Lesson 3: Sun and your Skin

Lesson 3 is about how your skin makes colour (aka get tan) and what are ingredients that helps fight UV damage. It was quite an eye-opener as I was shocked at how many products, out in the market right now, contain controversial ingredients. Scary!

My Rome trip, June 2011

The Sun can be a really scary thing! We get tanned, we form wrinkles and our skin age due to long exposure to the UV rays of the sun. Two of the most infamous rays that harm our skins are UVA and UVB.

To cut things short, UVA penetrates the upper layers of our skin, stimulating our melanocytes and thus making us darker. This particular ray is the main culprit of us getting wrinkles, freckles and spots, and the leathery texture of the skin (due to intense and long exposure).

UVB, compared to its big bro, is of shorter wave-length. It stops at the surface of the skin causing us to get burnt and peel. Ouch.

How do I prevent such damage then?
The familiar SPF, or sun protection factor, tackles mainly the UVB. The higher the number, the longer the amount of time you get this protection. The number does not naturally equate to the strength of protection! Let's give an example. Say, if I go under this particular amount of UVB without any sun protection on, I get sun burnt in 10 minutes. With SPF 15, I will take 15 times as long (or, 150 minutes) to burn!

UVA, however, does not get blocked out by SPF. Look for products that label PA after the SPF numeral. The more + behind PA, the better! (PA+++). Since the term PA is mostly used in Japan and some parts of Asia, look for phrases like "broad spectrum of UVA/UVB protection".

What to look out for in sunscreens and products?
There are two main kinds of sunscreen - physical and chemical.

Physical sunscreen (the good) includes zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. These make your sunscreen have a white and powdery texture. Physical sunscreens are also the best sunscreens as they do not have much side effects.

Chemical sunscreens (the bad) on the other hand can actually be quite dangerous to us. Some of them (like homosalate) are hormone disruptors that can affect our our bodies when used on a daily basis (omg). Other chemical sunscreen include:

• Avobenzone – sunlight breaks down this into unknown chemicals that can penetrate deep into the skin
• Octocrylene – produces oxygen radicals when exposed to UV light, causes mutations, cell death.
• Ocyl Methoxycinnamate – moderately hazardous (not good at all), biochemical and cellular level changes, affects the endocrine system (hormones), most commonly used sunscreen ingredients. Can disrupt thyroid gland and brain signaling.
• Padimate-o – this chemical releases free radicals, damages DNA and has estrogenic activity, can cause photo-allergic reactions in some

Here are just a few examples of harmful chemical sunscreens. Sadly, the list goes on and on. Here is the list of them (other than zinc oxide and titanium oxide):

The properties of the chemicals can be found by searching them on http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ (Environment Working Group)

Is the tanning bed recommended? 
Most tanning beds use UVA as it is the ray that brings on the tan. However, as people usually use the tanning beds in an air-conditioned salon, there is a likelihood that we might be under the intense light for too long unknowingly. What more, you're pre-maturely ageing your skin!

So how can I get a tan and not damage the skin?
Fake tans. Fake tans contains some ingredients (DHA - dihydroxyacetone) that interacts with the skin to give you that bronzed skin. This lasts for a few days as the chemical only tackles the very top surface of the skin.

That's all for today's lesson!

Next up, laser treatments and IPL!

Lesson 1: Anti-ageing – Facts vs. Myths
Lesson 2: ACNE! What is it, how to prevent it and debunking myths!

Cheers,
HL