How To Protect Your Skin During the Summer Months

By Anne Littman, PA-C, MSHS

The Sendi Center for Cosmetic Surgery

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How To Protect Your Skin During the Summer Months

Patients regularly want to know what they can do to improve their skin and prevent aging of their skin. The answer is quite simple avoid the sun.

Aging skin is caused by both internal and external factors, but it is external factors we have most control over. In the harsh summer sun, when both UVA rays (which are present year long) and UVB rays are strongest, everyone should stick to general sun protection guidelines.

Sun-induced damage to the skin contributes to over 90% of skin aging. The dramatic photograph below (from the New England Journal Of Medicine) shows a truck driver who had sun exposure to the left side of his face for over twenty years.

Neither ethnicity nor range of skin color provides immunity against skin damage or skin cancer. Knowing if you are at risk is vital in skin cancer prevention. Education, early detection and protection make a difference. Take the right steps to truly protect your skin using the following guidelines.

Pick a broad-spectrum sunscreen, >30 SPF. It is very important to understand that one must read the front and back of a sunscreen label to understand what the product protects against. SPF indicates how well a product protects a user against burning of the skin, but not its ability to prevent skin cancer and skin aging. Any sunscreen labeled “broad-spectrum” or that is greater than 15 SPF will have some coverage of UVA rays, which are the ultraviolet rays that cause skin damage and skin cancer. This information is best found on the back of sunscreen products under “Active Ingredients”. Pick a broad- spectrum sunscreen > 30 SPF with active ingredients >7%.

Reapply every two hours (yes, every 2 hours), or after being in water or sweating.

There is no such thing as waterproof or sweat-proof sunscreen. Water resistance can be determined by information present on sunscreen products telling the consumer how long this product can be used in wet conditions either 80 minutes or 40 minutes. After this time frame, or after swimming or sweating, reapply sunscreen everywhere.

Sun protective clothing is not only for surfers. There are many companies now producing sun protective clothing for consumers of all ages. This creates a physical barrier between your skin and ultraviolet rays. These clothes are fortunately now stylish and quite affordable at sporting goods stores and online. I always recommend a wide brimmed hat if possible.

Although the active form of vitamin D is produced by the body in response to sunlight, it is not an excuse to expose your skin to ultraviolet radiation without protection; vitamin D is found in natural foods such fish, fish liver oils, egg yolks, and in fortified dairy and grain products. Eat your vitamin D, and apply sunscreen at least 20 minutes prior to sun exposure.

You are exposed to UV rays while commuting to and from work in your car. UVA rays can penetrate clouds on a cloudy day as well as windows and sunglasses.

Protect your skin daily, starting early in life. Your skin is your first defense system, and it is important to protect it.