SPF SOS: The New Super Sunscreens

The latest sunscreen news you need to know before heading outdoors this weekend. Photo: Instagram/Shanina Shaik

We know the facts: Australia has the highest incidence of sun damage and skin cancer in the world; sunscreen should be SPF 30 or higher and offer broad spectrum UVA and UVB protection; and it should be used every single day of the year.

Here’s another, maybe not-so-wellknown fact: only about seven per cent of sunlight is UV radiation. The other 93 per cent of the sunlight pie chart is made up of visible light and infrared (the heat we feel).

Next fact: UV reaches the dermis (the second layer of skin), while visible light and infrared infiltrate right through the skin to ligaments, muscles, organs and bones, affecting the quality and appearance of skin.

"It’s like putting a piece of rubber in the sun – it’s going to perish because of visible light and infrared damage, not UV rays," explains Richard Parker, skincare scientist and founder of Rationale.

And it’s this 93 per cent that is now under the microscope. "For the past 50 years, dermatologists have focused on the devastating impact of UV on the skin, [but] now we are turning our attention to the impact of the sun’s other forms of radiation – visible light and infrared – and their effects on conditions such as melasma and rosacea," says Dr Vivian Bucay, a dermatologist based in the US, who notes that Australian researchers are pioneering new sunscreen technologies that protect against the full solar spectrum.

A SUNBURNT COUNTRY?
Another reason for the rise in sunlight-exacerbated skin conditions is a changing, multicultural population who often experience an increase in certain sun-related issues in the Australian climate.

Vietnamese:
Humidity keeps many Vietnamese indoors during the day, "but when they come to Australia, it’s drier and they go outside, so their melasma flares" explains Rationale skincare scientist Richard Parker.

Chinese:
"More time spent outdoors here than in China has seen more Chinese patients present with rosacea," says Parker.

Middle Eastern & South American:
A cultural proclivity for heavier make-up doesn’t play well with the local climate, which has led to an increase in uneven skin.

FACE FORWARD

Take a multi-pronged approach to protect your skin.

The solution: a multi-pronged approach to protecting your skin.

1. Superfluid sunscreens: One of the first brands to pioneer the new generation of sunscreens, Rationale’s B3-T Superfluid Sunscreen SPF50+ (1), $70, protects against the full sunlight spectrum of UV, visible light and infrared. "Adding a green tea extract gives the formula a brown pigment that scatters visible light and absorbs infrared," explains Parker. "The formula is also very volatile and dries down very quickly, so the water evaporates off the skin and leaves behind a film that is uniform and tenacious.”

2. Vitamin boost: A shot of vitamin B3 (niacinamide) in the morning protects the skin’s immune system. We like Synergie Skin Vitamin B Serum (2), $115.

3. Up the ante: Some sunlight is going to get through, so a combination of antioxidants (like vitamins C and E) underneath SPF neutralises free radicals. Try Ultraceuticals Ultra Protective Antioxidant Complex (3), $89.

4. Barrier defence: A hydrating cleanser won’t compromise skin barrier function. Use QV Face Gentle Cleanser (4), $12.75. Acid trip: Skin becomes alkaline when exposed to the sun, so using alpha hydroxy acids at night brings it back to an optimal acidic level. Try Elucent Anti Ageing Serum (5), $49.99, or Rationale Catalyst Skin Refining Serum (6), $148.

DON't FORGET ABOUT...

You’re religious about your face, chest and hands, but there is one place you’re probably not putting SPF where you really should: the back of your neck. "Those with short hair, women who wear their hair up and especially men are more likely to have wrinkly, pigmented skin here – it’s the new anti-ageing zone!" declares Parker.