Here comes the sun do do do do….

Something you may, or may not know about me is that I am obsessed with skincare. This is an obsession which some would say has escalated quite a lot now that I’m over thirty (eeeek) but its something that I invest a lot of time and money in to help prevent the inevitable signs of aging and to help protect myself from the sun.

I know that this year everything is a bit up in the air with travel, but if you’re heading abroad to the sun or planning an amazing stay-cation at home being sun safe is so important now and at all times of the year, rain, hail or shine.

Skin cancer effects nearly 250,000 of us every year and the vast majority of these are completely preventable. Way back at the start of lockdown I completed my Masced Pro Training accreditation with the SKCIN charity to make sure I was up to date on all things skin cancer so my eyes are trained and I can look out for you all to the best of my ability. As we were discussing in my mouth cancer blog, the purpose of these posts isn’t to scare you, the main thing I want you to know are the risks and what you can do in certain situations to make the sun as low risk to you as possible.

Risk Factors

Overexposure to UV radiation from the sun
Mature skin that has seen a lot of sun over the years
Using sunbeds
You have fairer skin or skin that burns easily
You work outside
You have 100+ moles over your entire body
You have a family history of skin cancer

The most common cause and main risk factor for skin cancer is over exposure to the sun. Here are my top tips to help make the sun safer:

Cover Up
Gone are the days of getting into that itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini!! Slip on a t-shirt to protect yourself from the suns harmful rays, closer weaved fabrics offer more protection. The more clothes you can keep on, the better!
Sunscreen
Sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen I feel I can’t say this enough.
You should always be aiming to use a sunscreen with an SPF (Sun Protection Factor) of 30 or above. I will use factor 50 on my face everyday, without fail, even in the winter. If I’m having a no make-up day I mix mine with a little Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops but you can get tinted moisturisers with SPF in them too.
Of course sunscreen isn’t just for your face, apply liberally to any areas that are at risk of sun exposure. Any sunscreen you use should:
- have at least a 4 star UVA symbol
-be applied to clean, dry skin
-should be in date
-should be stored in a cool place
-be reapplied every 2 hours regardless of any instructions and always straight away onto dry skin after swimming and if things are getting a bit sweaty
Get a hat on
A hat with a wide brim will shade your face, neck and ears. Careful with baseball hats as although they’re still great, they won’t give you 360 degree protection. Just like clothing, a closer weaved fabric will give you more protection.
Sunglasses
Not just a must have fashion accessory, UV from the sun is also super damaging to your eyes, so wearing high quality sunglasses will really help, this means getting good lenses as well as chic frames. The European CE mark lets you know the level of protection id safe but you could go one further and look for the Eye Protection Factor or EPF which is labelled 1-10, make sure they offer wrap round protection and pricer glasses don’t necessarily mean more protection so be careful.
Find yourself some shade
Shade is so hot right now. Treat yourself to some shade whenever possible and especially between the hours of 11am and 3pm. Toddlers and babies should always be in the shade but its important to mention you should never rely on shade alone and should always be protecting yourself from every way possible as we discussed above.

Hopefully this blog will help you kick back and enjoy the sun safely, sunburn is not normal and with so many great false tanning products out there staying out of the sun where possible should be a priority for all of us. These tips are for everyone, not just if you are higher risk, but if you fall into any of the risk factor categories that we chatted about at the start of this blog you need to be extra cautious. Get to know your skin and what’s normal for you. Anything that you think looks strange or suspicious, has been there for a while, or crops up out of the blue mention it to your Dental Hygienist or Dentist or your GP asap. Thanks so much for reading <3.

Referenced from SKCIN, a skincare charity who provide training on detecting skin cancer for ANYONE who looks at skin daily, hairdressers, beauticians, eyelash technicians, nail artists, dental professionals, makeup artists, Dentists, Dental Hygienists, Dental Therapists, everyone if you would like to complete some training it takes about 90 minutes, you can find out more here. Information is referenced from their information guide and website which you can check out here.