ACNE-PRONE AND ATOPIC SKIN IN THE SUN
How to choose the right form of sun protection if your skin has specific needs.
Acne-prone skin and atopic skin both require special protection from the sun’s rays
Skin with dermatological conditions needs special care when it is exposed to the sun. Acne-prone skin and skin with an atopic tendency need suncare products with specific characteristics to meet their special requirements, to avoid exacerbating their already delicate conditions.
Here's how to take care of these skin types in the sun.
Acne-prone skin and atopic skin both require special protection from the sun’s rays
Skin with dermatological conditions needs special care when it is exposed to the sun. Acne-prone skin and skin with an atopic tendency need suncare products with specific characteristics to meet their special requirements, to avoid exacerbating their already delicate conditions.
Here's how to take care of these skin types in the sun.
ACNE-PRONE SKIN IN THE SUN: SOME GUIDELINES
Although acne breakouts may seem to clear up with sunshine,
this improvement is only temporary, and indeed improper exposure to the sun can actually make things worse.
The sun "dries out" the skin, making it appear less oily, and also has the effect of limiting bacterial growth. Moreover, imperfections are disguised beneath a tan, so that the effect appears to be a positive one.
In reality, however, ultraviolet rays and UVB rays in particular, which are most prevalent in summer, exacerbate the inflammatory processes at the root of acne, which often reappears more conspicuously than ever the following autumn.
This is in addition to the fact that exposure to the sun’s rays triggers various defence mechanisms in the skin, including not only the formation of melanin, but also a thickening of the skin — hyperkeratinisation — which is a known factor in the formation of comedones, which are liable to become inflamed and transform into bumps and pustules.
In cases of acne-prone seborrhoeic skin, you don’t have to miss out on sunbathing but it is important to use sun creams with a very high sun protection factor, i.e. SPF 50+. This is because of the need to counter the pro-inflammatory action of the UVB rays as much as possible, regardless of your phototype.
What’s more, sun protection products for acne-prone skin are formulated to combat keratinisation and regulate sebum production. They are also tested to be non-comedogenic, meaning they do not tend to cause blackheads.
If you’d like to learn more about acne-prone skin and how to treat it, read our articles: Acne: what it is and how you can fight it
The sun "dries out" the skin, making it appear less oily, and also has the effect of limiting bacterial growth. Moreover, imperfections are disguised beneath a tan, so that the effect appears to be a positive one.
In reality, however, ultraviolet rays and UVB rays in particular, which are most prevalent in summer, exacerbate the inflammatory processes at the root of acne, which often reappears more conspicuously than ever the following autumn.
This is in addition to the fact that exposure to the sun’s rays triggers various defence mechanisms in the skin, including not only the formation of melanin, but also a thickening of the skin — hyperkeratinisation — which is a known factor in the formation of comedones, which are liable to become inflamed and transform into bumps and pustules.
In cases of acne-prone seborrhoeic skin, you don’t have to miss out on sunbathing but it is important to use sun creams with a very high sun protection factor, i.e. SPF 50+. This is because of the need to counter the pro-inflammatory action of the UVB rays as much as possible, regardless of your phototype.
What’s more, sun protection products for acne-prone skin are formulated to combat keratinisation and regulate sebum production. They are also tested to be non-comedogenic, meaning they do not tend to cause blackheads.
If you’d like to learn more about acne-prone skin and how to treat it, read our articles: Acne: what it is and how you can fight it
