As new science flags up the limitation of sun creams, the expert advice is we still need to wear SPF in the sun, and we need to follow these rules
New research from the University of Manchester and the Institute of Cancer Research suggests that sunscreen won't protect us from malignant melanoma, the most deadliest of skin cancers. The ensuing advice from the scientists now is to cover up or stay in the shade if you want to be completely safe in the sun.
The likelihood of Britain's holiday makers staying covered up in the shade on their summer holiday however is slim to nil, so if we are going to sun 'bathe' should we still be using sun cream at all? The answer of course is yes, but as long as you follow the sun cream rules advises The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD).
First things first, you need to know how to read an SPF label. "The SPF number is actually the 'sun burn protection factor' if you like," explains Professor John Hawk of the British Association of Dermatologists, and President for the World Congress on Cancers of the Skin scheduled later this year. "It's the number of times that cream will protect you from UVB sun radiation, not heat. So if it usually takes you 10 minutes to burn, an SPF20 properly applied will protect you from ultra violet rays for 20 times as long, giving you 200 minutes."
By 'properly' Hawk means applying six teaspoons of lotion, every two to three hours. "It's boring and expensive, but it's essential," says Hawk, "particularly after any activity or towelling down." Sun screen works by thickness, using chemicals to absorb UV light rays and re-emit them as heat, and if you're not wearing enough, the skin simply absorbs those rays instead.
The rule of thumb for the average-sized adult application is, says Hawk, "just over half a teaspoon for each arm, another one for the face and neck area (including the ears, as rims of ears are a classic zone for skin cancers), just over a teaspoon to each leg, another to the front of the body and another to the back of the body." It's no surprise that most of us apply far less than that, up to two thirds less, "which means we get a third of the protection, which is why I always recommend an SPF50, which in fact ends up usually being an SPF15."
And that's just lotion - for mousse, oils, sprays and gels as BAD explain, "it's not possible to give a set amount that you should apply that is the same for all products." So it's up to the manufacturer to get their labelling right, and for you to act responsibly.
The other advice from Hawk is to always apply your first application a few minutes before initial sun exposure, and then apply the second application 30 minutes later, "as the first lot tends to go into the tiny cracks and crevasses in your skin, so the second one provides a better screen. "Then reapply every few hours," he says.
Tight swimwear is also a no no; "if a material is tight against skin, the weave is stretched and pulled apart making it easier for ultra violet light to penetrate, and that becomes even more exaggerated when material is wet. Dry, looser clothing is always safer in the sun," says Hawk.
However fastidious you are with sun cream application stay out of the midday sun - BAD specify avoiding it between the hours of 12 noon and 3pm - even in the UK; "that's when UVB, rays responsible for burning and most closely associated with skin cancers, are at their strongest," warns Hawk.
At the end of your holiday, chuck out your sunscreen - particularly if you've had it lying out in the sun. Where you can save on money is by using a two-in-one cream for your face and body, "you don't need a separate version," Hawk tells us. Soltan, La Roche Posay and Bioderma are reliably safe sun cream brands, "though truthfully all brands are good, as they are all legally required to put their products through the same SPF test before they can stamp it on their label, which also now has to come with a good UVA shield too."
But lesson number one remains, there is no such thing as a safe tan.