With the temperature soar lately many of us students have been relaxing in parks and generally taking our skins in to the forbidden outdoors. During the winter we have been like hermits inside in the warm cooped up away from the outside...studying of course. As lovely and unusual as it is relaxing in the sun, it could be damaging our skin.
A recent survey by SunSmart says that 9 out of 10 people in the UK could be putting their lives at risk by not using sun screen correctly. In fact in the UK 42 percent of people do not reapply sunscreen every 2 hours or do not apply any at all. Many students apply sunscreen while on holiday but simply forget to apply it whilst at home despite the fact that the sun in the UK is just as damaging. Elsa Buchanan 22 London Metropolitan student from France proved this theory “I don’t usually wear sunscreen in London, the sun doesn’t feel hot enough to burn me.”
Sunscreen is a product that reflects some of the suns harmful UV radiation from the skin exposed to sunlight and thus protects us from sunburn. 46 percent of people are confused by what SPF actually means and think that SPF 30 offers double the protection of SPF 15, the lowest protection advised to wear. This is a common misapprehension and in fact SPF 30 only filters out 3 percent more harmful UV rays.
Many students interviewed used SPF 10-12 which does not give sufficient protection from the sun at all, even if re-applied hourly. Charlotte Sundburg a journalism student at London Metropolitan University said “I only wear sunscreen sometimes if I know I’m going to be outdoors all day. If I remember I usually apply sun factor 12 a few times in a day.”
The SPF is a libratory measure of the effectiveness of the sunscreen. SPF is not directly related to the time of solar exposure but the amount and so must be re-applied no matter how high the SPF is to avoid sunburn. Caroline Cerny, Cancer Research UK’s SunSmart manager, said “It’s really concerning that people don’t know how to use sunscreen properly. Sunscreen only works if you put enough on. You can’t make up for a thin layer by increasing the factor you use”.
There are two types of harmful UV rays that we must protect ourselves from. UVB is responsible for the majority of sunburns and UVA penetrates deeper in to the skin causing ageing. There is also another UV ray called UVC which is even more harmful but thankfully we are protected from that by the ozone layer, for now. Again many students including Kelly Jones 27 drama student at Central argue “my mum never wore sun protection when she was my age and she has great skin and hasn’t got cancer”.
The fact is that when our parents were our age the ozone layer was a lot thicker and so protected us more than it does now and unfortunately melanomas can lie dormant showing no signs for years. Sunburn is a clear sign of sun damage to the skin cells DNA from UV rays. Damaged DNA can cause cells to start growing out of control and this can lead to skin cancer. Getting a painful sunburn just once every two years can triple the risk of a melanoma, which is the most serious type of skin cancer.
Caroline Cerny added “Rates of the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma, are on the rise in the UK, so we really want people to take note of what they can do to protect themselves. Applying sunscreen regularly and generously is a start, but don’t forget to take other steps to reduce your risk as well, such as covering up with clothes, sunglasses, and spending time in the shade when the sun is at its hottest. Whatever you do, don’t let sunburn catch you out.”
So students’ great and small I urge you to remember that the sun is harmful and to protect yourselves against deadly sun damage!
