All you need to know about sun protection (and sunscreen)

1. If you wear moisturiser, make sure it includes SPF 30+ protection. You never know where the day will take you. On sunny days it can take as little as 10 minutes for the sun to begin burning your skin. It’s also a good idea to keep some sunscreen in your hand bag just in case you decide to take that outside table at the café.

2. Sunscreen is just one part of protecting skin from damage. Two in three Australians will develop skin cancer by the age of 70¹, so it’s important to take as many precautions as possible. Hats, sunglasses and long-sleeved tops made of tightly woven fabric are all good. I never leave home in the summer without my big pink hat!

3. If you live an active outdoors lifestyle, be sure to take special precautions. Put sunscreen by the door that you most often leave the house by, that way you are more likely to see it and remember to apply it.

4. If you’re a parent, make sure you instil healthy habits early. Sun protection by adolescents has declined over the last ten years, due to lack of interest, not knowledge². It’s never too early to begin using sunscreen and everyone from babies to adults should wear sunscreen daily, especially on their face, back of hands and décolletage. It’s also a good idea to toss a spare hat and pair of sunglasses in the car for every member of your family.

5. Get your skin checked. Given that skin cancers account for about 80% of all new cancers diagnosed each year in Australia³, and that Australians are four times more likely to develop a common skin cancer than any other form of cancer⁴, this is really important. There are many skin cancer and/or sunspot clinics nationally and they don’t require a GP’s referral to visit. It’s quick, easy and painless and a great way to ensure you catch any issues early on. 

Dos and Don’ts for Sunscreen

DO make sure you apply plenty of sunscreen. On average, consumers apply half to two thirds of the sunscreen they should to get the SPF on the pack label. This means that if they invested in an SPF30+, in practice they are only getting SPF 10 or 20. There is a common misunderstanding about how much sunscreen to apply and how often we should be reapplying it. Apply more than 1/2 teaspoon (3mL) of sunscreen to each arm, face and neck including the ears. Apply more than 1 teaspoon (6mL) of sunscreen to each leg, front & back of body⁵

DO apply sunscreen whenever you go outdoors. Many people mistake cloudy days as being safer for skin but UV rays can still penetrate through cloud and cause sun damage. The analogy goes ‘if you can see your hand in front of your face, you should to be wearing sunscreen’. This may seem a little extreme but we should all be wearing a SPF 30+ sunscreen like SunSense’s Daily Face every day anyway.

DO make sure you re-apply sunscreen regularly– not just after exercise, swimming or towelling dry. The effectiveness of a sunscreen film on your skin can be reduced after we sweat, spend time in the water or wipe ourselves dry with a towel; up to 85% of sunscreen can be removed by towel drying⁶. It’s also important to consider that when it’s warm outside we are all perspiring all the time. Perspiration pokes holes in the protective film of sunscreen on your skin, so even if you’re sitting under a beach umbrella you need to be re-applying your sunscreen every 2 hours.

DON’T use out of date sunscreen. Any SPF 30+ sunscreen will have a use by date and a recommended storage temperature. It is important to take note of these to ensure the effectiveness of the sunscreen over its lifetime. Don’t keep sunscreen in your car’s glove compartment, and don’t use sunscreen that has gone lumpy, looks separated or smells off. If you store your sunscreen as per the instructions on the pack it will last for the full shelf life. Not all sunscreens have the same shelf life so be sure to check this whenever you buy a new pack.

DON’T use a solarium! The UV intensity of solariums can be 10-15 times that of the midday sun, greatly increasing your risk of melanoma⁷.

DON’T get burnt! In a Summer 2003-4 single weekend survey, 18% of adults got sun burnt and 25% of adolescents got sun burnt⁸. Sunburn is actually a sign of skin in trauma and an indication that changes have already been triggered in your skin that can lead to cancer and premature ageing later on.

Dr Kerryn Greive, PhD is the Head of Research & Development at Ego Pharmaceuticals (SunSense)