Skin doctor debunks myths on sunscreen
There are so many questions around sunscreen, two of the biggest being about SPF in make-up and whether to choose chemical or physical sun lotion. Should we rely on an SPF foundation, or do we double up using sunscreen first and then make-up? And is a chemical sun lotion preferable to a physical version? I asked Dr Rayhaneh Zahedi, a dermatology speciality doctor at Quality Health Care Ltd in the UK. A skin surgeon, she removes skin cancers and abnormal moles regularly and says the damage is not just in wrinkles and pigmentation but also in the cancerous lesions people risk getting. She says, ‘Those who are fairskinned, red-haired or who burn easily are at more risk but skin cancer can be more fatal for people with darker skin due to late identification and diagnosis.’ But if we have an SPF in make-up, and it’s at the higher end, 40 or 50, is it enough to protect us?
‘It worries me when people only wear sunscreen in their foundation or moisturiser,’ she says. ‘Not only will the SPF probably be a very low factor, but it’s likely that you’re not re-applying it every two hours, which is important. Most SPF in make-up doesn’t provide physical protection. And most people don’t apply it everywhere it is needed, like your ears and the back of the neck. My advice? Stick to standalone sunscreen and apply make-up afterwards if you would like.’
She adds: ‘I would rely on a mineral, physical sunscreen. Physical sunscreens give you a physical barrier of protection against the sun’s harmful rays. They can be thick, heavy and cast a white tone on the skin, which can be off-putting. However, there are amazing physical sunscreens out there. My favourite is AlumierMD’s Sheer Hydration Broad Spectrum Sunscreen SPF 40 which is a sheer physical sunscreen. That provides powerful broad-spectrum protection against UVA and UVB rays.’
Ireland has more than 13,000 new cases of skin cancer every year, to know the signs go to www.cancer.ie. But Dr Zahedi has these tips: ‘Check your own skin on a monthly basis. Look out for pre-cancerous lesions, which are often flaky, scaly and crusty growths, usually on the backs of the hands, arms, chest, neck and ears — often where people forget to apply sunscreen. We can treat these or remove them surgically, reducing the risk of developing skin cancer.’