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Healthy sunbathing

The sun is coming out again, great for a healthy tan. But is that color really that healthy? Unfortunately not, the sun is the biggest cause of skin aging. The sun can dry out your skin, which can make the skin look flaky, wrinkled or dull. In addition, pigmentation disorders can occur, which can cause pigmentation spots. Furthermore, the sun can also damage the collagen in your skin, which can cause your skin to lose firmness and elasticity and fine lines and wrinkles can become visible more quickly.

In the long term, excessive exposure to the sun increases the risk of skin cancer. The number of people diagnosed with skin cancer has doubled in the past thirty years, from 56,000 in 1989 to 116,000 in 2018. Skin cancer is the second most common cancer in both men and women. The main cause of skin cancer is sunlight. Sunbathing or under a sunbed too often and for too long leads to serious skin damage. Light-skinned people who burn quickly in the sun have a greater risk of developing skin cancer than people with a lot of pigment in their skin.

Should we stay out of the sun completely then? Certainly not, sunlight is the main source of vitamin D and we need this vitamin to stay healthy. It ensures strong bones, teeth and plays an important role in good resistance. Your body makes vitamin D when you are in the sun. For most people it is sufficient to be exposed to the sun for 15 minutes to 30 minutes daily with hands and face. Unfortunately, your skin does not endlessly produce vitamin D and sitting in the sun unprotected for longer does not ensure more vitamin D production.

The Dutch Society for Dermatology and Venereology (NVDV) recommends meaningful protection against sunburn with a minimum protection factor of 15. Too high protection factors may block the desired production of Vitamin D. Protection factors higher than 30 are usually not necessary or even desirable. The best advice is therefore a factor of 15 for daily use and a factor of 30 for leisure and vacation.

Even in people with skin cancer, these protective factors are sufficient. The advice applies to everyone to apply every two hours and to apply again every time after swimming or excessive sweating. Does the brand still matter? Yes, always choose a well-known brand, not too cheap, stating the Sun Protection Factor (SPF) for UVB and UVA, or the Persistent Pigmentation Darkening factor (PPD) for UVA, stating the composition and expiration date.

If you have been in the sun for too long and you suffer from sun-damaged skin, such as fine lines or pigmentation, there are fortunately many options available today to treat them. Both fine lines and pigmentation spots can be tackled with a chemical peel, high doses of vitamin C, retinol or vitamin A acid. The Tixel can also be used for this, the skin is heated very briefly by a matrix of small titanium pyramids, which ensures rapid ablation (evaporation) of the old skin and the pigment.