Your first priority should be to stay out of the sun. Sunscreen really should be the last resort. But, says consultant dermatologist Dr Richard Turner, of the Churchill Hospital in Oxford, "We've got it round the wrong way. "Black and Asian skins tend not to get cancer, but they do age in the sun." Men are particularly bad at sun protection (studies show they tend to think putting on cream or lotions is unmasculine).Īnything that stops you getting sun on your skin is going to reduce your chances of melanoma (and could mean fewer wrinkles). "Fair-skinned or freckly people are most at risk," says Hawk. Its most deadly form, malignant melanoma, affects more than 8,100 adults in Britain each year, killing almost 2,000 of them. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the UK. And they don't apply enough, because it is messy, boring and expensive. They don't realise that they have to apply sunscreen 15-20 minutes before going out, and then every hour or two after that. "They go out on a cloudy day in the middle of summer thinking that they don't need sunscreen. "Very good research suggests that most people don't use sunscreen properly," he says. According to dermatologist John Hawk, a skin-cancer specialist and spokesperson for the British Skin Foundation, the problem does not lie in the products themselves - which can be very effective - but the way in which we use them. The only safe approach to sun protection is to stay out of the sun as much as you can and, if you are out in it, cover up with sun-protective clothing and a hat.īut this is not as damning of the sunscreen industry as it might seem. According to a recent study published in the Lancet, there is no conclusive proof that sunscreens actually prevent skin cancer. For those of you who find the mess, smell and cost of slapping on the factor 20 a major seasonal irritation, there is good news, of a sort.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |