Sun Protection does it really matter?

by Nisha Ganasen

If you hate using sunscreen, well, you are not alone. There was a point in time sunscreen was one of those steps considered to be the core of the skincare routine most of the time.

It is simply because of the experience and the feel it gives when we apply it on our skin after having a luxurious cleansing, serum, and moisturizer moment. However, the least sexy part of the skin care routine plays the most important role in saving our skin from harmful lights.

While we need sunlight in our lives, over-exposure to the sun’s rays can be harmful for our skin. Also over a year now, everyone’s lives have undergone many changes because of the pandemic. We stay in the house a lot more which can cause changes in our skin care routine. This is when people think that it is not necessary to use sun protection because they avoid being exposed to the sun rays by staying indoors. Unfortunately it is a false belief.

Mother and Daughter applies sunscreen while their stay on sunny beach

(Source: News Straits Times)

Protection against skin damage

A senior consultant dermatologist, Dr Seah Hood Pau said, “The skin is being damaged by harmful lights called HEV (High Energy Visible) lights, that are excreted from computer, tablet and phone screens.”

“Sometimes sunlight can even pass through our house glass window, and we will not be aware of it.”

“So yes it is really important to wear sunscreen during day time,” said Dr. Seah.

It should be a daily routine to apply some sort of sun protection before stepping out of your home. Here are more reasons why you simply cannot afford to skip this step and it applies to both women and men.

Secondly, it helps to maintain an even looking skin tone. One of the most telling signs of too much sun exposure on a person’s skin, especially the face and neck, is an uneven skin tone. This may be seen as patches of darker skin or different tones in several areas of the face and neck. Regularly applying sun protection all over the face and neck will help even out your skin tone and give it a more balanced look, which can be observed when taking a close up picture.

Keeps skin safe from premature skin aging.

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, 90% of premature aging is caused by over-exposure to sun rays. Who wants to look older before their time? No one! In fact we don’t want to look aged, period! All we want is youthful, radiant and healthy looking skin.

However, excessive exposure to UV rays can increase the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and it does not take much sunlight on a daily basis for the skin to start reaping these negative effects! Using a good sunscreen can help protect against the harmful effect of premature aging of skin aging and keep you looking younger, longer!

Actually it is true that Asians' skin does have a good natural barrier against the sun, and they reveal their aging a couple of years later than Caucasians, but they still need sunscreen.

Dr Zeenat Meraj, a Dermatologist in United Hospital Bangladesh had stated in a conference that asian people need to apply sunscreen because they can experience skin irregularities because of UV rays. This barrier damage will be visible once we start to age, which are often too far down the line to be treated.

Moreover she believes that people who have more collagen with darker skin tone will be affected by hyper-pigmentation. This is caused by leftover scarring from the spot, which will get even worse if the person did not have any sun protection, as stated in The Indian Express.

Reduces the risk of skin cancer.

Let’s face it- while we can’t ignore the truth about the cancer causing effect of the sun’s harsh rays on our skin, we can’t possibly stay indoors for the rest of our lives! In 2006, the National Cancer Registry of Malaysia published statistics that revealed that skin cancer occurred in 295 people in a 100,000 population.

Patients admitted that denial was the most frequent reason for putting off seeing the doctor about a suspicious lesion on the skin, accounting for 71% of all cases of skin cancer.

A good sun protection will be useful and effective in reducing the risk of developing a variety of skin cancer, especially dreaded melanoma. This type of cancer is known to be extremely aggressive and can be life threatening, particularly those in their 20s.

However, sun protection steps have to be taken daily to reap its protective benefit- over weeks and months!

It is really important to consider your skin when selecting a product.

“Allergy or acne-prone skin have to avoid fragrance or preservative product when buying one, it may cause you to break out, and make sure the sunscreen has a broad spectrum protection to ensure you are protected from the sun’s harmful rays and remember to reapply every 3 hours,” added Dr Seah.