It is not a question of numbers, 15, 30, 50, 50 + … The photoprotection is not a magic number next to the wording SPF on the packaging of the sunscreens. It is rather a strategy, made up of gels, ointments and creams of course, but also, above all, of virtuous behavior and awareness of the risk of cancer associated with solar radiation. “More or less for everyone, however, photoprotection is synonymous with SPF, which is perceived as a sort of moloch, a divinity to be adored to wash one’s conscience: with the idea of wearing the filter with the right SPF for our phototype, we end up by we expose ourselves to ultraviolet rays for longer, in the worst hours, and so, paradoxically, instead of protecting the health of the skin we damage it.
Sales grow hand in hand with cancers
“Solar products must be known how to use. But hardly anyone knows how to do it, otherwise we would not explain why the sales curves of these products grow hand in hand with those of skin cancers”. So he speaks Piergiacomo Calzavara-Pintondirector of the Dermatological Clinic of the University of Brescia, member of the board of directors of the European Society for Photodermatology and past president of SIDeMaST, the Italian Society of Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
The “moloch SPF”, as Calzavara-Pinton defined it, indicates the ability of a solar filter to defend us from UVB radiation, which cause sunburn and are the main cause of squamous cell carcinomas. SPF does not provide information on UVA protection, which play an important role in the onset of melanoma and basal cell carcinoma.
The minimum? 30
“The level of protection from UVA rays is indicated by the acronym PPD, Persistent Pigment Darkening. The PPD – he says Mariateresa Rossimedical director at the Dermatology Unit of the Spedali Civili of Brescia – should have a value equal to at least 1/3 of SPF. “For an SPS 30 (which for experts is the minimum protection factor that we would do well to use all) the PPD should be at least 10.
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The definition of SPF
SPF is defined based on the ability to protect against erythema. For example: an SPF 30 causes sunburn with an exposure dose 30 times higher than that expected in the absence of protection. A big difference but very often only theoretical, because such a photoprotective effect is the one obtained by applying 2 milligrams of filter per square centimeter of skin. But all of us, and no one feels excluded, we apply between 0.50 and 1 milligram per square centimeter of sunscreens, to stay wide.
Apply every 2 to 3 hours
“Exactly, that is, a quantity – resumes the dermatologist – which significantly reduces UVB protection, bringing an SPF30 even to 2 or 3”. Apart from baths and dips, sunscreens should be applied every two hours because no product is completely waterproof and because chemical filters, the most present on the market, are molecules that absorb ultraviolet radiation (as opposed to physical filters that reflect them, like a mirror), “and although there are filters that are more photostable than others, all of them degrade after a while, losing effectiveness”, concludes Rossi.
Filters are not all the same
“Filters are not all the same, there are advanced ones, such as tinosorb or mexoryl, and less evolved ones. But each filter has many different names and the solar labels are sometimes illegible even for us – continues the past president of SIDeMaST . So what? “And so we just have to orient our purchases on the basis of the trust we place in the producer – is the advice of Calzavara-Pinton -. Keeping in mind that the quality of a solar is independent of the price, as long as it is a reasonable price. And that there are solar evolved in the pharmacy as in the supermarket “.
Are chemical filters risky?
So, in summary, to protect ourselves from the carcinogenic action of ultraviolet radiation, yes to solar, and in the right amount. But since we are talking about products that we apply to the skin daily during the summer, isn’t there the possibility of a toxicological risk linked to skin absorption? “Some chemical filters are so micronized that they can pass through the epidermis, but systemic absorption has been observed in experimental conditions and in animal models, not in humans and not in real conditions of use of the filters,” he says. Giuseppe Monfrecola, professor at Federico II in Naples and former director of the Dermatology specialization school in the same university. “Some studies have shown that oxybenzone and octinoxate – Monfrecola continues – interfere with the production of testosterone and estrogen, but also in this case it is an effect observed on mouse models. Furthermore – reassures the expert – we talk about filters less and less used by companies, precisely because they are observed special “.
Protect us from cancer and protect the planet
As of January 1, 2021, the state of Hawaii has banned the sale and use of sunscreen with oxybenzone and octinoxate, strongly suspected of bleaching corals and interfering with the reproduction of fish and other animal species. After Hawaii, in the name of the health of the seas, the Virgin Islands and some areas of French Polynesia have banned the sale of certain types of filters.
“It’s time to think about skin cancer prevention in the context of planet health,” wrote the authors of an article published in Lancet Planetary Health close to the decision of the Hawaiian government. “To better assess the potential effects of solar energy on the environment we clearly need more studies.”
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In the meantime, however, they also decided to emphasize the advantages and usefulness of other behaviors, for example, they said, staying more in the shade, wearing protective clothing and using sun products with physical filters, “which recently, in some islands , they are the only ones allowed “, adds Rossi. “It is clear that the balance of marine ecosystems is a complex issue, and that pollution from sunscreens is only one piece of the problem. However – he concludes – to protect the planet it is ethical to implement actions like this too,”.
Photoprotection without filters: vitamins and supplements
What are we talking about? Of everything that does not apply and is not spread, and that although it does not replace the sunscreens, it complements them. And that is, first of all, let’s talk about vitamins and antioxidants: the former protect us from the harmful action of UVB, antioxidants especially from oxidative damage from UVA. “Vitamin B3 or niacin – says Calzavara-Pinton – is the only ingredient offered by the NHS to those who have had carcinomas, but it can be used by anyone, then there are also vitamins A and D”.
The antioxidants have a vegetable origin and range from tea extracts, to turmeric, to resveratrol “they are many, they are a world – says the specialist – much studied and Polypodium leucotomosextracted from a tropical fern “.
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Photoprotective fabrics
For those who spend a lot of time under the sun, such as children or sportsmen, photoprotective clothing is on the market. The fabrics do not lose their effectiveness with time or with baths and have a certified protection index with a UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) value which is the equivalent of SPF of sunscreens.
When to expose yourself to avoid taking risks? The app tells you
Finally, there is digital photoprotection: applications that geolocate you, with satellite technology, identify the irradiance of the sun in the place where you are and at any time of the day, and which calculate how long you can stay in the sun without getting burned. There is more than one in the stores for apple or android (to get an idea just look for them on search engines by typing apps for digital photoprotection, ed). “It is clear – concludes Calzavara-Pinton – that not even the digital photoprotection replaces the solar ones, but it also helps to become aware”.