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Dr Jinah Yoo answers questions on protecting your skin from the sun

Sun awareness week is between the 4th and 10th of May, and we all know that wearing SPF in the summer months is a must, how many of us are actually applying it properly? We have worked with our skincare expert , a consultant to give us her on wearing SPF and protecting our skin as well as answering some top we find ourselves asking.

Q: What is the best skincare for sun-sensitive skin?

A: Sun-sensitive skin can present as sunburn, prickly heat or make skin conditions like worse. the skin from the sun should be the centre of your skincare routine, for those with sun-sensitive skin. containing titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide, which are very gentle ingredients and for sensitive skin, is than . In terms of your routine skincare products, it is best to go for as can irritate your skin.

Q: What are the top skincare tips for sunburn?

A: Sunburn will make the skin become red, and potentially peel. To reduce the pain and soothe the skin, you can cool down your skin with cool or use moisturisers containing or soy. If you blisters, you need to leave them to heal by themselves, this is so that the blister can be used as a natural dressing and prevent infection.

Q: What skin are available for sun-damaged skin?

A: Photo-aged skin can appear in many ways wrinkles, sagging and pigmentation. If your main concern is photo-aged skin, various , , lasers, skin lightening creams or topical retinoid cream could be considered, depending on individual’s skin assessment. As a result of long-term sun damage, rough patches can appear on sun-exposed skin which is called . These are considered as precursors of skin cancer and you need to see your GP or a dermatologist to be with cream or of the lesion under local injection, depending on the area, size and extent of the sun-damages.

Q: What are the most common you see people making when using and sunscreen?

A:  have shown that most people apply less than half of the amount to enough sun . If you are using sun lotions, you should apply at least six teaspoons to cover the body of an average adult and half a to face and neck.

Q: What exactly happens to the skin when it’s to the sun?

A: The dark in our skin, called melanin, increases in to sun exposure. This is in an attempt to absorb UV and our skin. production of melanin can mean skin becomes tanned. However, in lighter skin types, there is a smaller amount of melanin, that the skin tends to react to UV rather than protecting it. This means that lighter skin type tends to burn rather than tan.

Q: What are the earliest signs of skin damage which we might not pick up on?

A: Skin can appear dry, flaky and itchy with which can be confused with many other skin conditions. Also, it can appear dull with uneven pigmentation, this is a subtle and early sign of skin damage from the sun.

Q: A lot of people wear makeup that SPF, is this enough for us to not need to throughout the day?

A: Makeup with SPF is not a substitute for sunscreen. Make-up or moisturisers with SPF are more likely to be easily by water or rubbing and we tend to apply a lot more thinly than sunscreen. Furthermore, SPF is an indicator for UVB but does not give protection against UVA.

Q: What is the difference between UVA and UVB rays and how should we our skin from both?

A: UVB can cause sunburn and skin cancer whereas UVA is associated with skin ageing and skin cancer. UVA has longer than UVB therefore UVA can penetrate through window and deeper to the skin. To have an adequate sun protection, my advice is to apply sunscreen with or above and UVA star rating of 4 or 5 stars after moisturiser every morning and every two hours when you are going .

Q: You often see a lot of people on who have applied SPF and it has not been fully by the skin a white paste on the skin, if you leave it like that are you actually ?

A: The white from comes from the mineral UV filters, such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide or iron oxide. These mineral (physical) sunscreens can reflect light from the skin and tend to be less irritating. However, new technologies have meant sunscreens can now have a reduced white and your skin will still be protected with these.

Q: Should we be applying SPF into our scalp?

A: It is not practical to apply SPF to the scalp as it is covered with hairs. Instead wearing a hat on a sunny day can help to block the direct sun .

Q: What should we be looking for when buying SPF? They don’t come cheap and can very quickly run out if we apply them all over our body several times a day when on . Are we ok to buy brands, or should we be in the most expensive ones?

A: Choose the which suits your skin type. Expensive does not mean that it will suit everyone’s skin. Nowadays, there are many different types of targeting different skin types. If you have acne-prone oily skin, then go for. When you are buying a sunscreen, it is most important to look at the SPF and UVA star rating to make sure that it has or above and UVA star rating of 4 or 5 stars.

Q: What exactly does the number on SPF products mean?

A: SPF stands for sun protection factor. It refers to the amount of UVB the sunscreen offers compared to skin. For example, SPF15 allows 7% of UVB to reach your skin whereas only 2% reaches your skin with SPF50.

Q: Why do we find that spots appear on the face, chest and when we apply SPF? Does it clog up our pores?

A: Comedogenic materials in can clog up the pores and cause spots. Another possibility is that chemical sunscreens, with ingredients like benzophenones, can cause irritant reaction causing red bumps.

Q: You can buy oils with SPF protection, but does it actually protect you and could you wear this alone on and be safe in the sun and protected?

A: There is no such thing as a truly safe tan other than a fake tan. The goal of a tanning oil is to attract UV to achieve a quick tan, but the goal of SPF is completely opposite OmniClear – Congestion/Acne to skin against these UV. Most of oils, therefore, do not contain enough SPF to achieve the quick effective .

Q: Are there any common myths or about SPF and protecting your skin that you find parents have come to you with?

A: You may have seen some sunscreen advertised as ‘long-lasting’ and requiring only once-a-day application. However, of us do not apply an amount of sunscreen and we can miss some areas when we apply the . Also, it can be removed by rubbing or sweating throughout the day. Therefore, it is recommended to sunscreen every 2 hours to exposure.

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