How to keep your skin safe during the summer
Summer is the time of the year to be extra vigilant about protecting your skin from the itchy and painful menace of solar erythema — a.k.a., sunburns.
While they may seem like temporary nuisances that go away after a couple of weeks, don’t be fooled. Sunburns may actually lead to an increased risk of skin cancers such as melanoma, as ultraviolet radiation can cause damage to DNA in skin cells.
“Sunburn is a sign of skin damage,” said dermatologist Dr. Kristen Whitney of Allegheny Health Network. “The more sunburns that you have over the course of your life, the greater the risk of skin cancer. The risk of melanoma will double with a history of five or more sunburns.”
What causes sunburn has nothing to do with heat, but rather ultraviolet rays from the sun. There are three main types of UV rays — UVA, which can reach as far as the inner layer of the skin (the dermis); UVB, which reaches only as far as the outer layer (the epidermis); and UVC, which is completely blocked by the earth’s ozone layer. UVB rays are responsible for most sunburns.
“The sun is basically radiating the skin, and there're cells within the skin that make pigment that are called melanocytes,” Whitney said. “With the sun's radiation and damage that you're getting, it's basically triggering those cells to try to make more pigment to protect the skin from the radiation.”
While sunburn theoretically can happen at any point during the year, even during the winter, it is most often associated with the summer, as ultraviolet radiation from the sun is stronger during the summer months.
Furthermore, summer is more likely to draw people outside, and those people are less likely to be wearing clothing that would protect their skin.
“Of course, we think of it more in the summer months when the weather is very warm and you're wearing less clothing,” Whitney said. “But we really recommend sunscreen year-round. Even on cloudy days in the fall and the winter.”
Not all sunscreens are made alike. To find the sunscreen that’s right for you, pay close attention to the label where it says SPF, which stands for Sun Protection Factor — the amount of UV radiation the sunscreen is capable of blocking.
“That SPF number actually tells us the amount that the sunscreen will filter out UVB rays,” Whitney said. “An SPF of 15, for example, means that it will filter out about 93% of UV rays. 30 will filter out 97%, 50 will filter out 98%, but nothing will filter out 100%.”
Not all sunscreens look the same when they come out of the container, either. While most are the standard white creamy type, others come in spray bottles, while still others come in gel or foam form.
“I can give (patients) a a list of sunscreens that I like, but in the end, it's what you like that you'll use,” Whitney said. “Everybody kind of has a preference as far as formulation and maybe a certain odor or fragrance.”
A good way to measure what strength of sunblock is necessary for any given day is to check out the daily “UV index” for your area. This can be done by logging on to any weather site.
The UV index measures the amount of UV radiation on any given day, on a scale that goes from 1 to 11+. A UV index of 1-2 is considered low, while 8-10 is “very high” and 11+ is considered “extreme.”
“It tells you the amount of UV radiation that could potentially damage the skin,” Whitney said. “It kind of hints to you at how much sun protection you need. So if the UV index is extremely low, you could get away with an SPF of 15.”
Depending on where you go, you may not even have to pay for sunscreen. Some state parks in Pennsylvania, such as Moraine State Park and Jennings Environmental Education Center, offer free sunscreen courtesy of Pennylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
The sunscreen comes from hands-free “Sun Station USA” dispensers which work similarly to public hand-sanitizer stations. At Moraine, these dispensers are available at the safety kiosk near each of the park’s swimming areas.
However, Dustin Drew, the park manager at Moraine and McConnells Mill, says that the onus is on park guests to make sure their skin stays safe.
“It is largely the visitor’s responsibility to protect themselves while they are visiting our park,” Drew said. “Wearing clothing that fully covers skin, reapplying sunblock at regular intervals and after being in the water, and wearing a wide-brimmed hat are all options that would be beneficial.”
