During a personal shopping trip to find a sunscreen that would protect me fromsun damage, I found that less than 10% of the products I looked at actually had theingredients that would protect me from wrinkling and skin cancer! Why? I don’tknow. Why are vital ingredients left out of products purposefully marketed as sun protection?That’s a question that begs asking of skin-care companies!

Here’s what I do know...sunburn is caused by UVB radiation. The skin damage thatcauses wrinkling and skin cancer is caused by UVA radiation. Most sunscreen productsprotect you from the burning rays of UVB, but not from UVA. Even if the label saysUVA/UVB protection on the front, it must have one of the following three ingredientslisted or it’s ineffective! Only 3 ingredients – avobenzone (also known as Parsol 1789), titaniumdioxide, or zinc oxide – block enough UVA radiation to stop the damaging raysthat cause wrinkling and skin cancer.

Try it for yourself; give the cosmetics counter a test! Just ask to look at some ofthe products available and try to find the ones that have the above-mentioned productsin them. You’ll find that it’s not so easy as it would seem. We always assume thatthe more expensive cosmetics companies really want us to have great skin so theyhave all the best ingredients in them, right? WRONG! At the first three counters I wentto at a major department store, where sunscreen products all cost well over $25 each,only one sunscreen product in each line actually had avobenzone, titanium dioxide,or zinc oxide in them. At the fourth counter, I found no product with any ofthem. At CVS Pharmacy, I was able to find three products that contained one of theingredients. When you consider that there were over 20 products available to choosefrom, that means that less than 15% of the products sold actually contain the activeingredients needed to prevent skin damage.

What about the products that are marketed as facial mosturizers that have SPFsof 15 or higher? Do they contain avobenzone, titanium dioxide, or zinc oxide?Again, the answer is not often! This is even more startling when you realize that statisticsshow that most of the damage to skin that accumulates over time into wrinklingand skin cancer, may well come from simply walking back and forth to the car, in towork, or out to get the mail. That means the only defense you have against skin damageis in the form of the moisturizer with sunscreen that you put on your face eachmorning. At the department store cosmetics counters I found only one product thatwas a daily moisturizer that contained one of the damage-preventing ingredients. AtCVS Pharmacy, I found only three products out of close to 30 that I looked at.

The bottom line is that if you want to prevent skin damage, your daily moisturizerand sunscreen need to contain avobenzone, titanium dioxide, or zinc oxide.Otherwise, you’re preventing a burn and nothing else. The scariest thing about thisis that all of the current research shows that wrinkling is not caused by lack of moisture!Yes, dry skin looks worse than moisturized skin...but dryness does not cause wrinkling!Only sun damage causes wrinkling! So, sunscreen with the right ingredient is allthat stands between you and looking like a walnut at 50! Why is it so hard to find?Are they trying to force us to buy more anti-wrinkle products that don’t really stopwrinkling? Do they want us to have to undergo procedures like micro-dermabrasionand chemical peels? You decide.

This little conundrum led me to wonder about those wonderful self-tanningproducts as well. Was there really any difference in those marvels of the goldenglow? Or, once more, was it just a ruse? Well, it could be argued that it is, onceagain, a ruse of sorts. Why? Because no matter what you pay for your self-tanningproduct, from the cheapest drugstore brand, right up to the most expensivedesigner cosmetic name, there is one, and only one product that causes you to tan.That’s right! There are not a variety of chemicals that turn the skin brown, onlyone— something called dihydroxyacetone. Once again, the hype about different self-tanningproducts being better than others is really just that – hype. Some do containmore dihydroxyacetone than others, which does control how fast and deeply the skinwill turn brown. This is denoted in most products, from cheap to diamond chip, bylabeling them light, medium, or dark. (Dark products are usually harder to controlin evenness of application.) But for the most part, the only difference is the baseproduct that carries the dihydroxyacetone, and the container design. Oh, and ofcourse, the price.

So, the bottom line is to get a skin-care regime that contains a sunscreen withavobenzone (Parsol 1789), titanium dioxide, or zinc oxide. It’s all that standsbetween you and skin damage. Then, buy a self-tanner and get the dihydroxyacetoneglow. There’s nothing like a little tan in a tube to make a girl feel attractive, andthere’s nothing like a real UVA blocker to keep her that way.

UVB are the rays responsible for sunburn. UVA are the rays responsiblefor aging. Long range UVA rays are now proven to cause photaging and are directly linkedto skin cancers. To protect skin from both UVA and UVB radiation, dermatologists recommendwearing a true, broad spectrum sunscreen combined with a topical antioxidant every day. 15% of UV radiation can bounce off sand and concrete, and 8% of UV radiation can bounce offwater – back onto you. Windows in planes, trains and automobiles do not provide UVA protection and, due to reducedfilters in the atmosphere, the UVA rays shining through airplane windows are much more potent. For every 1,000 feet in elevation, UV intensity increases by 2%, increasing your chances ofsunburn dramatically. The more sunburns you get over the years, the greater your chances of developing skin cancer. Stay out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. when the sun’s rays are strongest and limityour activity to shady areas whenever possible. Apply sunscreen fifteen minutes before you go outside and reapply every two hours when swimmingor perspiring... even on cloudy days. If possible, wear a broad-brimmed hat and sunglasses with UV protective lenses. If you don’twear a hat, be sure to apply sunscreen on the tops of ears and nose, as both burn easily.Wear protective, tightly woven clothing in dark colors. With roughly a million new cases of skin cancer reported annually in the U.S., approximately40,000 cases will be diagnosed as melanoma, so proper protection is key. To get the golden glow of summer without the harmful UV exposure, try using a self-tanningproduct with moisturizer. Sun Facts provided by SkinCeuticals.