The sun is great – just looking at it puts a smile on our faces. However, nature underestimated our glowing enthusiasm for the feel-good star and did not give us enough protection from birth. Therefore, any type of unfiltered UV light can lead to wrinkles and, in the worst case, even to skin cancer. So far, so unpleasant. Good news, on the other hand, comes from the research laboratories. It’s true that the companies aren’t bringing any new filters onto the market this season – their technology can no longer be improved according to the current state of knowledge – but new textures. “If you put sun filters in a cream, it quickly becomes sticky and difficult to spread,” says Dr. Olivier Doucet, Head of Research at Lancaster. Unacceptable!
That’s why the formulation experts had to face this challenge and once again give their all. The result is something like a universal solution: sun filters, no matter how strong, can now be used in oils, light emulsions or rich creams and can still be spread as easily as daily care. Only the typical sunscreen smell reveals the difference. A breakthrough for the scientists – and for us. Just like the fact that modern sun protection supports the skin ‘s repair mechanisms so that damage can be repaired immediately. On the following pages we have summarized the latest findings – so that you can get a healthy tan this summer.
Oils make a comeback
They were frowned upon in the sun for a long time and were decried as “frying agents” – rightly so, because one should not expect any significant protection from suntan oils. Thanks to keen research, the impossible has been achieved: High filters like 20, 30, even 40 are now also in oil (e.g. “Solar Expertise sun oils” from L’Oréal Paris, SPF 20, 150 ml approx. 12 euros; “Capital Soleil sun protection oil” from Vichy**, SPF 40, 125 ml approx. 15 euros). Modern sun oils are also quickly absorbed, non-greasy and make the skin wonderfully supple.
High performance cell protection
The enemy has a name: free radicals. These aggressive molecules are created under the influence of UV light, target the DNA of the cells – and in the long run lead to wrinkles and cancer. The only effective defense: antioxidants such as the vitamins E, C and beta-carotene. In the meantime, we know exactly which teams to pair them with so that they do their job optimally. “In the future, sun protection will focus even more on the topic of infrared. This radiation accelerates skin aging, and until now, infrared rays have been filtered by antioxidants. Protection will become more global overall, we are not only exposed to the sun. Exposure to tobacco, smoke and aerosols is also harmful,” says Prof. Jan Krutmann from the Leibniz Institute for Research in Environmental Medicine in Düsseldorf.
Maximum comfort
“In the past, sun protection factors from 15 were considered medical,” says Dr. Helge Stege, chief dermatologist at the Lippe Clinic in Detmold. “Today it’s just in the middle league.” And fortunately, even mega-high factors over 20 can now be distributed well (e.g. “Bronzage Sécurité Highly hydrating milk spray” from Lierac**, SPF 30, 150 ml approx. 20 euros; “Sun Sensitive Shaka-Fluid” from Biotherm, SPF 50+, 30 ml approx. 30 euros). And it gets even better. “Our goal for the next few years is to make the formulations even more individual,” promise the scientists. Until then, we look forward to extra light textures: 100 percent invisible, non-greasy, quickly absorbed, with a great skin feeling (e.g. “Light feeling transparent spray” from Nivea Sun, SPF 30, 200 ml approx. 17 euros;
Protective brown
The most beautiful accessory of the summer is a delicate bronze tone – and sunscreen products have recently provided us with that even faster. This is made possible by active ingredients that activate the skin’s own pigment melanin – which also protects the skin . “Melanin is a UV absorber and at the same time an antioxidant. It can therefore protect the DNA of the cell nucleus on the one hand and the cell from free radicals on the other,” says Dr. Katja Warnke from Beiersdorf Product Development. Sun researchers found similar melanin stimulators in liquorice root extract, which gives the complexion a beautiful tan (e.g. “protect & bronze” from Nivea Sun, SPF 30, 200 ml approx. 10 euros). Other series use this technique in after-sun products (e.g. “Moisturizing After Sun Lotion” from Marbert, 150 ml approx. 17.50 euros).
support from within
Dietary supplements do not replace sunscreen, but: “Taking beta-carotene protects against UVB radiation. This is backed up by evidence-based studies and reliable data,” says Prof. Jan Krutmann. “Lycopene protects just as well in any form: as tomato paste, tomato, dietary supplement.
It is known to interfere with the system processes caused by UVA. So it can e.g. B. slow down premature skin aging.” The German Society for Nutrition officially announced: A four-week beta carotene cure (daily 30 mg, e.g. “Oenobiol Solaire”**, 30 capsules approx. 25 euros) doubles the protection of the cells . New this season are capsules that help the body with an extract from Indian gooseberries to develop a stronger tan (“Intensive Tan Anti-ox” from Inneov**, 30 pieces approx. 18 euros).
The clever sun 1×1 for healthy enjoyment
Board with high filters. If you have light winter skin, never start the season with a sun protection factor less than 30, and please keep it consistent for the first two weeks.
Apply lotion thoroughly – also under clothing. Remember that no material guarantees 100% sun protection
Use waterproof products , especially when exercising, to avoid wiping off protection with sweat
Also protect in everyday life, don’t forget your neck, décolleté and hands, because that’s where the skin withers particularly quickly. Each sunburn makes them age six months faster!
Repair includedIt’s nice when you don’t have to worry about extra requests. That’s probably what the developers of sun protection thought too and decided to integrate a kind of workshop team into the products. It intervenes if, despite all caution, cell damage becomes noticeable. “Today we know that the skin’s ability to regenerate can be regulated – an unexpected finding, even for experts,” says Prof. Jan Krutmann. “If you inhibit e.g. g. the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, the skin’s own repair mechanisms can repair DNA damage more easily.” (e.g. “Sun Creme” with SPF 30 or SPF 50+ from Eucerin**, 50 ml approx. 12 euros; “ Active Care Fluid” from Ladival**, 200 ml approx. 12 euros)
Reliable protection thanks to high filtersSun protection factor 20 filters out about 95 percent of the sun’s rays, everything above that a few percent more. Do we need SPF 50 at all? Yes, because what is written on the tube most likely will not end up on the skin. “In the laboratory, you take 2 mg of cream per 1 cm² of skin, which means about 30 g for the whole body,” says Dr. Helge Stege. Sandpipers apply cream more sparingly. “It is therefore better to use high factors, they will not be reached anyway.” His colleague Prof. Krutmann adds: “In ‘real’ life you usually get half the factor when using it, so instead of SPF 50 only SPF 25.”
child and sun
– dermatologists still react very seriously to these keywords. “For children under the age of two, no dermatologist can recommend sun, not even with a sun protection factor, because the rays can lead to DNA damage even below the critical limit,” says Dr. Helge Stege. His colleague Prof. Krutmann puts it even more drastically: “Allowing children to get sunburned is bodily harm. I recommend dressing them as fully as possible, not letting them play in the midday sun and also applying lotion to them in the shade.” All parents should remember the reasons: Children’s skin needs special protection up until puberty because pigment production is insufficient and the immune system is not fully developed. Children do not yet have their own protection period. One thing is certain: a lot of sunburn in childhood increases the risk of skin cancer.
What can my sunscreen do? This is how easy it is to decode the EU standardized sun code:
On the back of the product you will find the INCI list, which must state all ingredients.
Sun protection filters You can recognize physical or mineral filters e.g. B. in the list of ingredients at the designations titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. Chemical and/or organic appear among other things as Mexoryl, Oxybenzone, Otylmet – oxyl-Zinnamate and Phenylbenzimidazol.
Parabens (easily identified as -parabens in the INCI list) are preservatives, as are EDTA, methenamine and benzalkonium chloride. They are considered problematic for allergy sufferers.
PEG compounds (everything with polyethylene glycol on the INCI list) and triethanolamine are emulsifiers which, together with UVA light, can cause skin irritation.
The sun protection factor indicates by how much you can multiply your own protection time. Protects against UVB rays, which are responsible for sunburns.
UVA The mostly circled value means the UVA filter. According to legal regulations, it must be at least a third as high as the UVB filter.
Cell protection Many sun creams contain antioxidants such as vitamin E, C and beta-carotene and thus additionally protect the skin against free radicals.
