Are You Sun-Ready? Unmasking SPF - Your Ultimate Shield Against Skin Cancer

Planning to spend hours sunbathing when summer arrives? Love the feel of sunlight warming your skin while you relax?

While countless people enjoy summer and catching some sun, it’s vital to protect yourself against potential problems caused by too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

UV rays from the sun are essential for supporting life on Earth, including helping us to produce vitamin D (important for strong bones and reducing inflammation).

There are three types of UV rays:

• UVA (long range) — around 95% of UVA radiation passes through the Earth’s atmosphere.

• UVB (short range) — just 5% passes through the Earth’s atmosphere.

• UVC (varying ranges) — no UVC radiation reaches Earth, as the ozone layer filters it out.

However, UV rays can be incredibly harmful, especially to humans. It’s crucial that you protect your skin while outside, even on cloudy days, to reduce your risk of experiencing negative effects.

How can you do that?

In this post, we’ll offer tips on how to defend your skin from sun damage and explore why it’s so important.

Why is it So Important to Protect Your Skin Against UV Rays?

Too much exposure to UV rays can have a lasting impact on your appearance and your health. Here are a few examples of how that could happen:

• UV rays can make the skin look older than it is by creating wrinkles and fine lines sooner than they may develop otherwise. This occurs when UV rays stimulate the production of free radicals in the skin. Free radicals can harm elastin, which keeps the skin supple and elastic, leading to wrinkle formation.

• Sunburn can cause white blood cells to form new cells, which may weaken the immune system.

• Too much sun exposure and a lack of skin protection can increase a person’s risk of developing skin cancer.

With all this in mind, the Government of Canada recommends taking steps to protect yourself from UV rays on sunny and cloudy days. That’s because as much as 80% of the sun’s rays are strong enough to pass through light clouds, mist, and even fog.

How Can You Protect Your Skin Against Sun Damage?

You can take several steps to protect yourself against sun damage. Here are four ideas to help you get started.

• Apply Sunscreen Liberally
• Wearing sunscreen and products with a high SPF rating is crucial to protect yourself against sun damage. You can choose from a huge range of sunscreens to suit your preferences, including aerosols and creams.
• Check labels carefully before you buy, though. Pay attention to the level of protection they offer against UV rays and how much you should apply for maximum effectiveness.
• Make sure you apply a lotion or cream to uncovered areas of your skin liberally around 15 minutes before you go outside, and top up every couple of hours while you’re in direct sunlight.

Explore other products designed to protect your skin as well as traditional sunscreen. For example, the Dermastir Sun Powder SPF 50+ uses advanced technology to fill fine lines and wrinkles on the face. Not only does it help to reduce the visibility of wrinkles and make skin look smoother, but it also protects skin from UVA and UVB rays.

It also contains vitamin C, a crucial antioxidant which defends against UV-triggered damage from free radicals. Another ingredient is collagen, a powerful protein that contributes to stronger, firmer skin.

Cover Up

One of the simplest, most effective ways to protect your skin against sun damage is to cover up as much as possible. That can be difficult when temperatures are high and you want to stay cool. But any uncovered areas could burn with enough exposure to sunlight.

But what types of clothing are best?

• Wear tops with long sleeves to protect your arms, ideally in a lightweight material to stay covered up and comfortable.

• Avoid loosely woven materials, or even those with an open weave, which will allow more sunlight through to your skin.

• Go for dark colors: these absorb more UV rays than lighter colors, so you’re less likely to have radiation making contact with your skin.

• Always wear sunglasses, but make sure they offer quality UV protection. Check labels for information before you buy, and consider wraparound sunglasses or pairs with big frames. These offer better protection than smaller sunglasses, so even if your pair doesn’t look quite as cool as other types, they should still do a great job.

• Wear a wide-brimmed hat to keep sunlight away from your face and neck. It should cover your ears, too.

Try to put together a few go-to UV-resistant outfits for sunny days, so you always have something that’s comfortable and reliable to wear.

Time Your Sun Exposure Carefully

It’s not always easy or even possible to plan when you’ll be outside. Sometimes, you may find yourself needing to go out without being able to apply sunscreen first, especially when something comes up unexpectedly.

But if possible, try to be prepared for sun exposure when you go outside. In Canada, the UV Index may be 3 or above between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. That’s because rays from the sun have less distance to travel through the atmosphere than they do at other times.

If you can’t avoid sun exposure during those hours, apply sunscreen, top up every couple of hours, and seek shade whenever you can.

Don’t Forget Your Lips

It’s easy to overlook your lips before you head out on a sunny day. But your lips are vulnerable to UV rays, too, so apply a high-SPF lip balm — no lower than 30.

Conclusion

UV radiation can be harmful after prolonged exposure, increasing the risk of premature signs of aging, skin cancer, and other issues. It’s essential that you cover up, avoid direct sunlight, and use high-SPF products to look after yourself.

Astra Medicare offers multiple specially formulated products designed to help protect skin from UV damage, including Dermastir and Thoya creams. You can drop in to our medical spa to learn more about these from our team, or get in touch to speak to one of our experts today.