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q&a by sally penford question time Sally Penford answers your skin care questions


Q: Try as Imight to educatemy younger clients on the perils of UV exposure, they just don’t seemto care about the dangers.How can I convince themthat sunscreen is critical?


A:Two health education videos were shown to a group of teens – one describes the increased skin cancer risk of UV exposure and the other describes effects on appearance including wrinkles and premature ageing.Which of these two videos do you think caused teenagers to usemore sunscreen six weeks after it was shown?


The University of Colorado Cancer Centre study published in the Journal of the AmericanAcademy of Dermatology shows that while teens who watched both videos learned and retained the same amount of knowledge about UV light and sun-protective behaviours, only the teens who watched the appearance-based video (and not the health- based video) actually changed these behaviours. Inmy experience of working with professional skin therapists, this also holds true ofmost adults.We can talk skin cancer until we are blue in the face but it’s only when we use words like wrinkles, loss of elasticity, hyperpigmentation and ageing that people really start listening.


So if that’s what it takes to have themasses use sunscreen on a daily basis, here goes, let’s talk sun damage and ageing in consumer terms.


Pigment changes caused by the sun –There is amisnomer that as long as I don’t burnmy skin and build up a tan gradually that there’s no harmdone.The truth is that a tanned skin is a damaged skin.Themelanin pigment produced as you tan is actually a defense mechanismthat kicks in to guard the precious DNA in the cells against damage fromUV. The problemis that daily exposure to UV, even when the weather is not particularly sunny,may cause the pigment producing cells to go haywire.This can lead to hyperpigmented patches where pigment clumps together. Large lentigines, often


known as age spots or liver spots, can be seen on the face chest, shoulders, arms, upper back and on the backs of hands.These are not actually age related but sun-damage related. UV exposure can also cause hypopigmentation or white spots, especially on the legs, but also on the backs of the hands and arms, asmelanocytes are destroyed.


Texture changes caused by the sun – UV exposure causes thickening of the skin as again it tries to protect itself against UV penetration. Skin cells are layered in a haphazard fashion which leaves texture rough and uneven. I liken this to a lake.When the lake is calmand even, light bounces off the surface and creates beautiful shimmer and colour.When the water is uneven and choppy however, no light is thrown and colours are dimand gloomy.The smoother andmore even your skin, themore it will reflect light and appear luminous.


Wrinkles – In the dermis, UV radiation causes collagen to break down at a higher rate than with just chronologic ageing. Sunlight damages collagen fibres and causes the accumulation of abnormal elastin.When this sun-induced elastin accumulates, enzymes calledmetalloproteinases (MMPs) are produced in large quantities.TheseMMPs actually break down collagen resulting in the formation of disorganised collagen fibres known as solar scars.When the skin repeats this imperfect rebuilding process over and over, wrinkles develop.


Skin lesions caused by the sun – UV radiation causes an increased number ofmoles in sun-exposed areas. Sun exposure also causes precancerous lesions called actinic keratoses that develop especially on the face, ears and backs of the hands.These are small


crusty bumps that can often be felt, better than they can be seen.Actinic keratoses are felt to be pre-malignant lesions because 1 in 100 cases per year will develop into squamous cell carcinoma. UV exposure also causes seborrheic dermatitis, which are warty looking lesions that appear to be ‘stuck on’ the skin. In contrast to actinic keratoses, seborrheic keratoses do not become cancerous.


the solution


Educate clients about the need for daily broad spectrumdaylight defence as the last step in theirmorning regimen.A shift is necessary in how we think about UV protection – from ‘sun’ to ‘daylight’ protection, year-round.The “I’mindoors all day” excuse also doesn’t stick, since we now know that UV penetrates glass.Thismeans that ageing UV damage reaches us through the windows of our home, office and car!Also, simply staying in the shademay not be enough since UV rays bounce back off all surfaces including snow, concrete, sand and water.


Consumers also have to keep inmind that SPF products, thoughmore advanced in terms of formulation and technology than ever before, are notmagic.Most people don’t apply enough product and do not reapply frequently enough.Make it visual – a teaspoon of product for the face, applied every two hours when outdoors and a one-ounce, shot-glass sized for the body.


Just as there is no such thing as a ‘healthy’ cigarette, there is no such thing as a ‘safe’ tan fromthe sun.The good news is that new technology andmore precise regulations allow consumers to be better-informed and better- protected fromUV damage every day.


Sally Penford is UK and Ireland EducationManager for The International Dermal Institute, with a breadth of knowledge across all skin care concerns.


t: 08000 564 544


w: www.dermalinstitute.co.uk @Dermalinsitute


158 GUILD NEWS


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