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Summer’s coming! What you need to know to protect yourself from the sun’s harmful rays

By Staff | May 12, 2009

What You Need to Know About Melanoma

May is Melanoma month and the people at LUCA Sunscreen LLC feel it’s very important that the public is educated about this form of skin cancer. Melanoma is the most deadly of all skin cancers and incidences of melanoma and are doubling every 10 to 20 years.

The lifetime risk of developing melanoma was 1/1,500 in 1935; in 2002 it was 1/68. Metastatic melanoma is one of the most deadly of all malignancies. Testing of sunscreens in Australia has reduced the incidence of certain types of skin cancer (basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas), but has led to an apparent increase in melanoma incidences.

This is not that surprising if one looks closely at how sunscreens work and what causes melanoma and its increased incidence. In the U.S., the movement of large segments of the population to Sunbelt areas results in increased leisure hours spent in the sun and poor sun-protective strategies.

It is now known that sun-induced melanomas are caused predominately by UVA exposure, so it is imperative to seek out a sunscreen with high levels of UVA protection.

Sun Strategies for lowering lifetime melanoma and skin cancer risk:

1. Do not sunburn. Sunburn, particularly early in life, increases lifetime risk of melanoma and skin cancer development. Watch your children and remember a burn can occur after as little as 10 minutes of unprotected sun exposure.

2. Apply generous amounts of a quality sunscreen. Most consumers apply only half of the recommended amount.

3. Apply a broad spectrum sunscreen, meaning a sunscreen with high levels of UVB and UVA protection.

4. Apply sunscreen to dry skin, before going outside. Sunscreen applied to wet or sweaty skin is not very effective.

5. Sunscreens are vital, but are not a golden bullet. Use common sense. Use sun protective clothes and hat, together with shade, when possible.

6. An SPF15 sunscreen will provide 2 hours of protection before a burn develops, with an SPF 30 providing 4 hours before a developing burn. The current SPF methodology breaks down as a reliable predictor of burn protection when one reaches an SPF of 30-33.

SPF values above this level are pure marketing, and should be avoided. SPFs over 33 are of marginal additional benefit, but have guaranteed higher active ingredient levels, which increase the risk of irritation.

How to select a “good” sunscreen

1. Sunscreens were designed to protect against the sunburn producing UVB rays. SPF tells about the level of UVB or burn protection, but provides no information about the level of UVA protection. UVA rays do not cause sunburn, but are the cause of solar aging and sun-induced melanoma.

Use of a sunscreen with good UVB but poor UVA protection will allow one to stay out in the sun all day long without burning, but “cooking” themselves with UVA rays. This is the “Australian Paradox:” increase in sunscreen at the same time as increase in melanoma rates.

2. Select a sunscreen with a known level of UVA protection. The gold standard for rating UVA protection is critical wavelength. The American Academy of Dermatology is recommending that consumers use products with a critical wavelength of 370nm and higher.

LUCA, Critical Wavelength, BioSoleil, Hincapie Skin Defense and other higher-quality products are beginning to provide this information on the label. If you’re using a product with a critical wavelength below 370nm, you are likely increasing your risk of melanoma. Most products have critical wavelength values below 370nm, so watch out!

This information is provided as a public service from LUCA Sunscreen.