skin whitening tips

Like many asian people I've been on holiday and as I don't seem to burn, I've not bothered with sun cream.

So do I need to bother with sun protection?

I put the question to Anjana Gosai, the Asiana Beauty editor for Asiana magazine;

Anjana told me; Whilst it's true that people with naturally darker skin have more melanin in their upper skin layers which gives natural protection from ultraviolet light, the protection is limited.

Having some natural protection doesn't mean we can't get skin cancer and that we're not going to age, so we definitely need sun protection.

Ultraviolet rays are present all year round even when the sun is behind cloud and can penetrate glass windows.

UVB rays stimulates melamin production causing the skin to darken, often creating bloches, freckles and hyperpigmentation.

UVA rays penetrate even deeper into the skin and damage the DNA structure of the skin causing ageing and wrinkles.

Products that contain a sunscreen will protects the skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays.

Using a moisturiser that contains SPF on a daily basis will protect your skin from the damage that can be caused by UVA rays and the skin darkening effects of UVB.

A particularly good product is Skin Doctors Supermoist spf30+

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor and relates to the level of cover given by manufactured sunscreens.

Most people think that the level equates to protection against sun strength, but actually the level relates to the amount of time the sun protection lasts for.

SPF 15 will give 150 minutes protection and SPF 30 gives 300 minutes sun protection.
(Just multiply the SPF by 10).

Whilst many people associate sun protection with beach holidays, your skin is constantly being exposed to ultraviolet rays which are constant in daylight.

As SPF only indicates protection against UVB rays-not the invisible ultraviolet-A rays which can also affect skin health and hasten aging process look for products that have the term "broad-spectrum sunscreen" in the labeling.

Melanin is your bodies built in defence mechanism against harm from the sun. In effect, it is a natural sunscreen, which gives a certain amount of protection against ultraviolet light.

Sunlight stimulates skin cells under the surface called melanocytes. These produce a pigment called melanin, which moves toward the surface of your skin, which gradually darkens.

Asian skin contains larger melanosomes than caucasian skin, which produce more melanin in response to the Sun's UVB light, but also disperses at a slower rate.

The release and dispersal of melamin in response to sunlight and hormone imbalance may result in areas of skin which contain more melamin, giving an uneven skintone appearance, age spots or freckles.

[Image courtesy of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research]