Daily Sunscreen Saves Your Skin

Thursday, June 6th, 2013

Although I have been preaching use of sunscreen to protect skin aging for years, a new study from Australia has now provided the strongest evidence yet to support my contention. Regular sunscreen use keeps your skin looking younger. The study which examined skin casts of 903 patients over 4 ½ years and was published June 3^rd in the Annals of Internal Medicine showed conclusively that use of sunscreen regularly fights wrinkles. Previous studies suggesting the importance of sunscreen use were all done in animals. This is the first conclusive study in humans and it showed a 24% decrease in skin aging in those using daily broad-spectrum sunscreen over those who used it whenever they thought about it. This is a huge difference for such a short study, especially when the control group occasionally also used sunscreen. Broad-spectrum sunscreens are those that block both UVB (those rays present mid-day in the summer causing sun Burn and relatively easy to block) and UVA (deeper penetrating rays present all day, year around, and at all latitudes making up 97% of the UV rays and thought most responsible for Aging). Interestingly, the FDA instituted new labeling rules last December requiring better labeling of broad-spectrum sunscreens rather than the old SPF system that indicated only blockage of UVB. However, not all of these are equal. For practicality, we recommend use of a sunscreen containing Zinc Oxide of from 5-12%. This blocks both UVA and UVB and only has to be reapplied again if it rubs off. We carry four different brands all personally tested to reduce the risk of reaction.