After years of media and government campaigns about the dangers of over exposure to the sun, most of us are aware of the damage that it can cause to our skin. We know we should cover up, use sun cream, stay out of the sun during the hottest part of the day, wear sunhats, avoid sunburn and protect our children from sun exposure. Indeed, the received wisdom these days is that there is no such thing as a "safe tan."
This advice is simple to grasp. What is trickier to get to grips with is the vast array of sun creams, aftersun and other products out there. What do they do, and which is the right one to choose?
How do suncare products actually work?
Sun protection products reduce the amount of ultraviolet light that gets into skin when you go out in the sun, as Mike Brown, Boots suncare scientific adviser, explains: "They use active ingredients called sun filters which either absorb the ultraviolet (UV) light and convert it into safer infrared (which we feel as warmth), or reflect and scatter the ultraviolet light away from the skin."
So what's the difference between UVA and UVB?
The main UV rays found in sunlight are UVB and UVA. UVB is much higher energy than UVA and reaches the top layers of our skin. "As UVB stimulates the melanin in our skin, it triggers the development of a suntan," says Johanna Saiki, junior product manager at skincare products manufacturer Eau Thermale Avane. "It also sets off the synthesis of vitamin D. In the short-term, over-exposure causes sunburn, but in the long-term it is responsible for premature skin ageing and cancer."
UVA has less energy but penetrates deeper into the skin and damages the structural components of skin over time, which leads to wrinkling and can be responsible for skin cancer. And what about SPF? The sun protection factor (SPF) of a product is a measure of how well it protects the skin from burning. SPF ratings are calculated by comparing the time needed to produce sunburn on protected skin with the time needed to cause sunburn on unprotected skin, as Johanna Saiki explains: "For instance, a fair-skinned person who would normally turn red after 10 minutes in the sun has 10 minutes as their "initial burning time." If they use a sunscreen with SPF2, it takes 20 minutes in the sun for that person's skin to turn red. If they use one with SPF15, it multiplies the initial burning time by 15, so it takes 150 minutes to turn red, and so on." However, there are two things to remember about SPF, warns Mike Brown: "The first is that SPF is reduced if you apply less product than recommended. The second is that SPF only measures the burning effect of ultraviolet light. Since the UVB component of sunlight causes most of the burning effect, the SPF is heavily influenced by UVB light and is not necessarily a good indicator of protection against the UVA light which contributes to long-term skin damage."
What does "aftersun" do? Exposure to the sun dries out the skin, so the main job of an aftersun is to re-moisturize and soothe it. But do aftersun products work any better than normal moisturizers? Mike Brown thinks they do: "There is plenty of data to show that aftersuns increase skin hydration really well. Many aftersun products also contain materials such as alantoin, aloe vera and so on, which have a cooling and soothing effect on skin." But what if you're already burned? Sunburn can lead to skin becoming red and painful, with symptoms at their worst between six and 48 hours after exposure to the sun. According to Thorton & Ross, makers of AfterBurn Sunburn Rescue Gel, nine out of 10 people have experienced painful sunburn. Lavender has long been used for its burn-soothing properties, and Tisserand aromatherapist Karl Watson recommends organic lavender as a post-sun soother. He says: "Lavender and peppermint essential oils will help remove the heat of sunburn, and lavender oil also makes a perfect after-sun bath. Mix five drops of lavender essential oil, one of chamomile and four of mandarin with 10ml of sweet almond oil, add to a bath and soak for 20 minutes." And what about children? We get around 80 percent of our exposure to the sun before the age of 18 years, according to Ego Pharmaceuticals, makers of Sunsense Sunscreens, so it is vital that parents know how to protect children properly. Very small children should avoid exposure to the sun entirely, while toddlers can be exposed as long as they are covered up with a hat, T-shirt and adequate sun protection.
Skincare brand Simple, which developed its Sun Sensitive Protecting Suncare range with children in mind, advises that younger skin is much more sensitive to sun damage as it has yet to build up its own natural defenses to protect itself. Teaching children safe sun habits sets a good pattern for later life and reduces their risk of developing skin cancer in the future. According to suncare products manufacturer Lavera, choosing the right suncare products should be about to get easier, thanks to a collaboration between The European Commission and Colipa (a European Trade Association representing the cosmetic industry) to improve the labeling of sun protection products, following EU Commission recommendations to create greater safety and transparency for consumers. As a result, sunscreens are being labeled to show how effectively they prevent sunburn and protect against UV rays, and the UV rating system, labeling criteria and methods for measuring protection have changed, with the simplification of SPF categories and the labeling of minimum UVA efficacy, depicted by a symbol with the letters "UVA" in a circle. The new classification for SPFs is: Basic/low = 6 and 10 Medium = 15, 20 and 25 High = 30 and 50 Very high = 50+ In addition, descriptions such as "sun block" and "100 percent protection" will no longer be permitted.
However, consumer review body Which? has called for Colipa to review its guidelines on sunscreen testing, following its annual sunscreen test. Colipa's guidelines allow tests to be carried out in different ways, meaning that one sunscreen could be found to have different SPFs depending on the test method used. As an example, four sunscreens labeled SPF15 were found to offer lower protection when tested by Which?. It is also worth remembering that Colipa's new sunscreen labeling scheme is voluntary, so consumers should continue to be advised to read carefully all product labels -- certainly until 2010 when all manufacturers are expected to have adopted the new labeling recommendations.
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