck, ears and face), sunglasses, and protective clothing (pants, long-sleeved shirts), and use sunscreen lotion with a high SPF (use it during the winter months also).
You can’t reverse the effects of the sun so if you have been in the habit of tanning yourself or working or playing with increased exposure to the sun then you must watch out for warning signs in your skin.
Tanning beds and sunlamps can also damage your skin so avoid these too. Use a tanning lotion, which gives the same effect and is less risky.
The twist in the tale here is that researchers have now found that sunscreens block the body’s absorbance of Vitamin D which is only found in certain foods that not everybody eats. (Vitamin D is an anti-cancer agent!) So the sun was arguably the only source of Vitamin D for a lot of people. So while you should be getting a dose of the sun’s rays you should be limiting your exposure to it as well.
Tanning habits are also different from country to country and depend on the intensity of the sun’s rays.
Get yourself checked thoroughly by a physician or a dermatologist and give them information about your sunbathing and outdoor sports habits. You could also be unaware of changes in your skin as the cancer normally affects the back in men. Get someone to help you check those areas you can’t see or use a mirror to check the scalp and the back of the neck.
Report moles and tan spots that you may have noticed changing in any way, and seek immediate medical attention. Moles that have changed shape or color, have jagged edges or a rough surface, are raised above the skin, or are larger than one-quarter of an inch need to be examined closely.
The earlier the cancer is detected the more successful the treatment is likely to be.
