Something About Sunblock

View Feedback | Send this Article | Published 3/07/03


Graphic By: Jonelle Thackston

With the coming of spring break many students are looking to work on their tans. Others are just looking to have fun, not noticing that the sun's powerful rays are beating down on their skin. As the days get longer and summer so quickly approaches, you need to be extra careful in protecting your body from harmful outside forces.

Skin

Your skin is an organ, and like other organs it needs to be protected. There are many layers to your skin. The bottom one is called the malpighian layer. It is this layer that produces a type of cell called a melanocyte, which in return produces melanin. Melanin is a pigment; it is this that causes tanning. In addition to tanning, melanocyte is also the source of a type of cancer called melanoma. Melanoma is directly linked with repeated damage of the melanocyte from UV radiation.

Sun

Sunlight comes in three forms: infrared (this is heat), visible light and ultra- violent. It is the ultra-violent (UV) that is unhealthy for you. UV itself even comes in three different forms:
  • UVA - also known as black light, which causes tanning
  • UVB - which causes damage in the form of sunburn
  • UVC - which is filtered out by the atmosphere and never reaches us
99% of the UV rays at sea level are UVA. UVB, however, is considered to be the most dangerous. UV rays can actually reflect off of surfaces and increase your chances of sunburn. Snow increases your chances by 90% and sand by 20%, so if possible on a sunny day avoid the ski slopes and the beach.

Tanning

Tanning, like we said earlier, is the production of melanin. Your skin produces melanin because it absorbs the UV radiation, protecting your melanocyte cells. Melanin production is time-consuming, and that is why you cannot get a tan in one day. The safest way to acquire a tan is going out in the sun only for short periods of time over the span of a week. This amount of time allows your body to build up a level of melanin that is protective.

Sunburn

If you spend too much time in the sun and your body is not protected, you will develop sunburn. When you are sun burnt your skin is actually damaged by the sun廣 UV rays. What is actually happening to your body is that the blood flow to your skin is increased to fix the damages, hence the redness.

Sunblock

Sunblock does exactly what its name says; it blocks or absorbs the sun廣 UV rays. There are a few active ingredients in particular you should look out for, such as the following:
  • Para-aminobenzoic acid (PABA) absorbs UVB
  • Cinnamates absorb UVB
  • Benzophenones absorb UVA
  • Anthranilates absorb UVA and UVB.
If you want a little more protection, look for an opaque cream, such as white zinc oxide cream. They completely block out UV radiation. Sunblocks come in different strengths labeled SPF or Sun Protection Factor. SPF acts like a multiplying factor, so it is unique for each individual. For example, if your were okay in the sun for 10 minutes and you used SPF 10 sunblock, you would be safe for 100 minutes. However, in order for sunblock to work you need to apply it thickly and stay out of the water or sun for a half hour after applying it. This way your body has enough time to bond with the lotion. Also, SPF ratings only have to do with blocking UVB radiation.

Why Me?

I was suggested to be the author of this article by an anonymous source. Kevin the tech guru suggested that since I have fair skin people assumed I have to use sunblock. Whether that is the reason or not, it is a true one.

I was born a female version of my father, at least physically, and as such I was born with and do have very fair skin. Every summer my mother would wrestle to put sunblock on me as I tried so hard to just make it out the door, and thanks to my fighting, I managed to have a few new freckles on my cheeks each year.

I think that when I was just a child, I did not really notice whether or not I got burnt, and when I got older, I would get burnt once real bad in the beginning of summer, and then in pain, stay inside the rest of the summer. Getting a little burn was not bad; the pain did not last too long, and it was not really unbearable. It was just hard to sleep the first couple nights, but I had never really thought about long term effects. I never thought about the increased risks of melanoma.

Through my teenage years I found just how close cancer ran in my family, after relative after relative was diagnosed and treated for some form or another of it. I started to become a little more careful, but I did and still do have a little sense of immortality, and I do not always do what I know is best for me if it seems like an inconvenience at the time. I mean, I am relatively healthy at almost 21. I don廠 smoke, don廠 really drink, havenever been diagnosed with any major diseases, never broken a bone, and have never even needed stitches other than from my wisdom teeth. And I have only had to go to the hospital once.

If you have never heard of the Nissan Pavilion, it is an outdoors arena near D.C. where they do things like throw concerts. My boyfriend at the time got us tickets to Ozzfest, and I was excited, but I had never been to Nissan Pavilion before. I didn't know the concert was outdoors. So when we pulled up, I looked to Andrew and asked, "Did you bring any sunblock?" He answered, "No, but I brought some aloe in case we get burnt!" Don廠 you just love that logic? Well, to no surprise I got burnt, but to my surprise, I did not just get the typical I-can't-sleep burn. I had severe second-degree burns all over my shoulders. The skin was literally boiling and any shirt I wore stuck to my skin and ripped away my scabs when I took them off. Obviously it was not a pleasurable experience, and it was the cause of my one and only trip to a hospital.

I have always used sun block since then. Heck, almost two years later my shoulders are still covered in thousands of little freckles. After giving you a brief version of my battles with the sun, I hope you realize before you get the lesson I did that it is better to be precautious and put the sunblock on than to deal with the consequences.

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Name: Kevin
Comments:
Good article! Thanks for writing :)