Love the skin you're in
Cycle Matters Editors - Jun 2, 2011

If you are like most of us, you know you should wear sunscreen; you just don't like to. Motorcycling leads to additional sunscreen issues, like adding sunscreen over road grit, keeping it off your clothing, bags, and leather, and where do you wash your hands afterwards...before you forget and rub your eyes.  All the UVB, UVA, SPF, LMNOP stuff is downright confusing.  There are sprays, creams, and jells; which is better?  There is also confusion regarding the highest SPF rating that is helpful, and at what point you are just wasting your money.  Then there is the dilemma about what brand of sunscreen to purchase.  I don't like to spend time putting on sunscreen; but the scary truth is, I have already had two basal cells removed from my body.

To keep your riding day from becoming Fry Day, here are some things you should know about sunscreen. According to a review of 1400 sunscreens conducted by The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research organization, only 8 percent made the grade in terms of preventing skin cancer and signs of aging. Scary, right? So choosing the right sunscreen is critical for you and for those that you love. 

1.  Some Dangers Lurk Within – A form of Vitamin A is added to some sunscreens to minimize the aging effects of the sun. What’s not to love about that? Potentially plenty: Researchers with the National Toxicology Program say retinyl palmitate – a Vitamin A compound used in at least 40 percent of American sunscreens – may speed up the development of skin cancer-related tumors and lesions when used on skin hit with sunlight. Select a sunscreen without retinyl palmitate. Try: Jason Family Natural Sunblock SPF 45 ($12, at health-food stores).

2.  Sunscreen Can Harm the Environment – Twenty thousand tons of sunscreen wash off swimmers, divers, and surfers into the oceans every year, eventually affecting marine life according to a 2008 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives. And coral reefs are getting especially creamed. None of this is a problem if you are motorcycling, hiking, biking, or sunbathing on dry land. But if you plan to swim in the sea, slather on a biodegradable sunscreen that doesn’t contain ingredients that a mean to marine life. Try: Alba Botanica Very Emollient Fragrance Free Mineral Sunblock SPF 30.

3.  SPF Doesn’t Always Block UVA Rays – The magic number shown on the bottle refers only to the sunscreen’s ability to block the sunburn-inducing UVB rays, not to be confused with the UVA rays, the ones that cause wrinkles and skin cancer (though excessive exposure to both rays can lead to skin cancer). Try: Episencial’s Sunny Sunscreen SPF 35 Water-Resistant Protection for Face and Body, MDSolarSciences No Touch Body Spray SPF 40, or La Roche-Posay’s Anthelios line and L’Oreal’s Ombrelle line (but it’s not cheap - $30).

4.  Sunscreen Expires – If you pull a half-empty tube of last summer’s sunscreen out of your motorcycle bag, check the expiration date before using it. Most sunscreens are designed with specially formulated stabilizers that protect its potency for up to three years, but that’s assuming your didn’t let it bake for days in your saddlebag. 

5.  Meds Can Make You More Vulnerable – Medications like tetracycline, diuretics, and painkillers such as Celebrex, Aleve, and ibuprofen up your chances of getting a burn by making your skin more sensitive to sunlight, so be extra vigilant about sunscreen when you are taking them. Try: Neutrogena Pure & Free Liquid SPF 50 ($10).

6.  Certain Foods Can Turbocharge Your Protection – One more good reason to load up on lycopene-rich fruits and veggies such as watermelon, guava, pink grapefruit, and tomatoes. These fruits and vegetables, which consumed regularly, help boost your SPF, but they don’t replace it.

7.  Labels Can Lie – Horrifying but true: The FDA doesn’t regulate sunscreens; meaning manufacturers aren’t legally required to prove the claims on their labels. They can use words like waterproof, all-day protections, and broad spectrum without any evidence to back up their assertions. Overblown claims on the bottle can lead you to believe you are covered when you aren’t. In reality, you need to reapply every two hours and each time you get out of the water.

8.  The SPF Number Doesn’t Mean Much – Conventional wisdom suggests that SPF 30 will give you twice the protection of SPF 15, and SPF 100 will offer twice the coverage of SPF 50. If only.  The sky-high numbers are a marketing ploy. The difference is incremental. SPF 15 filters out 93 percent of UVB rays; SPF 30 protects against 97 percent; SPF 50, 98 percent; and SPF 100, 99 percent—and that’s only if you apply enough of it! Use this simple rule from Barbara Gilchrest, MD, professor and chair emeritus of the department of dermatology at Boston Medical Center: If you burn easily, go for SPF 50 and apply it generously; otherwise, there’s no need to go above SPF 30.

9.  Makeup with SPF Doesn’t Cut It – Makeup and daily moisturizers with SPF will protect your skin if you load them on and reapply every 90 minutes…and who’s really going to do that? Researchers analyzed 29 daily facial creams with an SPF of 15 to 50, and only six of them contained enough UVA-blocking ingredients to provide adequate UVA protection. So think of your moisturizer and makeup as just an extra layer of protection, and always apply a lightweight, broad-spectrum sunscreen such as Clinique’s City Block Sheer Oil-Free Daily Face Protector SPF 25.

10.  Soaking Up Vitamin D is No Excuse for Skipping Block – Vitamin D strengthens your bones and immune system, reduces your risk for breast, colon, kidney, and ovarian cancers, and regulates at least a thousand different genes controlling virtually every tissue in your body. The American Medical Association has recommended 10 minutes of direct sun (sans sunscreen) several times a week to get that dose of D, but the American Academy of Dermatology says no amount of unprotected sun exposure is OK. Instead, obtain your daily D through your diet (milk, fortified orange juice, and canned salmon are all good sources).