SUNSCREEN SIMPLIFIED
WE’VE COME a long way from those reckless days of our youth, broiling under a midday sun, slathered in baby oil. But a recent Ipsos-Reid survey reveals that 54 per cent of Canadians still think tanning is safe as long as one doesn’t burn.
Dr. Sonya Cook, a dermatologist at Toronto’s Compass Dermatology, vociferously disagrees. “Any tan is evidence of UV damage, as skin tries to protect itself by producing more melanin.” Long-term effects of sun damage include sagging skin, fine lines and brown spots or even skin cancer. Rates of its deadliest form, melanoma, continue to grow 1.4 per cent per year in men and 1 per cent per year in women.
Although there is no new “magic bullet” sunscreen ingredient, Health Canada has revised its product and labeling guideline, the Sunscreen Monograph, to help us make sense of the myriad products available. While all sunscreens can help prevent sunburn, only those labeled Broad Spectrum with a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) of 15 or more can now claim to “decrease the risk of skin cancer and early skin aging caused by the sun.” The best part? Broad spectrum formulas are available at all prices, from drug- to departmentstore brands. But note that expensive sunscreens don’t contain any more effective ingredients, and because they’re costly, you may unconsciously use them too sparingly. WHAT IS BROAD SPECTRUM? A blend of “organic” – which in this case is the scientific term for chemical, meaning “contains carbon” – sunscreens with physical filters, Broad Spectrum sunscreens protect against the widest range of both UVB and UVA rays, the ones most likely to cause cellular damage that can lead to cancer.
Zinc oxide alone offers broad spec-
trum protection, but physical blocks (a mix of zinc and titanium oxides) work by reflecting the sun’s rays and scattering them to the side, (think “disco ball”). This back and forth and sideways action, explains Tom Meyer, PhD, of Merck Consumer Care, (makers of Coppertone), “increases the chance that rays could hit a molecule and be absorbed [by organic compounds in the product] .”
Look for ingredients like avobenzone or blends like Helioplex, Mexoryl and Tinosorb, which combine UVA and UVB screens and also provide a more translucent finish on skin than the signature mineral sunscreen “white face.”
And, although “PABA-free” is emblazoned on many sunscreen products, it’s a meaningless boast. Not widely used for years, PABA (or paraaminobenzoic acid, a chemical found in the folic acid vitamin and in several foods including grains, eggs, milk, and meat that acts as a sunscreen when applied directly to the skin) stained clothing and irritated sensitive skin and “had a very narrow range of UVB protection that limited the SPFs that could be achieved with it,” explains Meyer.
But even the best sunscreen is not a “get out of jail free” card. “The higher the SPF, the better your skin will be protected and the less damage it can receive when you are in the sun,” explains Meyer, who himself uses 50 SPF. “But Health Canada is adamant that sunscreen should not be used as an argument to spend more time in the sun.”
FIND YOUR MATCH
Dr. Cook recommends using “at least an SPF of 30 sunscreen. The higher the better, because people tend to only apply a quarter to half the recommended amount.” And remember the “tops of ears and the back of the neck,“she adds. “I see lots of cases of skin cancer there.” Apply a teaspoon’s worth for face and a shot glass full for body, reapplying every two hours or more often if you’ve been swimming or perspiring.