Shedding the Light - an update review of sun protection

The bad news:
 
Sunlight depletes the skin of its nutrients, triggers changes in immune function, creates a cascade of free radicals and increases the inflammatory response.  Sun exposure accelerates ageing!  But you knew that already, didn't you?
 
The good news:
 
New products - for topical application - perform better than older generation sunscreens.  There are also products which can assist in neutralizing the effects, and others which can help with repair.
 
Most exciting, there is now an oral product that delivers good results.  Read more about my own test panelers' results.
 
The catch?
 
None of these exciting new developments will free you from the need to be sensible in the sun.
 
Let's look at this in more detail.
 
It would be hard not to observe that sun exposure accelerates ageing.  You only have to lift your arm and look at the underside and you will immediately notice the difference between the two sides - the underside having enjoyed some protection by its natural position.  By your mid teens that level of protection is already making a clearly visible difference.
 
Regular exposure to sunlight leads to structural changes in the epidermis, dermis and epidermal/dermal junction and these changes are what we recognise as ageing and a wide variety of skin problems.
 
UVB rays (the Burning rays), although confined to the Epidermis, trigger a set of immediate responses as the skin recognises the threat of potential mutative damage to the exposed areas.  Hold the material of your clothes up to the light and check how much protection they are giving you.  Flimsy materials that let a lot of light through are offering little protection against UVB rays.  However, UVB rays do not penetrate through glass.
 
Sadly, that is not true of UVA rays (the Ageing rays).  They are hugely abundant all year round and do penetrate glass.  So even when you are sitting in a window, or on long car, bus and train journeys, exposed areas of skin need protection.  UVA rays penetrate all the way down into the dermis and damage the supportive structures of our skin, causing it to sag and fold into wrinkles and lines.
 
Roughly speaking, UVB rays create a thickening of the horny layer, while UVA rays create a thinning of the underlying dermis.   Neither is good news!
 
For the last few decades I have been watching what was available in sun protection with some dismay. I’ve always know how important protection is but, I was very unhappy with the products available. This left me without a ‘voice; in the skin care debate as I could only offer knowledge about the damage without being able to offer advice on protection. Now, with the latest understanding and products, I am ready to offer you my, well-considered, opinion.
The best available topical product:  A modern way of protecting skin from the relentless damage and ageing caused by exposure to sunlight would be topically-applied product that contains at least 3 of these 4 categories:

1. The newer versions of the chemical absorberscan now protect against both UVB and UVA rays. E.g. Octinoxate, Dioxybenzone, Benxophenzone, Benxophenone -3.

   A word of warning: There are many products still out there containing very suspect ingredients. Always read the label of a new product carefully and only buy the chemical absorbers that I have listed for full spectrum protection.
    

2. The inert reflectors, more acceptable to many now that they have been microfined so that they no longer leave a white cast. For a few years I was concerned that the nano-size particles might leave us with a new risk, but during the last 5 years no adverse studies have emerged. Furthermore, studies seem to show that the particles stay on the surface in the Stratum Corneum where they do a good job of reflecting away the rays.
    
3. The neutralising action of vitamins and anti-oxidants, especially the anti-inflammatory ones and the, as yet to be incorporated but really interesting, Spin Traps which actively seek out and deactivate free radicals.   (These Spin Traps might be the way of things to come in all sorts of skin care products)
    
4. The immediate repair action of actives like Pucnogenol, Unirepair T-43, Preventhelia, Renovage, Syntenol A (psoralea cornylifolia) and many others.

The new oral protection ingredient: This is something completely new on the market. I have been testing it over the past year and am delighted to say, it works extremely well. These are new pills containing a formulation of the Polypodium Leucomotus fern (know as Fernblock)

Let me tell you a little about this new and exciting ingredient and the way it works:
For some time now specialists have treated psoriasis by coating the lesions with a light-sensitising product and then exposing the patient to UV radiation. This indeed helped the psoriasis but by the 80’s doctors realised that the side-effects were potentially life-threatening. So they began looking for something that would neutralise the harmful rays of the sun so that they could continue to offer this treatment.
 

Salvadore Gonzales, then working in Madrid but now in the USA, discovered that the Polypodium Leucomotus fern (found in British Honduras, the West Indies and South America), afforded exactly the protection they were seeking. Not only that, but it could be administered orally as well as topically with equally good results. To date there is no known side effects, but two other ferns used medically cause itchy skin and disrupt medication for heart disease….so my suggestion would be to stay alert for itchy skin and do not use any of these new oral products if you are on medication for heart disease without first discussing it with your doctor in great detail.
 

My own tests are proving that the oral version works very well. Imagine the joy of being well protected on your head (thinning hairlines), ears, and back of neck as well as new areas of exposure as we change our clothes, put on swimsuits, tennis clothes etc.   I love being able to do my long drives without having to put on sunscreen. However, for those who prefer it, there is a matching, topically applied, sun screen using Fernblock together with an anti-oxidant mix of Green Tea (anti-inflammatory) and

Beta Carotene (vitamin) – which works equally well.
I am going to be very clear here: UV radiation is so strong that anything we do is only ever going to be partially successful. This new active, along with the other ones mentioned earlier, is still only going to be as good as your vigilance. If you are in the tropical sun, you still need to reapply your product after swimming or sweating. [More about this in part two] If you are out in the sun for long periods of time, taking another pill (in my experience, two a day, with added topical application to exposed areas) would do the trick even in tropical climates.
 
Some feedback from my ‘test panel’ of clients and my own experience:

1. Snorkelling for hours left a circle of erythema (reddening) across one woman’s shoulders and she said she would definitely apply some topical support under similar conditions in future.
    
2. An 11 year old, on a school trip to Africa, was given the oral pill to take as his mother rightly reasoned that he was more likely to take a pill than apply a cream. He reported back that while he did not take it every day – he was the only one in his class who did not get burned
    
3. It’s necessary to take the pill 30 minutes before exposure. I took my pill immediately before setting out to an open air market in Australia (Eumundi) – just the oral pill, no topical applications, no hat. The only area of erythema was a curved area above and below my left elbow. Strange, until I realised that arm was exposed to sunlight on the long drive and the and the pill had obviously not had time to kick in.
    
4. Recently one client reported: “I also meant to say that I have been taking the Heliocare tablets and think they are truly fab! Not only have I not burnt in the slightest but everyone keeps telling me how brown/tanned/well I am looking.”

When erythema did occur, it disappeared by the next day without leaving dryness or any pigment changes, indicating that the reported repair mechanisms do truly work.
 
 
Still want a tan? ALL tan is a sign of damage, but I do acknowledge that many people are willing to accept a level of damage in exchange for the look of a light tan. Fake tan products are the safe option, if you find one with an acceptable smell. [More about this in Part Two] For those who insist on sun exposure, I suggest that you first find out how efficient the oral block is (your base-line information) and then play around with your timing. I have some clients who are taking it 15 minutes before exposure and some who are not going to ’top-up’ with a second pill (or re-application) if they are out for slightly longer periods. I will report back to you when I have evaluated their experiences.
 
NB The first product I tried, formulated with Fernblock, came from Life Extension in the USA but I now use, and sell in my London Clinic, the Heliocare range as I prefer the mix they use – and the pill is half the price! I would be happy to supply you if you get in touch.