A Blog by Tamara Villarrubia
“But I love the sun!”…is a phrase I hear in my office all
too often, especially this time of the year.
My usual reply: “Well the sun
doesn’t love you…” Skin cancer rates are
on the rise. Doctors have become
increasingly aware of the increase in the rates of skin cancer in the United States ,
and have stressed the importance of the need for protection from ultraviolet
radiation (UV). The harm caused by UV
includes premature aging (such as wrinkling and age spots), skin cancer, and
permanent, sometimes blinding damage to eyes.
Doctors everywhere agree that education is critical to stopping the
epidemic of sun related diseases – especially skin cancer. The sun ages our skin undoubtedly more than
any other environmental factor.
Sun safety includes multiple modalities of sun protection,
as well as close follow-up with a board certified plastic surgeon or
dermatologist, for healthy skin maintenance and early detection of skin cancer. Many simple methods include sunscreen, hats
with UV protection, UV protective clothing, umbrellas, and sunglasses. Sun avoidance, at least for the hotter parts
of the day around noon will help protect against sun burn and skin cancer as
well. Tanning beds are especially
dangerous and should never be used. Many
government agencies, foundations, and individuals are working to provide
helpful sun protection information. The Environmental
Protection Agency and the National Weather Service provide a daily UV index and
the Skin Cancer Foundation has created classroom materials for schools that
advocate student use of sun protection.
Sunscreen options are numerous and can be quite confusing
and misleading to the consumer. The SPF
number, meaning sun protection factor, only rates those ingredients protecting
us from the UVB (burn) rays. We also
need to be very concerned with the UVA (aging) rays. These are the very long and damaging rays
that are at the same intensity every day, 365 days a year, whether you see the
sun shining or not. The UVA rays cause
the darker brown spots and also break down collagen, as well as cause skin
cancer. It is important that the
sunscreen say “broad spectrum”, which means it will protect from both UVA and
UVB rays. However, you can still have a
broad spectrum sunscreen with a high SPF number and it can still have only a
minimal amount of protection from the UVA rays.
So….the trick is to always look at the active ingredients in
the sunscreen. The number one rated
ingredient is still Zinc, and Titanium Dioxide is rated right behind it in effectiveness
for prevention against sun damage and skin cancer. For daily use it is recommended to have a
minimum of 7% Zinc or Titanium, and is good to be used in combination with each
other or with one of the other top rated sunscreen ingredients: Avabenzone, Octinoxate or Octisalate. For a longer duration in the sun, it is
recommended to have at least a 9% of Zinc or higher and in combination with
another top rated ingredient, as well as being water resistant. The sunscreen should also be applied frequently. The FDA now regulates that the bottle must
advise the frequency to reapply. So
always check, and don’t forget to reapply!
We carry a wide variety of sunscreens for daily use, for different skin
types, and also water resistant ones that are good for a longer duration in the
sun. So stop by and pick one up or
schedule a consultation with our skin care professional. Either way…we’ve got you covered.
