We used to think a TAN was the ideal way of ‘LOOKING HEALTHY’...you know, that “HEALTHY GLOW”, right?!
Remember back in time when the Rich never went outside, and the most desired Look was to be as WHITE as possible.
The ones with colour and a tan, were the workers because they were outside.
Then it changed and the desired Look was to look Tanned, because that was associated with those who could afford to take vacation and go somewhere warm! So…the Rich were those who could travel to warm exotic locations and “live the life of Leisure”!
Well, now times are slowly changing again, and there is clear scientific evidence showing that “a TAN” is actually damaged skin….
A tan is when melanocytes are stimulated to produce more than the normal amount of melanin (the color in our skin & hair) to protect the skin cells from burning and it’s a sign of disrupted natural function of the skin.
Why is this so bad?
Well, melanin forms a sort-of umbrella over the nucleus of the cell (the nucleus is like the heart of the cell and where the DNA is) and if the melanin can’t protect the nucleus of the cells from the radiation of the sun, FREE RADICALS are formed and the DNA can be effected and cause unnatural replication which can lead to cancer…
So the best ways to prevent skin cancer is to:
Use Sunscreen – action is similar to melanin = to protect against radiation;
Use Antioxidants – action is to prevent Free Radicals from damaging cells.
One of the best antioxidants is Vitamin C serum (10-20%)
- serums penetrate the skin better than creams
- the skin can absorb a maximum of up to 20% vitamin C and less than 10% isn’t effective
- the more antioxidants there are the better they work, combinations of multiple antioxidants will be the most effective (and more expensive).
- antioxidants will help sunscreen work better4
- use antioxidants (and sunscreen) in the morning only – to PROTECT during the day
- if exfoliation is done prior to applying antioxidants and sunscreen they work even better!