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You know to apply sunscreen, one
with a high SPF, before exposing
your skin to midsummer rays. You
do your best to avoid the sun
during peak hours (though a
little sunshine can do you
good-it's a major source of
vitamin D. Here's why vitamin D
is important to your health).
And you wouldn't dream of
stepping foot on the sand
without your wide-brimmed hat.
But what you don't know could be
raising your risks for bad
burns, skin cancer, and aging
wrinkles.
There are a lot of holes in the
average sun-protection plan and
here are five simple things you
can do to safeguard your skin
more effectively-and raise your
SPF IQ.
1. Play it safe near windows
Think you're safe behind
UV-coated glass in your car?
Even when your windows are up,
damaging UVA rays can pass
through the glass. Car windows
filter UVB rays, which is why
you don't get sunburned. But
only windshields block UVA rays,
which cause damage beneath the
surface of your skin that can
lead to wrinkles and skin
cancer.
In 2007, researchers at St.
Louis University School of
Medicine found that people who
spend a lot of time behind the
wheel tend to develop more skin
cancers on the left side of
their heads, necks, and arms-the
side nearest the driver's
window. That's why
dermatologists say we all should
wear sunscreen in the car.
2. Don't consider lip gloss
Sheer, shiny glosses scream
summer, but according to a
recent study out of Baylor
University Medical Center at
Dallas, lustrous SPF-free
formulas can contribute to skin
cancer and other forms of damage
by attracting and absorbing UV
rays.
"They act the same way as baby
oil, increasing light
penetration and making skin
extra-vulnerable to cancers,
burns, freckles, and
precancerous growths," says
Jeannette Graf, MD, a
dermatologist in Great Neck, New
York, and assistant professor of
dermatology at Mt. Sinai School
of Medicine.
Even without this added risk,
the lips are already susceptible
to basal and squamous cell
carcinomas, Dr. Fein says. To
protect your pout, apply a balm
with sunscreen, such as Blistex
Daily Conditioning Treatment SPF
20 ($2.29; drugstores). If you
want to top it with gloss, go
for a formula that has SPF.
3. Watch how you wear your
hair
All types of skin cancer can
grow on the scalp-especially if
your hair is fine. "Melanomas
can be quite aggressive there
because the scalp has a rich
blood supply and numerous
lymphatic channels, both of
which encourage the spread of
cancer," Dr. Graf explains.
The sliver of skin exposed by
your part is also susceptible,
so occasionally shift where you
part your hair to cut down on
constant UV exposure. When
spending time outside, protect
vulnerable areas with a spray-on
sunscreen-dermatologists prefer
those made for skin, not
hair-or, if your hair is
thinning, wear a hat.
Be sure to check your scalp for
new or unusual spots every
month, enlisting your
hairstylist's help if you can't
get a good look on your own.
And, if you wear your hair up a
lot during the summer, don't
forget to coat all sides of your
neck with sunscreen.
4. Never swap sunscreen for
shade
We're all for pitching a big
umbrella in the sand, but don't
assume that doing so offers a
get-out-of-SPF-free card. "About
50 to 95 percent of rays can
bounce up off of water and sand,
and hit your skin, even if
you're under an umbrella and
surrounded by shade," Dr. Graf
says.
And while passing clouds may
offer temporary heat relief,
they block only 20 percent of UV
rays; the other 80 percent soaks
right into your skin, even when
there's no sun in sight. Seeking
shade while wearing sunscreen is
the best way to save your skin.
5. Spring-clean your
sunscreen
Do you tend to buy sunscreen in
bulk and hang on to it forever?
Bad idea. While the Food and
Drug Administration requires
that all sunscreens remain at
their original strength for at
least three years, Dr. Graf
tells patients to toss theirs
after one year if there's no
expiration date on the bottle,
because "you really have no idea
how long it sat on the store
shelf before you bought it," she
says.
Luckily, most bottles now carry
expiration dates (usually on the
back or bottom). Odds are, you
can still pull from the
three-pack you bought at Costco
last year, but keep this in
mind: You should always apply 1
ounce of sunscreen-enough to
fill a shot glass-30 minutes
before heading outside, and then
reapply that same amount every
two hours. In reality, that
means an 8-ounce bottle should
never last from one season to
the next.
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