Sun protection

Gloomendoom

ERICS_MUM wrote: »

Any tan is skin damage. I'm really evangelical about this subject.

It isn't as straightforward as that. Like everything else, there are pros and cons to sun exposure. Some argue that the pros outweigh the cons. See the quoted text below.

Women who regularly sunbathe live longer, a leading cancer specialist has claimed.

Hakan Olsson says his research shows the health benefits of exposure to sunlight ‘far outweigh’ the danger of skin cancer.

He said vitamin D produced by the body when tanning gives vital protection against blood clots, diabetes and some tumours.

But the professor’s claims, based on a study of 40,000 women, sharply contradict warnings that sun exposure is behind soaring levels of skin cancer.

Dr Ollson said catching the sun had more health benefits than costs, as long as you don’t burn

Rates of malignant melanoma, the deadliest form of the disease, have quadrupled since 1980. Experts blame the rise on sunbeds and the increasing numbers of Britons going abroad on cheap package holidays.

But Professor Olsson, who works in the oncology unit at Lund University in Sweden, believes the benefits of the sun ‘far outweigh the negatives’.

He said there was overwhelming evidence that exposure to the sun helps protect against blood clots in the leg, which claim the lives of 25,000 Britons a year.

These clots, known as deep vein thromboses, have been shown to be far more prevalent in winter than summer.

Professor Olsson, who was presenting his research at the Swedish Society of Medicine, cited other studies showing that more patients are diagnosed with diabetes in the colder months, a phenomenon attributed to a lack of vitamin D.

For his study, he examined tanning habits and the incidence of illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes or malignant melanoma.

‘Our studies show that women with active sunbathing habits live longer,’ he said.

Professor Olsson also suggested that skin cancer was not caused by sunbathing alone.

‘I and many others believe that there may be factors other than the sun that influence the risk of malignant melanoma,’ he said.

‘The burning of the skin in the sun is not enough to explain this.’

But Ed Yong, of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘While some sunshine is good for us and vitamin D is important for good bone health, there’s inconclusive evidence to suggest that vitamin D protects against other disease such as cancer or heart disease.

‘Not burning is the most important thing people can do to protect themselves against developing skin cancer. Sunburn is a clear sign that skin cells have been damaged and increases the risk of the disease.

‘Everyone is different and you’re most at risk from skin cancer if you have fair skin, red hair, lots of freckles, moles, or a family history of the disease. These people should take extra care in the sun.’

Experts warn that most Britons lack vitamin D, which is found in oily fish, eggs and butter. Ninety per cent of our supply of it comes from the action of sunlight on the skin.

Source

I have some personal experience that lends weight to their research. My mother had malignant melanomas and she never, ever sunbathed in her life. Quite the contrary, she would always wear a hat, high factor sunscreen, keep covered up and keep out of the sun as much as possible.

It didn't help.


Edit: Just re-read my post and I make it sound like my mother is dead. She isn't

guspoppy

mark hill do a holiday range for the hair , shampoo , conditioner and a spf 15 spray. or boots do their own make called 'sun swim and gym'. both very good products.

zippychick

thanks again for the help and suggestions. Seems as if there is some contradictory guidelines regarding suncream but i will be careful.

I got this screen in 15 and 20 for £3 a bottle

Must say I was surprised there aren't many previous threads about sun protection - I did search. Or am i missing something?

chatbug

Have a good holiday

**Patty**

I've just come back from 2 weeks in Portugal so thought i'd share my experiences.

Husband: Used F20 Hawaiian Tropic spray oil. He burnt. He is blonde & relatively fair skinned.(And should know better , god knows i nag him enough)

Me: Used F30 Ambre Solaire spray. Didn't burn but i am medium skin toned & careful (some might say fanatical about getting burnt)

Son (14): Dark skin tone. Burnt on shoulders in the pool even with Soltan Once F30. (This is a kid that NEVER burns anywhere:eek:)

Youngest: Blonde & pale. F30 wasn't high enough & prickly heat flared. Ended up with some Eucerin Sun Allergy cream F50 (brilliant stuff......not on sale in the UK it seems Grrrr)


Hope that helps x

zippychick

chatbug wrote: »

Have a good holiday

Thank you, how kind. I have been saving since christmas - even before hand. I can't wait.

Gosh that's scary how you all reacted - would August be as hot? yes? I need to research! Where abouts where you?

I would say i'm a dark skin tone who has turned pale getting older :eek::o Very dark hair - swarthy and have always tanned very well. I was last abroad in Tunisia 3 years ago I think and I dont really go in the sun at home

**Patty**

We stayed at Falesia, between Albufeira & Villamoura.

I'd say august would be hotter but i am of the opinion that the higher the sun protection factor, the better. Let's face it, getting sunburnt is nasty, it's uncomfortable, sometimes you get hives and its the kind of thing you wish on your Ex husband :rotfl::rotfl:

You could always get the F30 ...Suncream is costly in Portugal (Nivea was about 16-20 euros even in the supermarket:eek:) so if you don't take a high enough one with you.....it will cost you.

beautyscientist

There are a great many people offering a lot of advice on sunscreen use. The consensus is that a SPF15 is the bare minimum and that it is absolutely crucial to use a sunscreen all the time.

Interestingly there is relatively little in the way of actual studies of sunscreen use. I am pretty sure the SPF15 threshold is a purely theoretical notion and nobody has compared high versus low SPF products to see which perform better.

My conclusion is that keeping out of the sun is definitely the best way to keep your skin in good condition and to avoid skin cancer. If you must go out, then wearing a sunscreen offers some protection against skin cancer, but probably not as much as you would believe from what you read in magazines and on the internet.

If you want more detail I have just written a blog post on the subject http://colinsbeautypages.co.uk/do-sunscreens-protect-against-skin-cancer/ with a link to what as far as I can tell is the only really good study on the subject.

SandC

I'd be interested to know how many bottles people get through also. Seems to me that quite a lot of the time the high factor used is just making up for not applying as liberally as it really should be.

I get through 4 or 5 bottles in a fortnight just for me - that would be a 200ml sort of size.

chatbug

SandC wrote: »

I'd be interested to know how many bottles people get through also. Seems to me that quite a lot of the time the high factor used is just making up for not applying as liberally as it really should be.

I get through 4 or 5 bottles in a fortnight just for me - that would
be a 200ml sort of size.[/Q

I get through 2 bottles but only go for 1 wk. Hubby only gets through 1 bottle and he has a SPF 30 but works outside all year. Must say when i was younger only used SPF 15 or 20 but do tend to burn more easily since the menopause.