My Blog Log

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Skin Care for the Triathlete and Beyond

    The movie A Christmas Story reminds me of my childhood. There is a scene in the movie where the mother is getting her youngest son ready to go outside in the dead of winter and he can barely move because he is so constricted from his snow suit. I grew up in Northeastern Ohio and remember my mother bundling up my brothers and I to endure the walk to school in the winter. I have fond memories of playing on snow drifts that were as tall as I was. Even with the cold winters in Ohio, I developed a love for the outdoors.
     My summers were spent playing neighborhood games, climbing trees, riding bikes, and swimming outside. The only time my brothers and I ever came indoors was to eat and sleep. Our skin would turn a deep tan from the time spent outside and never once did we think of putting on sun screen. Back in the late seventies as long as you didn't burn no one thought about protecting their skin.
     When I was about ten years old I started running. My dad was a big runner when I was growing up and used to run on our high school track. One day, rather than spectating on the grass, I decided to join him. First a lap and then I gradually worked up to a mile. I hated it at first, but later learned that the way you felt afterwards outweighed the pain during, and the time I spent with Dad was priceless. There were no treadmills. We ran outside exposing ourselves to the elements of the environment.
    Thirty some odd years later, I still have a love of the outdoors. I try to swim, bike, and run outside as much as possible. It's too boring indoors. I've never had too many skin issues as a result, but this year after teaching outdoor summer swim lessons I noticed some spots on my face and back. I use sun screen of course, but I wasn't informed on the fact that the type I was wearing was not protecting me as much as I had thought. The dermatologist checked me and thankfully no skin cancer. But she did inform on the differences between chemical and physical sunscreens.
     Chemical sunscreens contain special ingredients that act as filters and reduce ultraviolet radiation penetration to the skin.These sunscreens are colorless and leave a clear film on the skin.These sunscreens usually contain UVB absorbing chemicals and sometimes UVA absorbers.UVA rays age us and UVB rays burn.(Think of A- for age and B- for burn).
     Physical sunscreens or sun block contains ingredients like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. These ingredients can leave a white film and are sometimes hard to remove, but the ingredients block from UVA and UVB light and ultraviolet light. Look for products that block both UVA and UVB rays or say broad spectrum to make sure you are getting total protection from the sun.
     One of the products I was using was a chemical, water resistant sunscreen by Coppertone with a SPF of about 30. This was fine except that after about 40 minutes this protection was virtually rinsed off in the pool. It would still be okay to use this product, but you need to reapply often to get the coverage you need.
     My dermatologist recommended that I use a physical sun block that contains titanium dioxide or zinc oxide or both. These physical blockers last a little longer than the chemical sunscreens. I found that Neutrogena Pure and Free Baby sunblock  stick with an SPF of 60 works well and contains both zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. It is much harder for this product to rinse off, but you should still reapply sunscreen especially if you are spending extended periods of time in the pool or ocean. Most sunscreens or blocks only last about an hour. One of the mistakes I made was not reapplying.
     I also wear a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or greater built into my makeup. Summer is over but you should protect your skin all year long. Your skin is exposed to UVA and UVB light even when riding around town in the car. There are some great products over the counter that contain titanium dioxide and zinc oxide in them such as Mabelline BB cream. This product is an all in one makeup that has a primer in it as well, and at $8 a tube it is really affordable. Too Faced Tinted Beauty Balm is another BB cream(you can find this at Ulta stores) that is a bit more expensive, but gives skin a great glow and broad spectrum coverage from the sun. Most of the BB creams out there are a bit thicker than regular foundation and take some practice to blend, but once you try it I'm certain you will really like the end result.
     Whatever activity you enjoy make sure to include sunscreen or sunblock in your routine before you go outside. Our skin is an important organ to protect and no matter what your age you want to look your best.

Tri- On,
Kelly