If you are just starting an acne treatment program at Cosmetic Doctor Dublin, one of the first things you need to do is to choose the right sunscreen for your acne-prone skin.

Protecting your skin from the sun is essential to the long-term success of your acne treatment program.

Is the Sun Bad for my skin?

Everybody needs a little sun so the skin can make vitamin D. Otherwise, you need to take a vitamin D supplement or cod liver oil.

Sunlight is damaging to skin in that it causes photoageing – freckles; hyperpigmentation marks; wrinkles and so on.

Interestingly, when the national health service of Australia started encouraging people to slather themselves with sunscreen in the early 1990′s, they were surprised that melanoma rates actually went up, instead of down.

It turns out that vitamin D protects against skin cancer, and the skin needs about 20 minutes of exposure to ultraviolet light, without sunscreen to block ultraviolet light, every day in the summer and even more during the winter if you live in a temperate or northerly climate.

However, unprotected skin out in the sun for hours each day is not healthy. Sun protection is especially important when you are using products to disinfect the skin in the treatment of acne.

Different skin types need different kinds of sunscreen.

Everyone Who Has Acne Needs Sunscreen

Generally speaking, fair skin usually burns. Dermatologists classify skin colour into Fitzpatrick skin types. Skin type I is fair skin that burns easily when exposed to sun. People who have this skin type often have blond or red hair and blue eyes- typically Irish! Sunburned skin freckles in childhood, and forms age spots in adulthood.

Skin type II is slightly more pigmented. It burns easily but can tan. Skin types III and IV are the Mediterranean or Middle Eastern “olive” skin types. Type III skin may burn, but tans easily. Type IV skin seldom burns, and tans very quickly.

Fitzpatrick skin type V is dark brown skin that rarely burns. And Fitzpatrick skin type VI is black skin that never burns, that is, unless it is being treated for acne.

There is one thing that everyone who has ever been told about their skin type needs to remember about skin types and acne: Acne medication can make every skin type behave as if it were Fitzpatrick type I.

How to Choose the Right Sunscreen

Cosmetic Doctor recommends Heliocare Sunscreen, which is ideal for those with acne prone skin. The Heliocare Advanced UV Protection Product Range provides clinically advanced anti-ageing and skin-health protection and enhancement.

Many people who have acne hate the feel of sunscreen even though they know they need it.

If you have oily skin and you do not use makeup, use sunscreen that contains zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. These chemicals serve as a physical barrier to sunlight and don’t feel greasy on your skin.

If you have oily skin and you use makeup, choose a foundation that contains sunscreen. At least SPF 15 is needed, but you can’t have too much sun protection. If you have oily skin and your makeup tends to streak, use tinted sunscreen instead of foundation and finish with an oil-absorbent powder.

If your skin is very shiny, you can mix a shine control product with your sunscreen to keep your face from showing glare. Use equal parts of sunscreen and shine control.

If you have dry skin and you do not use makeup, sunscreens that also contain pcynogenol (grape seed extract), cucumber, or saxifrage (strawberry begonia) extract can prevent freckling of your skin.

If you have dry skin and you do use makeup, any product that contains jojoba oil offers additional protection for your skin.

If you tend to break out due to “whatever,” that is, you have sensitive skin, avoid products that contain avobenzones, benzophenones, oxyphenones, methoxycinnamate (most commonly found in waterproof sunscreens), and para-aminobenzoic acid (also known as PABA). These ingredients can cause pimples.

Always avoid products that contain butyl stearate, cocoa butter, cinnamon oil, Cocos nucifera (coconut oil), decyl oleate, isopropyl isostearate, isopropyl myristate, isopropyl neopentanoate, isopropyl palmitate, myristyl myristate, myristyrl propionate, octyl palmitate, octyl stearate, peppermint oil, or propylene glycol-2 (PPG-2). Check the label. These ingredients can cause pimples to break out on acne-prone skin.

For more information or to inquire about the Heliocare advanced protection range, call Cosmetic Doctor on 01 685 3100.