Sunscreen questions

Q: Does everybody need sun protection?

A: Some facts about the sun
5% of wrinkles caused by other factors
95% of wrinkles caused by sun
more than 90% of skin cancers are the result of sun exposure
Using SPF 15 during the first 18 yrs of life lowers skin cancer odds by 80%

Q: What does SPF mean?

A: SPF stands for sun protection factor. The FDA uses the rating for UVB only, not UVA. In theory SPF indicates how long you can stay in the sun without burning, for example if you can stay in the sun without burning, with an spf 2 you can stay in the sun for 20 minutes without burning. However this only works up to a point—SPF 30 does not mean you can stay out in the sun 30 times longer without burning.
If you start with a baseline of SPF 15, SPF 30 means they’ve doubled the concentration of the active sun protective agents, but your sun protection isn’t doubled, it goes up incrementally. You have about 93% protection with SPF 15, and 97% protection with SPF 30.

Q: there are different kinds of sunscreens aren’t there?

A: Yes, there are chemical sunscreens which absorb UV rays, lowering energy levels and releasing energy as heat. At higher concentrations they may irritate skin—about 15% of the population will break out from a sunscreen product.

Q: Aren’t there some chemicals that have been linked to cancer?

A: A study by the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Zurich tested six common chemicals used in sunscreens—five of the six, including benzophenone-3 and octylmethoxycinnimate behaved like strong estrogens in lab tests and caused cancer cells to grow rapidly. We also know that these chemicals don’t protect in the higher ranges of UVA.

Q: Do we need UVA protection as well?

A: UVA are the long wave, low energy part of the spectrum. Here’s what they do:
Aging rays, penetrate glass, enter dermis, sunrise to sunset
Cross-link collagen and elastin
Damage DNA
Turns melanin darker
1000x more prevalent than UVB
cause hyperpigmentation and broken capillaries

UVB rays are the burning rays:
Penetrate to epidermis, present between 10am and 4 pm
Causes edema redness cataracts
Linked to squamous and basal cell carcinoma

So UVA protection is important but SPF only takes into consideration UVB. Look for sunscreen that says full-spectrum protection, but even there you have to be careful. Not all UVA protection is equal.

Q: What do you mean it’s not all equal?

A: UVA protection is very tricky. UVA are the long wavelengths of the UV spectrum, measuring from 320 to 400 nm. Products with avobenzone in them can say they protect against UVA because they protect in the 320-400nm range—what they don’t tell you is that it degrades after about 30 minutes in sunlight. There’s a method in use in Japan and Europe to measure UVA protection called PPD—or persistent pigment darkening.

Q: Does the US have a method for measuring UVA protection?

A: no, we don’t use PPD much yet. However, there are some ingredients found in natural sun blocks that protect well against UVA. Zinc oxide and titanium oxide.

Q: Do they both offer the same degree of protection?

A; TiO2 protects up to about 360 nm. ZnO protects up to 400 nm, so offers full range protection. ZnO is a physical sunblock, and works by reflecting the UV rays, so it is non-irritating. Zinc oxide is also anti-inflammatory so it, in my estimation, gives you the best protection with the lowest risk.

Q: So, look for zinc oxide in your sun protection?

A: Yes, but sun protection is such a minefield. Bear in mind that if you want good UVA protection you should look for non-micronized versions of ZnO—the smaller the particle the less UVA protection you are getting. To summarize:
Physical blocks
ZnO—UVA protection up to 400nm
Zcote—up to 400 nm but less PPD (because transparent)
TiO2—protection up to 360 nm
Chemical sunscreen
Avobenzone—up to 400 nm for 30 minutes, may irritate skin


Q: You’ve recently published a book, The Yoga Facelift. Are you doing any workshops or book signings?

A: I am going to be doing a workshop at the Kripalu Yoga Center in the Berkshires next month. Aug 17-19. You can go to their website kripalu.org to find out about it, or go to my website marieveronique .com if you have questions about sun protetion or skin care questions in general.