Do I need to wear SPF50 every day?

The sun is shining, it’s getting warmer, hayfever is raising its head and that can only mean one thing… Summer is on its way!

With Summer comes preparation and maintenance of our skin. Did you know that skin is our largest organ? Yes, it’s an organ just like our heart and lungs and it needs looking after too. Most of us love to have that ‘just returned from holiday’ look. A golden tan makes us feel fantastic but did you also know that every time our skin colour changes to red or brown as a result of sunlight, it means our skin has already been damaged!

Whether we like it or not, we will all show some signs of ageing as we get older. We’re not able to control all types of ageing and that which we can’t control is called intrinsic or chronological ageing. Whilst we can’t control this, we can change our exposure to environmental factors that increase signs of ageing, like regular exposure to high and low temperatures, smoking, and alcohol consumption. One of the main environmental factors that ages our skin is ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun. In fact, it’s estimated that 90% of skin ageing is because of the sun and both UVA and UVB rays – which affect different layers of our skin. UVB rays burn the more superficial layer, the epidermis, whilst the UVA rays are the ones that penetrate deeper and speed up the ageing process and can lead to skin cancer.

Take a look at this lorry driver from the USA – note his “driving side” which has aged over his 28-year career due to exposure to UVA rays which have penetrated the glass! Scary isn’t it?

The sun causes proteins in our skin to deteriorate, leading to the loss of our youthful appearance over time. On the bright side, this type of ageing can be prevented with proper sun protection. Our skin already contains special cells (melanocytes) that produce melanin, which darkens and protects us from the sun. The darker our natural skin colour is, the more melanocytes our skin already has protecting it.

For those of us not blessed with lots of melanocytes, the next best thing is sun protection, usually in the form of a lotion. At Jayne Taylor Aesthetics we advise everyone to wear a high sun protection factor (SPF) all year round (yes, you can burn on a sunny day in Winter and you can tan through the clouds). Our favourite products are made by Obagi, Heliocare and Dermaceutic and are stocked in the clinic. All products have an SPF of 50 which blocks out 98% of UV rays helping to prevent sun damage and premature ageing. Some of our products are tinted for those who prefer to wear a light feeling sun protection instead of foundation. Talk to us when you’re next in the clinic, we even have samples for you to try.