I’m always surprised by the amount of people I encounter who soley use sunscreen in the summer months. No matter what time of year, UVA and UVB rays can cause damage to your skin if you are not well protected. Just because it is winter doesn’t mean your skin should brave the elementals, you’ll be sure to pay for it later.
UVA:
Can pass through window glass.
Is not affected by a change in altitude or weather.
Is present all day and every day of the year.
Penetrates deep into skin layers.
Are 5% of the sun's rays.
Is 20 times more abundant than UVB rays.
Affects long-term skin damage.
UVB:
Cannot pass through window glass.
Causes sunburn.
Causes tanning.
Helps the body with normal vitamin D production.
Varies with the season.
It is more intense in the summer than in the winter.
Varies with weather conditions.
Is more intense at midday than in the morning or late afternoon.
Is more intense at high altitudes and near the equator.
Are 0.5% of the sun's rays.
Is protected against by the SPF in sunscreens.
Is related to more than 90% of non-melanoma skin cancer.
Is related to cataracts.
Obviously if you need to go out in the gorgeous sunlight, be sure to use sunscreen with an SPF 30. SPF (sunscreen protection factor) is your key to protecting your skin from UVA and UVB rays. The SPF # is what predicts how long your skin can be in the sun with a low risk of burning or damaging your skin. The higher the SPF, the longer your skin is protected. While waterproof sunscreens help maintain sunscreen on your skin through perspiring and water activity, it is always best to reapply sunscreen every few hours regardless. Should you get sunburn, you will feel the effects within 2-6 hours of the burn. In more severe cases, Sun poisoning can occur. I have had sun poisoning in the past, and it is not fun! William offered some great skin care tips for winter weather and Devin also has an informative post on sunscreen in the winter.
Self-tanners are becoming a really popular alternative to exposing your skin to the risks of the sun. More so now that many brands have found ways to eliminate that “orange” tint to your skin that self-tanners of the past are notorious for. Now the Dana Farber Cancer Institute backed by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, and Technology, have found a potential way to prevent fair skinned individuals from getting a sunburn. They are in the process of developing a cream that will be a self-tanner but work exceptionally different from any self-tanners on the market today. Unlike self-tanners of today that change the color of your skin, the cream will target the skin’s pigment similar to the way the sun produces a tan.
While this technology sounds promising, it has yet to be tested on humans. Hopefully human trials will be as successful as the testing has been on mice. If it is, it could revolutionize the way we tan our skin and hopefully reduce skin cancer rates across the board.
