What you need to know to protect your skin this summer.
Even for the most conscientious sun-objectors, sunscreen—what to use, when, and how often— can be confusing. So confusing, in fact, that in March a San Diego–based law firm filed a class-action lawsuit against several large sunscreen manufacturers, claiming that they deceptively promote their products as offering complete protection from the sun’s damaging rays. The suit seeks refunds for consumers who have bought sunscreen over the years and hopes to force manufacturers to remove wording such as “sun block” and “waterproof” from product labels.
“[The lawsuit] is completely frivolous,” says James Spencer, an associate clinical professor of dermatology at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), though he does agree that sunscreen labeling can be confusing to consumers. “Using sunscreen is just one part of protecting yourself from the sun, and no one has ever suggested it gives you permission to bake.” Frivolous or not, fallout from the lawsuit may finally spur the FDA to publish new labeling standards for sunscreen products, something the administration has been considering since 1999.
Then there’s the vitamin-D conundrum. Anumber of media reports have suggested that avoiding the sun puts you at risk for vitamin-D deficiency (which is linked to bone disorders and other health problems). Tennis players don’t need to worry about that one. We get enough sun during a warm-up to prevent vitamin-D deficiency, but we do need to concern ourselves with preventing skin cancer. Here are five SPFs—sun protection facts—you need to know now:
1. Wearing sunscreen isn’t the best way to protect yourself from skin cancer (or wrinkles).
“Avoiding the sun is the best, especially between the peak hours of 10 A.M. to 4 P.M., when the sun’s rays are the strongest,” says Dr. Spencer, who, when he isn’t teaching in New York, practices dermatology in St. Petersburg, Fla. But that’s not always realistic for tennis players. We have no choice but to slather on sunscreen—ideally at least 15 minutes before going outside—and wear hats and tightly woven clothing. According to Darrell S. Rigel, M.D., clinical professor of dermatology at New York University Medical Center, scientists can’t say with certainty that sunscreen protects against skin cancer because many relevant studies haven’t established cause and effect. But they do know that sunscreen protects against the development of actinic keratosis, a potential early sign of skin cancer.
2. Sun Protection Factor (SPF) labeling is misleading.
Yes, higher SPF numbers provide greater protection against sunburn. The rating is calculated by comparing the amount of time needed to “burn” a person’s sun-protected skin with the amount of time it takes to burn when unprotected. Using a product with SPF 15 means you can be exposed 15 times longer before you burn than you can without. But here’s what’s confusing: “A sunscreen with an SPF of 30 doesn’t offer twice as much protection as an SPF 15,” says Henry Lim, M.D., chairman of the dermatology residency program at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, and a spokesperson for the AAD. In fact, SPF 15 absorbs 93 percent of UVB rays (there is no rating that identifies UVA protection), and SPF 30 absorbs 97 percent. Still, there is one reason to fork over the extra money for the higher SPF. “A typical adult uses half the recommended amount of sunscreen, which provides half the protection people expect,” Dr. Lim says.
3. When you’re sweating, you should go through a four-ounce bottle of sunscreen in an eight-hour day.
An adult who’s in the sun should use one ounce—that’s a shot-glass full—to cover the exposed parts of the body and then reapply that much again every two hours, Dr. Lim says.
4.Your environment makes a difference in how much UV radiation you’re exposed to.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a website where you can check your local daily UV forecast before you go out to play tennis. Go to www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/uv_index and click on “UVAlert Forecast” and look at your region for warnings. Areas with above-normal radiation levels are highlighted, meaning you should take extra care to protect yourself from the sun.
5. Choose sunscreens labeled “broad spectrum” because they protect against both UVA and UVB rays.
The most effective products have both chemical (inorganic) and physical (organic) blocking ingredients; chemical sunscreens absorb light and physical sunscreens reflect and scatter light. Some dermatologists, including Lim, hope that soon in the U.S. we’ll have access to products with mexoryl, a sunprotecting ingredient that has been widely available in Europe and other parts of the world for years. “Mexoryl is a UVA-filtering ingredient that’s more photo-stable—meaning exposure to the sun doesn’t break it apart—than other ingredients used to combat UVA rays,” Lim says. “I know lots of people who stock up on sunscreens with mexoryl when they’re traveling outside the U.S.,” he says. (You can also buy it online at canadadrugsonline.com.)