Column: Protecting Your Skin From The Sun
[Column written by contributor Dr. Daniela Kroshinsky]
With summer here, it’s the perfect time to brush up on the best practices for protecting your skin.
With the warmer weather also comes all kinds of fun outdoor activity and we all know that Bermuda truly shines in the sun. However, Bermuda has a high rate of malignant melanoma – according to the 2016 Bermuda National Tumour Registry Annual Report – which is most likely connected to the outdoorsy culture and long, sunny days all year round.
Why do I need to protect my skin from the sun?
Protecting your skin during your teen years can set you up for healthier skin now and later in life.
Here is that happens when you protect your skin from the sun as a teen:
You will have healthier skin now and later in life. This means no sunburns, less dry skin, fewer wrinkles and fewer sun spots [brown or small white spots on your skin caused by being out in the sun]. Your risk of skin cancer is much lower if you protect your skin now. Your risk of skin cancer is also lower if you make protecting your skin part of your routine every day. The lighter your skin color is, the higher your risk is of developing skin cancer later in life and people with darker skin types should pay extra attention to hands, feet, and nails as these areas are more likely to develop melanoma, a specific type of more dangerous skin cancer, at a higher rate.
How can I protect my skin from the sun?
Wear sunscreen every day, even when it’s not sunny out. You can also use lotion with sunscreen in it. The sun still shines through the clouds, which means it can still damage your skin.
Use sunscreen with an SPF 30 or higher. SPF means Sun Protection Factor. The higher the SPF, the more protection the sunscreen has against UVB rays from the sun. To be effective, sunscreen should be labeled as ‘broad-spectrum’ meaning it has both UVA and UVB protection. Most dermatologists recommend an SPF of 45 or higher based on recent studies that show personal use of sunscreen provides a lower actual level of SPF protection than test usage, probably due to lower amounts applied in real life. Reapply sunscreen every 2-3 hours and every hour if in water. This is important when it’s sunny out during the year and during the summer. You can apply at home and carry a small tube of sunscreen with you wherever you go to reapply. Make it a habit to put sunscreen on every day. For darker skin types, sunscreen with higher concentrations of zinc or titanium [physical blockers] may leave a white discoloration so sunscreens with lower concentrations of this and higher quantities of chemical blockers may be more acceptable.
Stay out of the sun as much as you can between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. This is when the sun is the strongest.
You should also protect your eyes. Your eyes can get damaged by the sun more easily than other parts of your body. Wear sunglasses with UV protection! The darkness of your sunglasses has nothing to do with how well they protect your eyes. Sunglasses with UVA and UVB filters can help protect your eyes from sun damage and a certain type of sunburn called photokeratitis [when the surface of your eye gets burned from the sun].
Stay away from tanning salons! Indoor tanning with tanning beds and tanning booths can be just as damaging as the sun. They really increase the risk of skin cancer. If you want a natural-looking tan, use self-tanning lotions, sprays or gels.
In addition to sunscreen, you can wear long sleeves, pants and loose clothing with a tight weave. Clothing with a tight weave blocks the sun better than clothing with a loose weave. To tell if clothing has a tight weave, hold it up to a light. The less light you can see through it, the tighter the weave.
Did you know…?
You should wear sunscreen, no matter what color your skin is. Sun damage, including sunburns and skin cancer, affects teens and adults of every color and skin tone.
Skin cancer is one of the most common types of cancer in teens. Skin cancer is most often caused by not protecting your skin from the sun or from using tanning salons often.
- Daniela Kroshinsky, MD, MPH – Director of Pediatric Dermatology at Mass General for Children. Dr Kroshinsky noted that others also contributed to this article
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