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COSMETOLOGY

PROFESSIONAL COURSE

Module 29

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29. Module 29: Protecting your skin from the sun.

Table of Contents

29. Module 29: Protecting your skin from the sun. .................................................................................................... 1

29.1 On the Bright Side – Is the Sun Really That Bad? ............................................................................... 2

29.2 Can the Sun be good for you? ............................................................................................................ 3

29.3 Sun Protection .................................................................................................................................... 8

29.4 Sun Creams and Blocks ................................................................................................................... 10

29.5 Sunburn ............................................................................................................................................ 14

29.6 Fake Tanning .................................................................................................................................... 16

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29.1 On the Bright Side – Is the Sun Really That Bad?

Module six explores the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to the sun and its power. Did you know

that we need the sun? While we need the sun to get some essential vitamins, we also need to remain protected.

You will learn all about which sun creams and blocks are the best, and which ones to avoid and why. Learn

some tricks of the trade to ease sunburn and if you really want to stay safe in the summer months, it is better

to fake it!

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Module six consists of the following items:

Can the Sun be good for you?

. Sun Protection

Sun Creams and Blocks

Sunburn

Fake Tanning

29.2 Can the Sun be good for you?

There are a lot of negative connotations when you think of the sun, but did you know that the sun can actually

help you in a positive way?

We are constantly told to cover up our bodies well, but a little bit of sunshine can be beneficial to your health.

The sun gives us a natural source of vitamin D and it is even said to reduce the risk of developing a few

different kinds of cancers. But how much vitamin D do we get from the sun?

Vitamin D is essential for our bodies for a few reasons. It:

Absorbs calcium

Protects the bones

Protects against osteoporosis

Prevents type 2 diabetes

Prevents multiple sclerosis

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Other than the sun, you can also get vitamin D from the food you eat such as:

Salmon

Tuna

Milk

Margarine

Eggs

Fortified breakfast cereals

There a number of benefits from the sun that include:

It makes you happier and boosts the body’s levels of serotonin, the hormone responsible for your

happiness. If you have enough sun, you have less chance of suffering from depression, especially

if the sun is combined with exercise.

It reduces the chances of heart disease. More people suffer from heart disease in winter due to

their low levels of vitamin D.

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Helps prevent type 2 diabetes. Vitamin D supplements reduce the risk by 80%.

Helps prevent SAD (seasonal affective disorder), which is a type of depression that is caused by

a lack of sunlight.

There are lower incidences of MS (multiple sclerosis) in sunnier countries.

Protects teeth against cavities and helps keep teeth strong.

Warms a person’s muscles and reduces the stiffness and as a result it reduces any pain caused by

various inflammatory conditions like arthritis.

There is an increased risk of developing skin cancer, but it can also reduce the risk of other kinds

of cancer, such as cancer of the womb, bladder, esophagus, and stomach.

Reduces the levels of the body’s hormone melatonin which is thought to suppress fertility, which

is why more people conceive in the summer months. Sunlight has also been proved to increase

the testosterone in men, which also helps with fertility.

You will have more energy. Having less melatonin in the body boosts a person’s energy and

positive outlook.

Helps control irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and Crohn’s disease. People with such conditions

usually have a lower level of vitamin D in their bodies. It is better for those suffering to get their

vitamin D straight from the sun as a common complication of such inflammatory diseases is a

person’s difficulty to absorb vitamin D.

Vitamin C helps regulate periods.

The sun can help relieve some skin conditions such as acne, eczema, and psoriasis.

The sun helps boost your immune system and also encourages the growth and production of white

blood cells to help the body fight infection.

Higher serotonin levels in the body help suppress your appetite making it easier to lose weight.

FACT: It only takes a Caucasian between 10-15 minutes in the sun to produce enough vitamin D without

putting your skin in danger. It takes Asian or Africans six times longer for their bodies to produce enough

vitamin D.

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Vitamin D

Fat-soluble vitamin

Made up of D1, D2, and D3.

Affects around 2,000 genes in your body.

Absorbs calcium and phosphorous.

Makes the body more resistant.

Vitamin D Deficiency

A vitamin D deficiency makes your body more vulnerable and you have a greater risk of developing:

Osteoporosis (fragile bones)

Osteomalacia (soft bones)

There are a number of environmental and lifestyle factors that can affect a person’s ability to get enough

vitamin D from the sun alone, which include:

Staying indoors

Pollution

Too much SPF sun block

Living in the city where sunlight is blocked by buildings.

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Top of Form

Food Sources of Vitamin D

Food alone is not enough to give your body enough vitamin D; however, you can consume more of the following to boost

your levels of the vitamin in your body:

Egg yolk

Tuna

Salmon

Sardines

Shrimp

Fortified milk

Fortified cereal

Fortified yoghurt

Fortified orange juice

Vitamin D can also be taken through supplements bought from the health food store.

How Much Vitamin D do you need?

According to the IFAS (Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences) the daily vitamin D intakes are as follows:

(Based on IUs – International Units)

Children – teenagers: 600

Adults up to 70: 600

Adults 70+: 800

Pregnant/nursing women: 600

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29.3 Sun Protection

A Diet for Sun Protection

It is possible to reduce your risk of getting badly burned by consuming foods connected to an anti-

inflammatory diet. You still need to wear an SPF sun cream, but you can also help yourself through food.

The foods to avoid are:

Vegetable oils

Processed foods

Grains

Sugars

Instead consume more:

Healthy saturated fats

Food high in omega-3 essential fatty oils

Leafy greens

Tomato paste

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Supplements to Improve Sun Tolerance

Vitamin D3 (5000 IU/day) will optimize your vitamin D levels and help prevent you developing

sunburn and skin cancers.

Vitamin C (2,000 mg/day) is a strong anti-inflammatory and will boost the health of your immune

system.

Coconut oil (approximately ¼ cup melted in an herbal tea each day) is made of medium chain fatty

acids and will assist in your skin’s regrowth and it will also protect you against burning.

Cod liver oil helps reduce the effects of burning and it is also excellent for your body’s digestive

and oral health.

Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant that acts like an internal sun cream for the body. It also has

anti-ageing properties.

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29.4 Sun Creams and Blocks

How effective is your Sun Cream?

90% of all skin cancers are linked to exposure to the sun’s UV rays.

Using sun cream properly will help reduce the risk of developing actinic keratosis, the most

common type of pre-cancer.

Reduces the risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer.

The main aim of a good sun cream when it is used as directed is to prevent a person’s excessive exposure to

the sun.

Apply your sun cream onto your body 30 minutes before going outside in the sun to ensure that

it absorbs properly. Use about 1 oz of cream (2 large Tablespoons).

Reapply your cream every two hours when you are outdoors.

Reapply your cream immediately after heavy sweating or swimming.

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Find the Best Sun Cream

Sun cream can act as a shield against the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays in two different ways. Some creams work

by scattering the sun’s light and reflecting it away from the body while others absorb the rays before reaching

your skin.

In the past, when looking for a good sun cream, you just had to look for the one with the highest sun protection

factor (SPF), which is a way of rating how well the sun cream can protect you against types of skin cancer

causing rays, the ultraviolet B ray (UVB). The term SPF only refers to the blockage of UVB sunlight rays.

However, recent research has proved that ultraviolet A (UVA) rays are just as dangerous and they can also

lead to cancer. The damage from UVA rays is less visible at first because they do not cause a person any

sunburn. Instead they penetrate deep into a person’s skin, causing wrinkles. The Environmental Protection

Agency believes that approximately 90% of the skin’s changes connected to ageing are really the cause of a

person’s lifetime exposure to UVA rays.

Broad-Spectrum Sun Creams

First of all, you will need to find a sun cream which has a broad-spectrum or a multi-spectrum protection for

both UVA and UVB rays. Look for the following ingredients in your broad-spectrum sun cream to ensure it

is the real deal:

Benzophenones

Cinnamates

Salicylates

Sulisobenzone

Titanium dioxide

Avobenzone

Zinc Oxide

Ecasmsule

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UVB Protection

Use SPF 15 or higher if you have normal skin.

If you have sensitive skin or a family background of skin cancers or other skin conditions like

lupus, use an SPF 30 or higher sun cream.

If you burn in 10 minutes without sun cream, multiple it by the SPF to discover how long you

would go without burning. 10 min x SPF 15 = 150 minutes.

Contrary to popular belief there is little difference between SPF 15 and SPF 30 sun cream. SPF

15 filters out and blocks 93% of UVB rays and SPF 30 filters out and blocks 97%.

UVA Protection

There is no rating that will tell you how well a sun cream will block UVA rays.

You need to pay attention to the ingredients to know it will work.

Look for ecamsule, oxybenzone, avobenzone, zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, and sulisobenzone.

Ecamsule is a newly approved ingredient. It can be bought in Europe and Canada and is otherwise

known as Mexoryl SX. In the US, it is only available in L’Oreal’s Anthelios SX range.

Avobenzone must be stablised otherwise it will break down when it is exposed to sunlight. Watch

out for marketing tricks when buying products with this ingredient. By law avobenzone must be

stablised in a sun cream, but marketers will go beyond marketing it and you will be tricked into

believing you are buying something else.

Zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are cheaper versions for UVA protection. They have been

available on the market for much longer. Older versions of these sun creams used to make people

appear ghostly and pale, but the newer manufacturing techniques have fixed these problems.

Tips for Buying Sun Cream

Buy a sweat or water resistant cream if you plan on exercising or going in the water.

The FDA states a water resistant sun cream should last 40 minutes in the water and if you buy a

very water resistant one, it should remain effective for approximately 80 minutes.

Find a brand you like and stick to it otherwise you will be less inclined to use it.

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If you are using the sun cream on babies and children, avoid buying a cream with para-

aminobenzoic acid (PABA) and benzephenones such as oxybenzone, dioxybenzone, or

sulisobenzone.

Opt for children’s sun cream which is less likely to irritate the skin and contains zinc oxide or

titanium dioxide.

Your children’s sun cream should have an SPF 15 and if your child is under the age of 6 months,

keep it out of the sun completely.

If you have sensitive skin or have rosacea, you should use a sun cream that has been designed for

children as they work better on sensitive skin.

If you have skin allergies, you need to avoid buying a sun cream that contains alcohol,

preservatives, and fragrances.

Wearing Sun Cream is not enough

Just because you are wearing sun cream, it does not make you fully protected against the harmful rays. You

need to protect yourself as much as possible, especially if you consider the rising skin cancer rates and if you

think a t-shirt will suffice, think again; the average cotton tee only has an SPF of 4. Take the following

precautions together with wearing your broad-spectrum sun cream to get optimal protection from the sun.

When possible, stay in the shade

Wear sunglasses that filter out UV rays

When the UV radiation levels are at a peak between 10am-4pm, stay out of the sun

Wear broad-brimmed hats

Wear clothes that have UVP (ultraviolet protection rating) on their labels

Wear darker clothes that have been tightly woven

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29.5 Sunburn

Treating Sunburn

If you are suffering from sunburn, avoid being in any direct sunlight and make sure you keep the areas that

have been affected by the sun covered. In the majority of cases, sunburn can be treated at home without the

help of a doctor.

Water. Try cooling your skin down by sponging the affected areas with lukewarm water or by taking a cooler

shower. Cold compresses like cold flannels will help cool your skin and ease discomfort.

Keeping yourself hydrated and drinking a lot of fluid will also help you cool your body down. Drinking water

will also help you replace all the water that you have lost through sweating. If you feel really thirsty and light-

headed it is a sign that you are dehydrated and need to consume more water otherwise you will risk getting

sun stroke.

Moisturiser. If your sunburn is mild, you may be able to relieve the stinging sensation by applying a light

moisturising lotion or a special aftersun cream to the area. Your skin will be cooled down and moisturised at

the same time relieving that feeling of tightness. Look for moisturisers that have Aloe Vera in them. Calamine

lotion, which is used to relieve the irritation of Chicken Pox usually will relieve your skin of any itching or

discomfort.

Painkillers. Taking a few painkillers can help relieve discomfort and reduce the inflammation at the same time.

The number one painkiller for sunburn is Paracetamol which will treat the discomfort and control any related

fever. Ibuprofen is another option which is an anti-inflammatory medicine that will relieve the pain, reduce

temperature, and reduce inflammation.

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Treating Sunburn Naturally

Potato Paste. Potatoes are known to act as a great pain reliever and work well when applied to minor skin

irritations reducing inflammation. Wash the potatoes and either grate them or blend them. Grate or blend them

until you have enough liquid. Soak cotton wool in the juice and apply it directly to the sunburn to reduce the

stinging and swelling.

Cold milk compress. This is a quick and simple low-budget way of treating sunburn. The coolness of the

milk will reduce the heat and help create another layer of protein on your skin to help protect it and help it

heal. Thoroughly soak a piece of gauze in cold milk and when it is saturated, allow all the excess liquid to

drain. Drape the compress across the burn and lightly press on it.

Baking soda/cornstarch. Because cornstarch has a silky texture and it is cool, it is an excellent way of

naturally soothing sunburn. If you do not have cornstarch, try applying baking soda for an instant pain relief.

They will both reduce the pain from the sunburn and reduce the redness at the same time. Add cool water little

by little to the powder until it is like a paste and smear it gently over the sunburn. Leave it until the pain

subsides significantly and then rinse it off.

Mint and tea. Mint acts as a natural cooler and it has the ability to soothe whatever it touches including

sunburn. When applied topically, the combination of theobromine and tannic acid found in green tea relieves

the pain and at the same time helps repair damaged skin. Brew 5 bags of tea and mix them with 3 cups of fresh

mint and allow it to sit for about one hour to ensure you extract all the goodness. After it has finished brewing,

strain it and chill. Using cotton pads soaked in the mixture apply them directly to the burn.

Aloe Vera is cool and soothing. It also has the ability to take the redness out of your sunburn. Slit a few of its

bigger leaves down through the middle without cutting right through them. Spread the leaves out as flat as

possible and apply them to your burn or if you prefer to squeeze out the plant’s natural gel and rub it on.

Witch Hazel contains natural chemicals in its leaves, twigs, and bark called tannins, and when they are applied

topically, they will reduce any swelling, assist in repairing your damaged skin, and at the same time fight off

bacteria to prevent the area becoming irritated or infected. You can buy witch hazel in a distilled liquid extract

form in most health food stores. Dab the liquid onto cotton balls and apply.

Plain yoghurt that is live and cultured contains a number of probiotics and various enzymes that can help

heal the skin. Applying yoghurt to the red sunburned area will help you recover faster. Using clean hands

apply some cold yoghurt directly onto the burned area and allow it to sit for about 5 minutes or so. After the

pain has subsided a little, gently wash off the remnants with cool or tepid water.

** Note: Please note that if you have been severely sunburned, you should not try and treat this yourself with

natural remedies at home. Instead you can either ask your local pharmacist or GP for advice. In more serious

cases, you might have to visit A&E.

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29.6 Fake Tanning

What is your tan tone?

To achieve the perfect home tan means to make it look real – no one should ever be able to guess that you

have faked your tan from a bottle. This means that you should not have any orange patches, streaks or stained

hands. Your first step, before applying any kind of fake tan to your body is to figure out your skin tone, and

then pick out the kind of fake tan you need to achieve the perfect look. If you opt for a tan tone that is too dark

for your complexion, it will look unnatural, which is why it is always a good idea to do a test patch under your

wrist to see which colour it is likely to turn.

Light Tan Tone

Those with fairer skin should use a tanner that works gradually. Or you can also mix some self tan lotion well

with your daily moisturiser and apply it to your exfoliated body allowing you to gradually build up a nice tan.

Medium Tan Tone

If you tan relatively easily, it is a good idea to choose liquid, mousse or gel based tanning products that will

give you a nice colour without going too dark for your complexion.

Dark Tan Tone

If you are looking for a dark finish, opt for a lotion. These are also very hydrating for the skin and can last up

to one week.

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Rules for Fake Tanning

1. Wax your body 48 hours before applying the fake tan or shave 24 hours prior to tanning.

2. 24 hours before tanning, exfoliate your body to remove any dead skin so you end up with fresh

skin.

3. Before applying the tanning lotion make sure you moisturise your hands, elbows, feet, knees and

any other dry areas on your body. This will stop the tan from building up on those particular

patches of the skin.

4. Prior to applying your fake tan on your face, rub an ice cube over it to open up the pores and

prevent them from blocking.

5. Map the body and work your way down from face, leaving your hands and feet last.

6. Use a mitt to achieve the perfect self-tan application with a liquid, mousse, or lotion tanner. Apply

the product to the mitt and glide it down your skin. Avoid rubbing your body as this will leave

you with an uneven tan.

7. If you apply your tanning product by hand, make sure you wash your hands thoroughly, especially

around the nail area to avoid any discolouration.

8. Use a layering technique and apply your fake tan every few days to build your tan up gradually

making it last longer.

9. Moisturise every day using a thick cream to help prolong your tan.

10. After three days of having applied the tan, exfoliate so your tan will fade evenly.

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Self-Tanning Mistakes

Spray Tans

- When getting a spray tan one of the biggest mistakes is ending up with either white or

over-sprayed feet. When spraying, cover your feet with a towel to avoid the spray falling

and dripping down onto your feet.

- Spraying too close to your body will give you an uneven tan. Hold the spray can a couple

of inches away from your body while spraying.

- Make sure the nozzle of the spray tan is not leaking. Always wash your hands after

applying fake tan otherwise you will end up with yellow/orange fingers.

Mousse Tans

- Always use a sweeping downwards motion when applying your mousse otherwise you will end up with

patches.

- Buff the body 45 minutes after application with a flannel to avoid streaks and achieve a natural looking tan.

Tricky Body Parts and Tanning

- Hands

- Tan your hands right at the end.

- Never apply the tanning product directly onto your hands. Using the product on your arms, work it in

downwards to give yourself a natural fade down tan.

- Rub a little moisturiser in between your fingers and on the sides of your hands after tanning to try and

blend any of the remaining colour.

- Always wipe the palms of your hands clean.

Feet

- Work your tanning product down from your legs to your feet like with the hands.

- Rub a little moisturiser between your toes and sides of your feet and buff with a mitt to make sure the

colour is even.

- Use some 8-hour cream to cover your toenails and prevent them from discolouration.

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Hairline

- Rub a little moisturiser into the hairline after having applied the tanning product to avoid getting an obvious

tan line.

Face

- Use a little bit of moisturiser first.

Back

- Apply your tanning product on to clingfilm wrap. Pull it behind you and rub it backwards and forwards

from left to right.

** Leave your tan for approximately 8-12 hours before showering, or if you are just after a light glow, take a

shower 4-5 hours later.