Safety In and Out of the Sun – Learn How You can Protect Yourself
To prevent premature aging and sun damage you need to protect yourself and your family from the harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays of the sun. Proper sun protection can significantly decrease a person’s risk of developing skin cancer. And the earlier you adopt these habits, the more protected you will be and the better your skin will look as you age. Sun protection starts with a good sunscreen, but sunscreen alone will not provide complete protection. You need to use a total program to reduce the sun’s harmful effects.
- Avoid direct sun exposure between 10am and 3pm when the sun’s rays are the strongest (this is also when the atmosphere absorbs less of the harmful UV rays), and seek shade.
- If you must be out in the midday sun, avoid long periods of direct sun exposure.
- Wear proper clothing outdoors: a wide-brimmed hat, a tightly knit shirt, and sunglasses. Clothing protects your skin from the sun’s harmful rays. The tighter the weave, the more sun protection provided. Protection drops significantly when the fabric becomes wet. In fact, clothing plays such an important role in sun protection that clothing designed specifically to protect against the sun as well as laundry additives created to boost clothing’s protective function are available.
- Wear a true broad-spectrum sunscreen every day, 365 days per year, to all exposed skin. The use of sunscreen should be part of your daily morning routine – don’t leave home without sunscreen on your skin.
- In the past, not all sun protection products provided both UV-A and UV-B protection. That is not the case anymore and most sunscreens now provide broad-spectrum coverage. The best recommendation is to use a high-SPF (at least 30+ SPF) sunscreen that also provides protection against long wave UV-A rays.
- Apply sunscreen generously. The recommended application of sunscreen in 2 mg/cm2; this is the same amount used for in vivo testing for SPF rating. An adult should therefore apply 30cc – 35 cc (approximately one ounce, a full shot glass) over the entire body surface area.
- Several studies indicate that real-life application thickness is more likely 0.5-1.0 mg/cm2, which is only one-half to one-quarter the recommended amount. Sunscreen application that is too thin lowers the effective SPF of the product. This is why appropriate application of a sunscreen is so important to its protection.
- Apply your sunscreen to dry skin approximately 15 minutes before going outdoors – this allows the sunscreen sufficient time to adhere to the skin.
- Reapply sunscreen 15 – 30 minutes after going outside to ensure adequate coverage; this helps prevent sun damage due to an inadequate first application.
- Re-apply sunscreen every 2 hours, or after swimming, toweling, rubbing, or excessive perspiration. Water-resistant sunscreens will work more effectively because they adhere better to the skin, and demonstrate better persistence. Carry your sunscreen with you so it’s easy to reapply.
- Be sure to apply sunscreen to cover your nose, ears, lips, neck, shoulders, and feet.
- Lips are a high risk area…Protect your lips with lip balm that offers sun protection of SPF 15 or higher.
- Remember that surfaces like sand, water, and snow reflect UV rays, increasing your exposure, and your risk.
- Sunscreens are formulated for different uses. Sunscreens made for daily use under make-up are often thinner, have a more elegant texture, spread easier, are less sticky, and may be tinted. These sunscreens are not water resistant and should not be worn when spending hours outside participating in sports, doing yard work, or swimming since they will easily be rubbed or washed off. For these outdoor activities one should wear a water-resistant sunscreen.
- Sunscreen does not make sunbathing safe. Sunscreen should never be used to prolong the time spent in the sun. Even with a sunscreen, you are not going to prevent all the possible damage from the sun; some UV light still penetrates
- through sunscreen.
- Use sunscreen even on cloudy days.
- Remember that the suns rays in May are just as strong as they are in July; and the rays in April are just as strong as they are in August.
- Never leave children exposed to the sun without adequate protection. Because of the long time it takes for skin cancer to develop, studies suggest that over-exposure early in life may lead to skin cancers later in life
- Avoid deliberate tanning. Whether from the sun, tanning bed, or sunlamp the end result is the same: premature aging (loss of elasticity, wrinkles, mottled pigmentation, and sagging skin) as well as a 1 in 5 chance of developing skin cancer.
- Avoid tanning beds !
- If you like the look of a tan, consider using a sunless self-tanning product. These products do not protect skin from the sun, so a sunscreen should still be used over a spray tan.
- Get vitamin D safely through a healthy diet that includes vitamin supplements.
- Unless indicated by an expiration date, the FDA requires that all sunscreens be stable and at their original strength for at least three (3) years. Thus while you can probably use the sunscreen that you bought last summer, keep in mind that if you are using the appropriate amount, a bottle of sunscreen should not last you very long.