Screen Test

None of us is using enough sunscreen. Apparently each year the average Kiwi gets through only 41ml – that’s about a Coke can’s worth. The experts say we need to use a golf ball amount for the body each time we apply and two pea-sized blobs for the face. Ideally we’d put it on half an hour before sun exposure and reapply every two hours.

Tinted moisturisers and foundations often have an SPF. While these are adequate if you’re mostly going to be indoors, on days of higher sun exposure – if you’re gardening or playing sport for instance – you need to apply a proper sunscreen first.

Layering doesn’t really work. Even if you’re wearing several creams and lotions that contain an SPF, you’re only protected up to the highest factor one you’ve used. However, layering SPF products does mean there’s more chance of you getting a proper coverage (we tend to apply sunscreen blotchily rather than evenly) so it’s still worth doing.

High SPFs are a good idea. We can now buy an SPF100 in New Zealand. It doesn’t mean you can stay out for hours longer or not bother reapplying – just that you’ve increased your chances of being protected.

Bright days with white clouds are when UV rays are their strongest. Sand, water and snow create reflection which makes them more damaging. And the higher the altitude the more UV there is. It’s the UVB rays that burn skin and the UVA rays that cause the irreversible damage. And don’t forget UVA can penetrate glass and is present even on cloudy days.

UV is only a small part of light. It’s also made up of visible light and infrared light. We’re only just learning what effect they have on the skin but it’s believed they may cause free-radical damage – one of the reasons why sunscreen makers have begun to include skin-defending antioxidants in the mix.

We all know why we need to use sunscreen – the risk of skin cancer and the ageing effects of the sun like wrinkles and brown spots – so I’m not going to go into all that here!