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Skin sense

Living in a city like ours, the sun is almost unavoidable. Unless you stay indoors for the entire duration of daylight hours, now and then every one of us - even those who don’t enjoy laying in the sun for hours on end - are going to catch a hint of a suntan.

While a short dose of sunshine every day can give your skin a nice, healthy glow, and provide you with vitamin D - the feelgood vitamin - laying out under the hot Dubai sun and frying in cooking oil is not recommended. The effects may be what some people are after, however the risks and damage involved should surely be enough to deterr even the most hardcore sun worshippers out there.

When you are young, it is a well-known fact that you are often prone to feeling invincible. You may think “A tan looks good on me, I’ll be more careful when I’m older”, however from birth your skin is prone to sun damage and the simple fact is that the more you abuse it, the faster your skin will age.

Ageing skin does not just mean wrinkles. Age spots, dark patches, lighter patches, scars and moles are all side effects on the sun’s skin damaging powers. While these may not start to show superficially until later life, the damage is usually underlying for many years and can be seen by dermatologists under a special type of UV light. If every person in their teens or early ‘twenties could see the damage that sunbathing has already done to their skin, maybe this would be enough to make them think twice about their future habits.

While age spots and wrinkles are, in many cases, a natural part of the ageing process, continuous sun exposure can cause them to be more prominent with an earlier onset. However, skin moles are really the main indicator that skin has been damaged by the sun. While they are often benign, some moles can be cancerous - known as melanomas - and will require treatment to try and prevent the spread of skin cancer.

So if you spot any signs of sun damage - especially new, raised, darkening, or itchy moles - it is vital that you seek expert advice. If in doubt, you should always seek a second opinion from your doctor. While the majority turn out to be harmless, moles that do turn out to be malignant, can usually be successfully removed if they are caught early enough. The main thing to remember though, particularly as another long, hot summer in the city sets in, is to protect your skin. Sunscreen, hats, loose and long clothing, staying in the shade; however you choose to be sun safe, your skin will thank you for it.

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