Studies show most of us still don't use high factor suncream
Here’s a thought that might have you running for the nearest tube of sunscreen. For the first time in the UK, more than 10,000 people over 55 were diagnosed with melanoma – the most dangerous form of skin cancer – last year, according to Cancer Research UK. Indeed, rates of skin cancers in the over-55s have risen by a staggering 155 per cent in the past 20 years – they're rising among younger people, too, but at a rate of 63 per cent. This is, after all, the generation that pioneered the package holiday, who in the Sixties and Seventies let nothing but a little olive oil get between their limbs and a tan. We’ve come a long way since then and now we all know we need high-factor sunscreen. Yet studies show most of us still don’t use it. What’s more, the rules have changed again, with some sunscreens not as effective as we think and new warnings about unfamiliar types of sun rays. Here, we talk to the experts about the new rules of skin and sun.
Don’t bother with once-a-day sunscreen
Apply more
Only about 14 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women report wearing sunscreen. Even when they do, they use around half what they need. You need two milligrams of sun cream per centimetre squared of skin, says Dr Noor Almaani, consultant dermatologist at the King Edward VII NHS Hospital in Windsor and The Private Clinic of Harley Street, London. “Use about a teaspoon for the face and neck, six teaspoons for the whole body and about three to four teaspoons for a child,” she says.
While the most common area of melanoma skin cancer in men is the back, in women it’s the lower leg, often neglected when it comes to sunscreen, especially by women who exercise outdoors in summer, says Dr Mahto.
Protecting children is paramount – five severe sunburns before the age of 18 can double your risk of developing melanoma skin cancer in later life – but be careful with babies. “Babies under six months should not have sunscreen applied to them because their skin is too thin and sensitive to the chemicals,” says Dr Mahto. “They should be kept out of the sun altogether.”
When it comes to sun protective clothing for adults and children, Dr Lowe recommends Sun Precautions, Coolibar and Sunsibility. This is particularly important if you or your child have skin diseases such as eczema in which skin flakes. “Flaking means sunscreens won’t stick to the skin,” says Dr Lowe. “You should be using sun-protective clothing as well.”