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Covering up 'best protection from sun'
Published: 03 May 2007
Slapping on sunscreen is no substitute for covering up, doctors warned today.
Protective clothing and hats are the still the best way to guard against skin cancer and the ageing effects of the sun, said experts writing in The Lancet medical journal.
Swiss skin specialist Dr Stephan Lautenschlager, from Triemli Hospital in Zurich, and his colleagues carried out a review of sun protection strategies around the world.
They concluded: "Behavioural measures - e.g. wearing sun protective clothes and a hat and reducing sun exposure to a minimum - should be preferred to sunscreens.
"Often this solution is deemed to be unacceptable in our global, outdoor society, and sunscreens could become the predominant mode of sun protection for various societal reasons (e.g. healthiness of a tan, relaxation in the sun).
"Nevertheless, sunscreens should not be abused in an attempt to increase time in the sun to a maximum."
Different kinds of clothing offered varying levels of protection in the same way as different types of sunscreen, said the researchers.
Tightly woven, thick garments made of denim, wool or polyester were the most effective.
Cotton, linen and acetate clothes were far less good at blocking out harmful rays. Dry, loose fabric and clothes which had shrunk after washing were better than wet or stretched materials, and bleaching made clothing less protective.
Sunscreens had been shown to protect against sunburn and less serious forms of skin cancer, said the experts. However, there was no conclusive proof that they prevented potentially deadly melanoma skin cancer.
The disease affects more than 8,100 men and women in Britain each year and causes almost 2,000 deaths.
The public should be advised how best to use sunscreens, said the researchers.
They wrote: "The application of a liberal quantity of sunscreen is by far the most important factor for effectiveness of a sunscreen, followed by the uniformity of application and the specific absorption spectrum of the agent used."
Organic sunscreens should be applied 15 to 30 minutes before exposure to the sun, they added. Waterproof or water-resistant products should be used when swimming.
Nina Goad, of the British Association of Dermatologists, said: "Sunscreen is an effective tool, but it should not be used as the single method of sun protection.
"Part of the problem is that people do not apply sunscreen liberally enough to get the level of protection necessary - in fact, studies suggest we use only half the amount needed to get the SPF on the label. We also miss patches, forget to reapply it and of course sunscreen can also be rubbed or rinsed off.
"Many people are also unaware that we need to apply it 15 to 30 minutes before heading out in the sun too. It may also give us a false sense of security if we think it's enough to apply it once in the morning and assume this will see us through the day, when that is not the case.
"These are all reasons why we recommend that people use a high SPF, broad spectrum sunscreen to protect exposed areas of skin, but that they use it in conjunction with clothing that covers the skin too.
"The type of clothing is also important - wide brimmed hats are preferable to baseball caps, and stretched or loose-weave fabric will protect the skin less than thicker or tighter woven clothing."