SUMMER IS COMING, THE SUN IS SHINING, THE WEATHER IS BEAUTIFUL, YOUR FEET WANT TO DANCE, BUT STAY IN THE SIDE OF YOUR MIND: Your skin is alarming right now!

While white skin was the symbol of beauty, aesthetics and nobility until recently, in the early 1920s, the famous fashion designer Coco Chanel's return from the French Riviera with tanned skin brought with it the fashion for bronze skin. Until then, women wore colorful long hair to protect themselves against the sun. While walking around with dresses, hats and umbrellas, suddenly having bronze skin became a must-have item in fashion, and the environment was filled with women who generously surrendered themselves to the sun or ran to tanning salons at every opportunity, unaware of the harm they were doing to themselves, and started a huge mistake in the name of being beautiful.

However; Just as there are two sides to the coin, the sun also has benefits and harms. The increase in knowledge about the sun and the increase in our eyesight, especially in the second half of the 20th century, brought the benefit-harm balance about solar rays to a sensitive point. It should be known that our skin's relationship with the sun is quite contradictory. Because sun rays not only prematurely age the skin, but also trigger the deadliest type of cancer, 'malignant melanoma', which is one of the heaviest costs of tanning. Therefore, one of the most important ways to protect against skin cancer is to protect yourself from the effects of the sun.

A MAGNIFICENT SUN!

While the sun is the source that gives life to our world through heat and light, it is also the largest source of visible (daylight) and invisible ultraviolet rays. There are three types of ultraviolet rays emitted from the sun: UV A, UV B and UV C. Of these, UV C rays cannot reach the earth because they cannot pass through the atmosphere, and we are only exposed to UV A and UV B rays in our daily lives.

The way and intensity of sunlight reaching the earth varies according to geographical regions, seasons and times of day. Geographically; As we get closer to the equator, the intensity of sunlight increases in the spring-summer months and at noon. In addition, at higher altitudes, the distance that the sun's rays travel to reach you decreases, so their intensity becomes greater. Although the significant damage caused by sunlight is caused by rays coming directly from the sky; is the fact that these rays can be reflected from the surface of snow, sand and water.

UV A and UV B

UV Rays pass through the skin more slowly and penetrate deep into the epidermis and even penetrate the dermis, breaking down collagen and elastin and causing hyper pigmentation. UVA rays can penetrate glass and therefore cause damage even when you think you are protected.

UVB rays penetrate the upper layers of the skin, causing sunburn, premature aging and skin cancer. These UVB rays cannot pass through glass. Traditional SPF categories protect you from these UVB rays.

In short, since UVA affects the depth of the skin and UVB affects the superficial layer of the skin, UVA damages the skin in the form of wrinkles and loss of elasticity in a long time, and UVB rays shows its damage in the form of sunburn in a short time.

WHAT IS SPF?

SPF sun protection factor is the most important invention of the last century that filters UV rays and minimizes their damage. The SPF (Sun Protection Factor) number on sunscreen products indicates to what extent it protects the skin or to what extent it prolongs the time it takes to stay under the sun before it turns red. For example, if you turn pink and red in the sun in 15 minutes without SPF protection, this time will extend to 150 minutes with SPF 10 (sunscreen containing SPF 10).

HOW SHOULD WE PROTECT FROM THE SUN?

The concept of sun protection is a concept that has entered our lives in the last 20-30 years; Using daily sunscreen creams for sun protection is as important as having breakfast. Therefore, regarding sun protection; Behaviors must be turned into habits!

Sun protection product:

Applied by applying to the skin, the sole or main purpose of which is to protect the human skin from UV rays (by absorbing, distributing or reflecting the heat); It is any cosmetic preparation in the form of a cream, lotion, oil, spray or gel.

Use sunscreen before sun exposure. Sunscreen products should provide protection against both UVB and UVA rays. The effectiveness of sunscreen products depends on the correct use of the product. Therefore, sun protection products can achieve the claimed effectiveness by applying sufficient amounts of the product to the skin. For example; The amount of sunscreen product required for an adequate human body is 2 mg/cm2. This amount is equivalent to approximately 36 g (6 full tea spoons). Remember that reducing the amount that needs to be applied will significantly reduce the level of protection. To ensure continued sun protection, repeat the application process, especially after sweating, swimming or drying with a towel. When choosing a product, choose those that say "water proof" or "water resistant". When you stay in water for a long time or sweat, sunscreen will lose its effect. Those that are "water proof", that is, those that do not come off in water, maintain their effects more with sweat and water.

Finally; Do not expose babies and young children to direct sunlight, and be careful not to expose them to the sun during the noon hours (between 11:00 and 16:00), when the sun is intense. Protect babies and young children from the sun with appropriate clothing and protective accessories such as hats and glasses.

Don't let your skin be the sensitive scale of the sun's rays! Don't forget to protect your skin with the power of knowledge and use broad spectrum sun protection products before going out in the sun!