Wear sunscreen or not?

Why is sunscreen so important? In the picture above I tried to make that clear. If you don’t apply sunscreen to your skin, the sun will damage your skin. Even if you don’t burn quickly or never burn at all, the sun cause DNA damage. The misleading thing about this is that the DNA damage only manifests itself after a few years in, for example, skin aging, pigmentation, skin cancer or other skin conditions.
This is the reason why you suffer the most (invisible) damage at a young age, and in later life you will notice skin aging more quickly. In addition, you are more likely to suffer from skin cancer if you have been excessively exposed to the sun several times before the age of 15.

I regularly get people in my practice who ask me if I can remove their wrinkles and dark spots. The first thing I usually say is ‘the most important anti-age drug is sunscreen’. Of course I can also apply various treatments that improve the skin, fade pigmentation or reduce wrinkles. But what they are too late with is protecting their skin from the sun. If they had applied sunburn from an early age, I bet they wouldn’t have suffered from wrinkles and pigment disorders.

Nowadays people find it important to look good, especially beautiful brown skin. Many young people therefore go unprotected into the sun and damage their skin without noticing anything (except for some redness).

It’s a myth that when you apply sunscreen, you can’t get a tan. With sunscreen you can get tanned, even a lot safer, only it will take a bit longer.
In order to minimize sun damage, it is very important to apply a good layer of sunscreen on the skin. This is often not done because sunscreen products are no longer cheap and because it doesn’t feel good on the skin. However, the ‘thick’ application of sunscreen is one of the most important things, since an SPF of 30 can suddenly become an SPF 15.

Q&A:

Why is it so important for people these days to be tanned?
In the nineteenth century, pale skin was still the ideal of beauty. However, in the twentieth century the skin became more exposed to the sun as more outdoor activities such as cycling, tennis and beach visits became more popular. Tanned skin was also seen as a sign of prosperity and success at the time.

There is a SPF 15 in my day cream, am I well protected all day?
No, unfortunately not. There are several reasons for this; you only apply your day cream once (if all goes well ;-)). It would be best to reapply sunscreen every 2 hours. This is because the sunburn has worked out at a certain moment (think of a paracetamol, which only works for a certain number of hours). Secondly, a factor of 15 is usually not enough, especially if it is used in a day cream.

What about vitamin D? Is that still produced when I use sunscreen?
Yes, vitamin D is certainly still produced when you use sunscreen. However, many people have a distorted picture when making vitamin D. Many people think that you have to sit in the sun for hours before the body produces these vitamins. However, 2-3 times a week (5-10 minutes) exposure on face, hands, arms or legs is enough. In fact, after 20 minutes of exposure to the sun, our body has already reached the maximum possible level.

Why does the sun make people so happy?
A substance (endorphins) is released in the brain that cause this feeling of happiness.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send me an email: isla@myskinfacts.com

Source reference:

• Book: Huid&Haar 2017 Jannes van Everdingen & Kees-Peter de Roos
• NEDERLANDS TIJDSCHRIFT VOOR DERMATOLOGIE EN VENEREOLOGIE VOLUME 16 · NUMMER 3 · MAART 2006 G.A.M. Krekels: Zonnebrandcrèmes: ik zie door de bomen het bos niet meer
• Ann Intern Med 2003;139:966-78. Dennis LK, Freeman LE, Van Beek MJ. Sunscreen use and the risk of melanoma: a quantitative review.
• Klein Swormink 2018, Het effect van metaforen en fear appeals in gezondheidsboodschappen op de attitude en intentie ten aanzien van zonbescherming
• Slaper et al- Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu. UV-straling en gezondheid https://www.rivm.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/2017-0074.pdf