Treatments For Your Skin

Trialling skin products and treatments with honest and fair reviews.

Skin Treatments for sun damage

Wear Sunscreen

January 11th, 2010

The first thing to know is that all skin types need sunscreen as all skin can burn, even the darkest. The best course of action you can take against sun damage to skin, premature aging and skin cancers is to apply sunscreen to your skin (read more about sun damage on skin).

Skin Types:

The American Academy of Dermatology recognize 6 different skin types:

Type I: This includes people of Caucasian descent (Welsh, Scottish, Irish). This is skin that never tans and burns very easily. People with this skin type are extremely sun sensitive. (If you have red hair and freckles then this is definitely you).
Type II: This skin type includes Caucasians with fair skin, light hair and blue eyes. You have very sun sensitive skin, burn easily and tan minimally.
Type III: This includes dark haired Caucasians and the average Asian skin. This skin type is sun sensitive however it can gradually tan to a light brown and sometimes burns.
Type IV: Those who are of Mediterranean or Caucasian descent, Indian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Asian and light skinned African American. This skin type always tans to a moderate brown with minimal burning and has minimal sun sensitivity.
Type V: This includes people of Asian, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, African American and Indian descent who tan well, rarely burn and have sun insensitive skin.
Type VI: This describes deeply pigmented Africans and African Americans. This skin type is sun insensitive and never burns.

Examples of different skin types

Applying Sunscreen

Use you sunscreen daily, apply it under your makeup or alternatively you can use foundation or moisturizers that already have SPF protection in them. Protecting your skin from the sun is the main means of protecting your skin for skin cancers and premature aging. Sunscreen is the best anti-aging cream!

Apply sunscreen to your skin 30 minutes before going out. Make sure to pay specific attention to the face, shoulder, arms and hands (which are regularly exposed). Your lips can get sunburned too so make sure you add lip balm which contains SPF 15 protection or higher.

Apply sunscreen liberally every 1 to 2 hours and apply immediately after swimming.

What Does SPF Mean?

Sun Protection Factor (SPF) relates to the skin's natural protection time. For example, if you can normally stay out in the sun for 10 minutes before burning, then an SPF 15 will maintain the skin protected for 15 times longer, hence 15 x 10 = 2 1/2 hours. The higher the SPF factor the more defense against UVB rays. SPF is a system that only categorizes UVB rays, not UVA rays. As yet there is no universally recognized UVA rating system. When buying a sunscreen be sure to look for a product that says "broad spectrum" on it, although even this is not very accurate. In the meantime use zinc! Sunscreens containing 4 to 7 % zinc are the best at blocking UVA rays. Also look for Avonbenzone (absorbs UVA rays) and octyl-methoxycinnimate (absorbs UVB).

What is the Difference between Sunblock and Sunscreen?

The difference between sunscreen and sunblock is namely that sunscreen absorbs UV rays and Sunblock physically deflects them. These days sunblock formulations offer substantive protection from UVB and UVA through the use of titanium dioxide or micronized zinc (both natural ingredients which do not irritate the skin) which are absorbed well into the skin and are not visible like old zinc is. You still can purchase the old think and it is great for surfer, mountain climbers, children and anyone else who spends much time in the sun. It comes in cool colors too.

Is Sunscreen / Sunblock Enough?

NO! especially if you have a family history of skin cancers. The current sunscreens on the market will not protect you from the sun 100% make sure you use protective clothing, wide brimmed hats and stay out of the sun as much as possible between 10 am and 3 pm.

Always wear wide brimmed hats when outdoors

Choosing a Sunscreen

Firstly for the best protection choose and SPF 15 or higher and make sure that the sunscreen contains zinc or avonbenzone/Parasol 1789 to block UVA radiation.

Daily Use Sunscreen For Your Face:

Apply every morning after you have washed your face.

SkinCeuticals Sun Defense SPF 20 Or 30
Olay Complete UV-Protection Moisture Lotion
M.D. Forte Environmental Protection Cream SPF 30
Cetaphil Facial Moisturizer
Clinique City Block SPF 15

For Your Body:

Invest in a really good sunscreen for your face neck and chest that is waterproof and has zinc and SPF 30 or more.

SkinCeuticals Sport SPF 45
Copperstone Sport SPF 45
Skin Care Invisible Zinc Environmental Protector SPF30

For Acne Prone Skin:

Gel based sunscreens are best for acne prone skin, look for ones that say "noncomedogenic" (meaning it will not make acne worse). Normal creams and lotions should be fine as long as they don't cause breakouts. Some sunscreen products to consider for acne prone skin:

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 55
Clinique City Block Sheer Oil-free Daily Face Protector SPF 25
Presun Ultra Gel Sunscreen SPF30
Olay Complete All Day Moisture Lotion SPF 15, Sensitive Skin

We Want To Hear From You!

What sunscreen or sunblock do you use? What type of skin do you have?
..and let us know any other details about your skin so we can all help each other out!

Add your comment at the bottom of the page.

Be Sun Smart! Download Your Free Summer Skin Care Guide

We've put together a free PDF to help you get proper sunscreen for your skin and stay sun protected. You can download it, email it to your friends, print it out, whatever you like!
View the Guide (or right-click to download)
You can also view it online here

You can find high quality sunscreens below:

Click for more details

Cetaphil Facial Moisturizer UVA UVB SPF 50
Paypal

US $2.99

SKINCEUTICALS SPORT UV DEFENSE SPF 45 NIB SEALED
Paypal

US $29.99

OLAY Complete ALL DAY Moisture Cream SPF 15LOT OF 4
Paypal

US $.99

Olay Complete All Day Moisture Lotion SPF 15 Large 6 oz
Paypal

US $8.49

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion SPF 55 33OZ
Paypal

US $32.95

Clinique City Block Sheer Oil Free Face Protector SPF25
Paypal

US $7.95

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion SPF55 NIB
Paypal

US $29.99

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Anti Aging SPF60 92oz
Paypal

US $3.99

SHISEIDO Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion SPF 60 PA
Paypal

US $.99

SkinCeuticals Sport UV Defense SPF 45 3 oz 90 ml
Paypal

US $23.99

Skinceuticals Sport Uv Defense Spf 45 90ml3oz
Paypal

US $25.85

SKINCEUTICALS Sport UV Defense SPF 45 3 oz 30 ML NIB
Paypal

US $25.89

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream SPF 55 PA
Paypal

US $29.95

Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Cream for Face SPF 55
Paypal

US $25.99

SKINCEUTICALS Sport UV Defense SPF 45 Travel 6 Pack
Paypal

US $16.99

NIB Shiseido Ultimate Sun Protection Lotion SPF 60 PA
Paypal

US $.99

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Posted in sun damage

Tags: acne skin Skin Types SPF sun damage sun damaged skin sunblock sunscreen UVA UVB zinc

Sun Damaged Skin

January 11th, 2010

When you compare the skin of a young child with the skin of your face you'll be able to begin to understand what sun damage looks like. A young child has skin which is uniform in color, carries a radiant translucent glow and smooth texture. By the time most of us reach 30 to 40 years of age we have some redness or blotchiness, some sagging, some wrinkling, brown spots and dry perhaps leathery skin. Most of this is thanks to photoaging - sun damage.

If you believe that the way your face looks at that age is due to normal aging then you need only look at the skin in parts of your body which have been regularly protected from the sun like your upper thighs or the skin on your breasts. Notice the difference? That is how the skin on your face would look if it had not received any sun damage. Of course time does eventually etch lines into the face, but sunlight exposure helps the aging process accelerate dramatically. By the time we reach the age of 18 many of us have already received 80% of our lifetime sun exposure. Skin damage caused by sunlight builds up from continuous exposure even when you do not burn.According to dermatologists the worst type of sun damage occurs when the skin receives a prolonged dose of sun exposure after weeks or months of hardly any sun exposure at all.

Tanning causes sever damage to your skin in the long run

It is important to know that both UVA and UVB radiation can contribute to skin cancer and photoaging.

UVA Radiation

UVA radiation consists of longer wave lengths than UVB. This may generate fewer burns but it creates more damage the elastic fibers and collagen as it is capable of penetrating deeper into your skin. This of-course can cause wrinkles and skin cancers.
UVA radiation is able to penetrate through windows and through clouds. Tanning salons use this type of radiation so while you may come out of there without a burn you can be sure that you exposed your skin to some radiation damage. In fact tanning yourself using sunbeds is worse than basking in the suns rays because the UVA light tanning beds expose you to are 3 times more concentrated than the suns. One session in a sunbed is the same as a full day at the beach. Tanning beds and skin cancer go hand in hand because most people who use tanning beds do not wear sunscreen thereby dramatically increasing their risk of skin cancer.

UVB Radiation:

UVB emits shorter wavelengths of light and is at its strongest between the hours of 11:00 am and 3:00 pm. UVB rays penetrate the epidermis causing an immediate reaction in the skin in the form of redness and sunburn. This is the type of radiation that is responsible for most sunburns and unfortunately it is the severe sunburns caused in childhood which are responsible for the deadliest skin cancer - melanoma.

To prevent sun damage which is the cause behind wrinkles, age spots, skin cancer and many other things, it is important to always wear sunscreen that blocks both UVB and UVA light. For detailed information on sunscreens and for choosing the correct sunscreen for you please read the following: Wear Sunscreen Guide.

5 comments »

Posted in Anti-aging, Bad Skin Habits, Wrinkles, sun damage

Tags: aging photoaging Skin cancer skin damage sun damage sun damaged skin sunbeds tanning UVA UVB

Fine Lines Around The Eyes

January 10th, 2010

If like me you have just turned 30 you may have started to notice fine lines around your eye area. These fine wrinkles that surround the eye are usually the first wrinkles to appear on our face. This is due to the fact that the skin around our eye area contains much fewer oils glands (sebaceous) and is much thinner. The older we get there is elasticity damage caused by the sun on this area as well as the constant amount of use that it gets with facial expressions, and for some even the loss of the fat pad in this area.

What Can You Do?

Use a non irritating sunscreen on your eye area to prevent further sun damage. Try Dermalogica Total Eye Care SPF 15 (of course there are other brands on the market). An alternative is to use your regular moisturizer and then apply your nonirritating sunscreen to the eye area, be careful to avoid contact with the eyes.
Also try wearing a hat and sunglasses outdoors not only to protect your face from the sun but to avoid squinting which is a major contributer to wrinkles and crows feet around your eyes.
You can use an erbium or carbon dioxide laser peel which can give a great outcome around the eye area. You do have to be very careful with this method, especially is the entire skin on your face has damages as it can create a raccoon like effect with the skin around the eyes appearing fresher and younger than the rest of your face. Some great dermatologists will utilize this laser around your eyes and a TCA peel on the rest of your face to make sure that the color tone on your face is nice and even.
If your skin is not overly sensitive you can try using a very low level Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) to encourage cell turnover rate. Using this method it may take several months to see an improvement if at all. M.D Forte is a good brand to try.