Launch Gallery

Shun the Sun and Stay Young

Posted: Tuesday 5 October 2010 06:50pm

We depend on the sun to keep us alive but an Australian summer can also be a death sentence. Associate Professor Greg Goodman, a practising dermatologist who specialises in skin cancers, Mohs’ micrographic surgery, lasers in dermatology, cosmetic dermatology and the treatment of acne and acne scarring, explains exactly why we need to shun the sun this summer.

While most of the sun’s rays are fairly harmless, the ultraviolet spectrum is a worry: UVB (290 to 320nm) and UVA (320 – 400 nm) impact on us on a daily basis. The nation’s sports obsession, an outdoors lifestyle and scantily clad fashion amongst the leisure-time rich baby boomers, have all contributed to producing a prematurely aged and excessively sun damaged population. Fair-skinned Australians are especially at risk.
One cannot fight his or her genes and a tan is not the same as being born with darker skin. Every time one tans their skin, there is an initial damage to the delicate skin and pigment cells, which is followed by a reaction to protect these skin cells against further assault by sunburning [this is the tanning effect].
The wish to be brown started out innocently, with the avant-garde Coco Chanel launching a range of clothing for tanned skin in 1917, bucking the fashion system that until that time had dictated that the paler the skin, the more aristocratic the bearing. It has since become a nightmare of consequent sun damage.

Natural Ageing versus Sun Damage
Natural ageing looks like the inside of your upper arm with fine wrinkling and thinning of the skin with the uniform pale colour. On the other hand, photo-ageing and photo damage is a coarse affair, with yellow, thickened, leathery, dry, scaly and wrinkled skin with blotchy colouring, blood vessels, sunspots and skin fragility.
Some people tend to photo age by recurrent sunburns producing lots of sunspots and skin cancers. Others who are more olive skinned do not tend to burn as much, but suffer the effects of more deeply penetrating UV light. This group tend to be heavily wrinkled and represents the effects of UVA exposure.

What Sunscreen Does – and Doesn’t – Do
UVA represents 90 per cent of the total UV radiation that falls on the earth. It is present all year round, throughout the day, and can penetrate cloud cover and window glass. UVB is the spectrum that most commonly causes skin cancers but UVA can suppress the skins’ own immune system, helping UVB to produce skin cancers, inducing pigmentation abnormalities and deeper damage to collagen and elastin fibres.
The UVA wavelength spectrum is not stopped by a simple high SPF sunscreen as the SPF labelling refers only to UVB and protection from sunburn. The sunscreen must claim broad-spectrum activity for it to contain UVA blocking qualities. There also must be enough sunscreen used with approximately a tablespoon being necessary to cover an average adult body for one application and applied 15 to 30 minutes before sun exposure begins, with repeated application every two to four hours if vigorous activity is being undertaken. Protection also needs to begin before the sun hits the skin in the form of avoidance: hats, clothing and shelter. A diet rich in antioxidants (for example apples, oranges and green tea) as well as polyunsaturated fatty acids (nuts, cheese, seeds, fish and leafy greens) can also assist in oral UVA protection.

Sunscreens loved by Younger You

• Dermalogica Daylight Defense System Multivitamin Body Block SPF20, $50.50
• Dermalogica Daylight Defense System Extra Rich Faceblock SPF30, $67
• Ella Bache Great 30+ Bodysaver, $48
• Invisible Zinc UV Silk Shield Foundation, $42
• Invisible Zinc Face and Body Sunscreen SPF30+ UVA-UVB, $19.95
• L’Oreal Paris UV Perfect Tinted, $17.95
• Neutrogena Ultimate Sport Lotion SPF30+, $17.99
• Neutrogena Healthy Defense SPF30+, $16.49
• True Solutions True Total Age Protector SPF30+ Untinted, $60

by Greg Goodman

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