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Sun protection

How to prepare your skin for the sun!

In fact, you can prepare your skin a little for the sun’s rays by gradually giving your skin the opportunity to get used to the increasingly strong sunlight.

Especially when holidaying by the sea or in the mountains – where UV exposure is particularly high – it makes sense to complete a “hardening” program two weeks before the planned vacation.

This means starting with 5 minutes of sunbathing every day and increasing this by a further 5 minutes every 2 days. However, caution is advised for very light skin types (“Celtic” type, never tans) – the right sun protection and avoidance of the midday sun is required here!

Ideally, it is advisable to adjust the level of sun protection to the vacation destination and skin type.

Generally speaking, the lighter the HT, the shorter the self-protection time and the higher the SPF.

Skin type I actually always 50+ (this already corresponds to 95% protection against sunlight).

As a dermatologist, however, I am not only primarily responsible for skin health; let’s not forget that too much sun can not only cause severe sunburns but also skin cancer – chronic sun exposure should also be avoided, as it ages the skin significantly (this is known as elastosis) and also massively promotes pigmentation disorders. Women on hormone-containing contraception and people with HT 4 and above are particularly affected by this.

I recommend using sun protection all year round, and I don’t generally think much of day creams that already contain sunscreen, as it is usually far too low. If you value an even complexion (and this is a major concern for me in my practice), then daily sun protection with 50+ is the non-plus-ultra.

Tip:

Apply generously, otherwise the effect will be “weakened” – here I recommend oil-free, mattifying products that are also lightly tinted – especially for the face, as the skin is particularly exposed here. We must not forget that such a high level of protection “whitens” the skin!

And remember: the more sun, the more wrinkles!

It is best to prevent sun damage from occurring in the first place. However, if unsightly skin spots do appear, I always recommend a visit to a dermatologist, as they can quickly assess what type of pigmentation disorder it is and which method is the right one to remove it!

In my practice, I specialize in laser medicine and with 2-3 sessions, great results can be achieved with laser treatments tailored to the patient.

So sunbathe yes, but only on your body (cover your face with a sun hat and sun cream) and please don’t do it in the midday sun – that’s from 11:00 to 16:00.

Through my scientific involvement in the development of sun protection products, I have worked with La Roche Posay for many years and swear by their products as they are very skin-friendly and can build up a reliable protection mechanism. Some products are also completely oil-free, which makes application more comfortable for the face. The BIODERMA brand also offers excellent sun care.