With beach season on the horizon, we’ve rounded up the most useful tips, tricks and advice to look (and feel) your sultriest this summer.
Dr Nicholas Stewart, a dermatologist of The Skin Hospital, talks sunblock.
"Apply and reapply often. One application in the morning is not enough for a whole day at the beach. Sunscreens act as a temporary shield, which must be replaced. Reapply every 2-4 hours – more frequently if you are sweating or swimming."
"Give sunscreen enough time to form a uniform layer and ‘set’ after application. This is why you should wait 15-20 minutes after applying before going in the sun."
"Be thorough. The part lines of the scalp, tops and bulbs of ears, behind the ears and tops of feet are all commonly missed. I’ve removed several skin cancers from the part line of the scalp in young women – applying sunscreen and moving the hair part can help avoid this."
"You’d be surprised where I’ve seen skin cancers. The soles of the feet, palms of the hands, toenails and fingernails can all be affected, and I’ve cut out a skin cancer from the armpit in a middle-aged man, which is normally a very sun-protected site."
"Sun damage can occur for hours after exposure, so keep that in mind even after you’re home from a day at the beach”
- Dr Ronald Moy, DNARenewal
"The frustrating thing about sun protection is that a lot of people feel like they do everything right to no avail," says Dr Ronald Moy of DNARenewal. "But people forget to reapply sunscreen, and some are more genetically predisposed to burning so even if you take every precaution, you still get burnt (albeit less harshly than if you hadn’t taken the precaution)."
Avoid long stretches in direct sun, and use a combination physical/chemical sunscreen, ideally one with DNA repair enzymes, which "work like seamstresses, going in and cutting out damaged DNA and repairing the rest", explains Dr Moy.
Pay extra attention to sunburn hotspots, the scalp and hair part line, nose, cheeks, shoulders and legs.
"Generally, burns take one week to heal, but the process could be sped up by supplementing your skin’s natural DNA repair enzymes," explains Dr Moy.
By Sherine Youssef, Marie Claire (October issue)
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