Slather It On!

DESPITE THE DECLINE in other forms of cancer in Canada, melanoma rates are rising, with 6,800 Canadians estimated to have been diagnosed last year. In fact, skin cancer is now more com- mon than all other cancers combined.

Australia (where melanoma is called the country’s cancer) saw its melanoma rates drop five per cent annually in young people from the mid-’90s to 2010 after a national sun safety campaign. (Here at home, you can log onto the Skinchecker online platform from

“Skin cancer is now more common than all other cancers”

La Roche-Posay, www.en.laroche-posay.ca/skinchecker, to learn how to spot potentially problematic moles.)

As we age, we need to be vigilant about sunscreen because “our skin has received more sun damage, so we have more mutated cells,” says Dr. Beatrice Wang, assistant professor of dermatology at McGill University. The damage is cumulative. “The hypothesis is one big burn followed by subsequent little burns increase risk,” says Wang.

And wanting a tan because it “looks” healthy or gives you a base to protect from the sun? Sorry, no. “A tan is a sign of damage, not health,” adds Wang. “It’s your body saying ‘My DNA has been damaged, and I’m going to get darker to prevent you burning me anymore.’ ”

If you really want that glow, use a self-tanner (try Institut Esthederm’s Sun Kissed Self-Tanning Face Care, $39, for natural colour, even on pale skin) or mix a drop of highly pigmented Jouviance Custom Couleur Antioxidant Colour Booster, $32, into your sunscreen before applying.

And our final appeal to your vanity: a 2016 study published in the journal Dermatologic Surgery found that daily use of broad-spectrum sunscreen can “visibly reverse the signs of existing photodamage, in addition to preventing additional sun damage.” Your skin will thank you.