Sunscreen creator Jake Paterson busts five biggest myths about sun protection

With summer fast approaching in the southern hemisphere, a sunscreen creator has busted the biggest ‘myths’ around the protective cream.

Former professional surfer Jake Paterson, 47, is the managing director of We Are Feel Good Inc, a sunblock brand that is free of parabens and preservatives.

Jake, from Dunsborough in Western Australia, partnered with skin cancer physician Dr Scott McGregor to ensure each of the products had a positive impact of the skin, were non-greasy, SPF 50+ and water-resistant for four hours.

Despite the average Australian broadly knowing how important sunscreen is, we still have one of the highest rates of melanoma in the world, just behind New Zealand.

So the Australian-made brand is working hard to dispel some of the ‘myths’ around using the life-saving cream.

‘The concern for us as a sunscreen company is that these myths stop people from properly protecting their skin,’ Jake told FEMAIL.

‘Some of them include sunscreen causes health problems, sunscreen causes a vitamin D deficiency and a tan is healthy. The bottom line is Australian sunscreen is safe and if you don’t use sunscreen you will prematurely age and increase your risk of serious skin cancer.’

MYTH 1: YOU DON’T NEED SUNSCREEN IN WINTER

You need sunscreen whenever the UV rating is over three, and the UV rating is over three in most parts of Australia all year long. 

If you’re based in or north of Margaret River, Adelaide or Sydney the chances of the UV rating reaching three on most days in winter is high. Once it hits 3, it takes less than 10 minutes for sun damage to occur, the We Are Feel Good blog reported. 

Even cloud cover only blocks out 20 per cent of UV rays. 

The free to download SunSmart app will tell you what the UV rating is on any given day, wherever you are.

MYTH 2: I WILL GET A VITAMIN D DEFICIENCY IF I WEAR SUNSCREEN

The sun is one of the best sources of vitamin D for humans but you only need 10 to 15 minutes a day to convert enough for a healthy dosage.  

‘Sunlight can penetrate clothing and sunscreen too so you will be surprised by just how much you are inadvertently gaining,’ the blog read.

‘No sunscreen can completely block out 100 per cent of UV light so you are absorbing UV light and converting it to vitamin D even if you expertly reapply every two hours.’

Ensure your sunscreen is applied 20 minutes before you go outside. This is the amount of time it takes to sink into your skin and do its optimal job.

MYTH 3: SUNSCREEN MAKES ACNE WORSE

In a YouTube video Dr Scott McGregor said he gets asked this question ‘a lot’ by acne-sufferers who are concerned by the ‘greasy’ nature of sunscreen.

‘Sunscreens containing zinc can be a little bit thick and it might be thought that it blocks pores. But there is actually no evidence that it can cause pimples or make them worse,’ he said.

He recommends shopping around and finding a ‘thinner’ textured lotion that sits more easily on the skin, to give you peace of mind, but says the worst thing you can do is skip the step altogether.

MYTH 4: TANNED SKIN PROTECTS YOU FROM THE SUN

While it’s true that there is more protective melanin in darker skin types, which is thought to diffuse UVB rays, they are still at risk of skin cancer, pigmentation and collagen depletion.

This is because melanin alone doesn’t counteract the affect of UVA rays, which penetrate much deeper into your skin and cause permanent damage to your DNA.

‘Everyone should be using a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF rating of 50+,’ the blog read.

MYTH 5: I DON’T NEED MUCH SUNSCREEN

The average-sized body will require 35ml of sunscreen for every application. 

‘This means 5ml for the face [and] 5ml for each limb, front and back. Obviously this is a lot, so use protective clothing and a hat as much as you can,’ Jake said.

If you apply less than that you won’t be receiving the full SPF50+ protection, and the same goes for SPF 30+ and 15+.