Heading into summer (I hope!), I've started reviewing my regime for protecting my skin from sunburn and sun damage. I'm fair-skinned and freckly and had my fair share of sunburns as a child and teenager. My mother was very hot on sunscreen/protection and I've learned how to prevent sunburn.
However, as I've got older, I've noticed an increasing tendency to develop spots of no pigmentation at all (tiny white dots on my lower arms) and blotches of darker pigmentation (on my face, particularly the temples and cheeks near my ears). The blotchy dark spots on my face have been of increasing concern to me. The first really noticeable 'outbreak' was in 2003, when we had a real scorcher of a summer across all of northern Europe... and I did a two-week road trip in a classic convertible in 40C heat!
Then last year, while things weren't so 'hot' at home,
we spent three weeks in the USA, including two weeks in west/central Wyoming with temps around 35C and constant drying winds. Our week in Oregon wasn't much 'better' - temps just as hot, although we were more comfortable as we were able to escape up into the mountains during the day and sit in the shade and/or splash in icy streams. Nonetheless, when I looked at photographs afterwards, I could see noticeable blotches on my temples emerging towards the end of our holiday.
Over the winter, those blotches have faded considerably, assisted by various fading creams. (I've found these do work though it does take time and I'm not so sure about the safety of using them long-term.)
Looking ahead to what is shaping up into a cycling-intensive summer (with rides of 50+ miles most weekends), I've been doing some research on how best to protect against this kind of sun damage, since it's this kind of thing -- more than 'simple' sunburn -- that poses skin cancer risks.
Readers with similar concerns no doubt already know about UVA and UVB and the SPF system, etc etc. The basis info and definitions are quite simple and uncontested so I won't go into them. However, it's when you start trying to shop for effective, safe products -- armed with the facts as you know them -- that it all turns into a quagmire of contradictions and confusion.
So far the best summary that I've found on where the data may steer you in your search for protection is on the Natural Beauty Cabinet blog. Perhaps I've found it of most help to me because the writer's experiences and motivations were very similar to mine. Most importantly, however, everything she says is in line with the most credible information I've found online, namely the reports from EWG (Environmental Working Group). The EWG is a US organisation but it's completely up to date on regulations and industry practice in the EU as well (which it says is, in many ways, well ahead of the US in the relevant sciences, law and industry compliance).
Last week, I purchased several physical (mineral) sunblocks to try: Cotz sunscreen lotion, Sunsense lip balm and Sunsense roll-on sunscreen (very easy to apply and re-apply while wearing cycling mitts!).
I will certainly be reporting back as the summer progresses as to how I feel these perform.
Meanwhile, I'm also very interested in the Trilogy and Green People products highlighted in the NBC blog and may give one of them a try if I don't feel SunSense or Cotz are up to the job.
Other cyclists are thinking about these issues as well - I've certainly
bookmarked Lovely Bicycle's post a few years ago on this topic, as the input from
her readers in the comments section has been wide-ranging.
Is this a 'hot' topic for you, too? What have you found to be effective in preventing long-term skin damage?
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