Sunsense

Everybody’s Free (to wear sunscreen)

“If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be IT.

The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Never mind. You will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked…” – Mary Schmich, Chicago Tribune

…and you’ll still look good if you used your sunscreen!

Why Does The Skin Need SPF?

Okay I know you have heard it a million times, but there is a reason why all skin care professionals push sunscreen—it is the best skin preserver on the planet.

I know it’s hard to think about the skin as an organ since we tend to think of organs as boxy things that are hidden inside of us. Your heart, liver, kidneys—those are obviously organs, but skin is an organ too. It’s made up of very specific cells and tissues, and their collective purpose is to act as the boundary between you and the world. That’s why it’s loaded with sensors, and comes equipped with a tough, layered, design, so that it can handle environmental aggressors like abrasion, pollution, wind, cold, heat, and sunlight.

Why Tanning is the Devil

Living among the layers of your skin is a cell called a melanocyte. Melanocytes produce melanin which is the stuff that creates your color. Now melanocytes are our friends. Yes they create hyperpigmentation (brown, red, yellow, and purple spots), visible UV damage, and cancer, but you have to understand that they THINK they are protecting your skin because you aren’t!

When you go into the sun without the proper SPF protection and get a tan, what is actually happening is that the melanocytes are producing melanin pigment in reaction to ultraviolet light in sunlight. Ultraviolet light stimulates melanin production. The pigment has the effect of absorbing the UV radiation in sunlight. This reaction protects the skin cells, to a degree, from UV damage. But over exposure, or a build up of exposure will essentially trap the melanin deposits into the skin. I often tell clients that melanin is like the light from the stars. What we see now on the surface of the skin isn’t the immediate damage, but the damage from years ago. This means that the worst of your damage hasn’t even been seen yet!

If you’ve been to see me in Santa Monica at the laser place and had a Visia skin analysis then you know what I am talking about. There is nothing that will scare you straighter than seeing your future UV damage on an enormous monitor. What is worse, is that the melanin is only ONE way the sun’s rays damage the skin. Yes they cause spots and cancer, but they also break down the structure of the skin. UV damage creates lines, wrinkles, and sagging as well as discoloration and uneven texture. Let me repeat this lesson: THE SUN IS THE MOST DAMAGING DEVICE TO THE SKIN ON THIS PLANET.

How Do SPF’s Work?

Sunscreens block or absorb ultraviolet light. You can block UV light with opaque creams that reflect the sun off the skin like zinc oxide cream (you probably have fond memories of lifeguards putting this on their noses). You can also absorb UV radiation in much the same way that melanin does through chemicals absorption like PABA (para-aminobenzoic acid). The jury is still out on chemical protection for a few reasons. 1) They wear off into the skin. 2) Chemicals are often sensitizing to the skin. 3) There are many studies that say these chemicals can cause cancers with prolonged use. For me, I always recommend a product that uses some of both, but that relies more heavily on the physical blocks like Titanium and Zinc.

All sunscreens are labeled with an SPF (Sun Protection Factor). All sunscreens are labeled with an SPF (Sun Protection Factor). The SPF number refers to the protection level that formula will give you relative to the length of time it takes your skin to burn when unprotected. Simply multiply this time by the SPF number to find the maximum time each formula will protect you for. For example, if you usually burn in 10 minutes, an SPF4 lotion will protect you for 40 minutes, while an SPF30 will last 300 minutes. But realize that the strength of your SPF isn’t as important as how you apply it, and how often you re-apply it! You don’t have to glop the stuff on. Sunscreen is designed to sit on top of the skin, not in it. (This is why I hate moisturizers with SPF. Moisturizers are designed to go deeply into the skin, but and SPF needs to sit on top, so most combo products are easy to use, but very ineffective!) Apply a thin layer of sunscreen, but one that covers all your visible skin. Also try to apply it 30 minutes before you go out into the sun so it can bond to the skin. Suncreen wears off and the chemicals dissipate into the skin. If you are in the sun for more than 2 hours straight re-apply. If you are swimming or sweating a lot, re-apply every hour for best results.

UVA vs. UVB

There are two kinds of UV rays (well actually three but let’s ignore UVC for now), A and B. UVA rays are what we call “aging” rays because although they don’t burn they penetrate into the connective tissue and break down your DNA. Some scary facts about UVA rays:

• Can pass through window glass. (think in your car, home, and office)
• Is not affected by a change in altitude or weather. (think overcast, gloomy days)
• Is present all day and every day of the year. (ALL THE DAMN TIME!!!)
• Penetrates deep into skin layers. (aging you…aging you…)
• Effects long-term skin damage. (…still aging you…still aging you!)

Okay, so I NEVER want to hear that you don’t need sunscreen because you don’t go out in the sun. Now you know that when I reply, “So you’re a vampire then?” to this comment that I am not being snide—well maybe a little snide—but mostly being serious. You see daylight? Then you need sunscreen. Can you see outside without a candle or electric lighting? Then YOU NEED SPF. I imagine the myth that vampires never age has nothing to do with their undead nature and every thing to do with the fact they don’t ever get UVA damage.

UVB rays are the “burning” rays that burn you when you are in the sun too long. These rays:

• Cannot pass through window glass. (cool huh? But not so for UVA rays!)
• Cause sunburn.
• Cause tanning.
• Helps the body with normal vitamin D production.
• Varies with the season. It is more intense in the summer than in the winter.
• Varies with weather conditions.
• Is more intense at midday than in the morning or late afternoon.
• Is more intense at high altitudes and near the equator.
• Is protected against by the sun protection factor (SPF) in sunscreens.
• Is related to more than 90% of nonmelanoma skin cancer.

The SPF rating on bottles ONLY apply to UVB radiation because we have never had a way to properly block the UVA (aging) rays. Sure we put “broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection” on SPF bottles, but we haven’t been able to actually stop all UVA rays or measure the blocking of UVA rays…until now.

Oh Jesus, I’m Scared! What SPF is Best?

So now we all want to run out and get a good sunscreen. That’s great! But which one should we choose? Up until about a month ago I would’ve said it didn’t matter too much coverage wise. There were a few things to look for like less chemical and more Titanium Dioxide and Zinc, but a new generation of SPF’s are hitting the market and in 2012 the FDA is supposed to start a new labeling policy. Will it happen? Let’s keep our fingers crossed. For now these are my favorites:

Powder SPF is my all time favorite. Made of BOTH Titanium and Zinc (old school but effective) you dust it on and it feels like nothing. Jane Iredale’s mineral makeup has SPF in all the products, but her Powder Me SPF and Absence Oil Control are weightless, highly water resistant, and great for the sporty outdoor dude or dudette. The next on my list is any SPF made my Epicuren. Designed by a guy who spent his life in Laguna Beach and Hawaii he knows sunscreen. The basic Zinc Oxide 20 is a top seller and safe enough for babies. Epicuren’s Active Sport 30 is the best smelling and working sweat resistant spf I’ve ever used. Finally, their Propolis X-Treme Cream 45 was used by the military in Iraq. The newest Silk Mist 15 is my favorite for the person who just goes from their car to the office, and maybe walks to the corner for their afternoon coffee.

There are many other good SPF’s out there, but there are a lot of crappy ones too, as one of my clients who ran out of her Epicuren in Mexico and bought something else (yes it’s a well known brand too!) that let her get a 2nd degree burn all over her body can tell you!