Mojacarmagazine.com Issue 16 Page 25
Let's face it we all enjoy the sun, but how we react to its rays varies from one individual to another. Some of us don't bother wearing sun screen at all and regret it later in the day and others stay out of the sun too much.
With over 300 days of sun each year Mojacar poses a predicament for some, carefully read the article and you will have a better understanding of the do's and dont's on one of Mojacar's excellent beaches.
The number of cases of skin cancer has doubled in the last 20 years.
Safe in the sun: what's in a sunscreen
The Australians launched a successful campaign: 'Slip,Slop,Slap', to reduce sun induced skin cancers, and it is a simple as: 'slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat'. This often means that any one bright red on an Australian beach, is not Australian!
We need to constantly watch out for our skin in the sun. Some people - often those of us who have fair skin - need to take greater care than those who have slightly darker skin.
Why does skin tan?
We all have one thing in common: we tan from staying in the sun because our skin forms the substance melanin.
It's this substance that makes skin darker, and it's the skin's own sun protection.
We form melanin at differing rates, which is why some people tan faster than others and some don't tan at all.
People who produce the least melanin, ie those who burn easily, are at highest risk of skin cancer.
The effect of the sun's rays depends on where we are, how strong the radiation is and what type of skin we have. The
sun is strongest the nearer we are to the equator.
How do sunscreens work?
Sunscreens work in different ways to protect us against the rays of the sun. They can have a chemical or physical sun filter or have a mixture of the two.
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Chemical filters penetrate the skin and absorb the sun's rays so they don't reach down into the lower layers of skin and cause damage.
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Physical filters lay a thin membrane on top of the skin that reflects the sun's rays back. A physical filter is often slightly coloured, such as zinc oxide which is white.
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A sun lotion that protects against both ultraviolet type B (UVB) radiation and ultraviolet type A (UVA) radiation offers the best protection. These creams are called 'broad spectrum' sunscreens.
Some chemical filters only provide protection against the UVB radiation of the sun, while others protect against both UVB and UVA radiation.
Physical sun filters protect against both the UVB and UVA rays of the sun.
What's the difference between UVA and UVB rays?
UVB rays burn the topmost layer of skin, causing sunburn and cell damage that can lead to cancerous changes.
Sun protection factor (SPF) measures the strength of a cream's sun filter against UVB rays.
Sunscreens with a high SPF factor should not lead to you staying in the sun for longer, since you'll be exposed to more UVA rays.
UVA rays don't burn, but penetrate deep into the skin. They are responsible for cell damage that contributes to ageing and skin cancer.
UVA stars indicate the strength of a cream's protection against UVA rays in relation to its UVB protection.
This means the higher the SPF, the more UVA protection is needed to achieve the same amount of stars.
So an SPF 30 sunscreen with three stars will have more UVA protection than an SPF 15 sunscreen with four stars.
What factor should I choose?
The SPF you need depends on your skin type.