Sun Protection from a Dermatologist
 

Friends,

I am a Dermatologist and a cyclist in California. I see and treat skin cancer every day in my office, especially on the face, ears and neck.

I have been seeking a way to fully protect my ears and neck and have as little facial skin exposed that would need sun screen... (SPF 70 by the way)

I see enough really horrible skin cancer that it is easy for me to wear a long sleeve jersey and long cycling tights even in the summer. I even wear full finger gloves...

I share with you a new accessory for my helmet. It is a vented sun cape that meets and exceed my design requirements. Those requirements are, full sun protection, venting and light weight fabric....the only downside is it is a little dorky looking... but if you saw the skin cancer that I see in my Dermatology office every day that would not bother you very much. I look dorky enough to begin with because I am wearing long sleeves and long tights anyway

I use the detachable sun cape from an Outdoor Reasearch SunRunner hat ( $30 at REI )

Attachment 153928Attachment 153929Attachment 153930Attachment 153931Attachment 153932
The only modification was the cutting off of the cape snap tabs and cutting 1/8 inch holes to fit between where the plastic helmet harness snaps into the body of the helmet. I removed the helmet chin strap and threaded it through the upper rear vent of the cape, It is a lot easiet to do than to verbally explain

Comments appreciated,

Jesse

That's quite clever. I've been looking for something similar, saw something a while ago on performance but it disappeared :( Neck and face tend to be the first to burn, so it would be nice to have something to protect them. I'll have to look into this, thanks for sharing :)

Looks decent, i wouldn't worry too much about style.. most people think all cyclists dress strangely as it is :)

Recently, I was looking around for something similar... that certainly beats the old t-shirt arms tied around the brow/temple and flinging the rest of the shirt over your neck and shoulder.

Pearl izumi makes "sun sleeve" sun-block embedded arm "warmers" so you can mix up a t-shirt and those instead of going allout with a long-sleeve... in fact i think that combination will work out better for wrist coverage.

Electrik,

I find all of the sun protection sleeves too skin tight, I prefer the looser arms of long sleeve jersey.. it is a comfort issue for me

Jesse

This may be off topic, if so feel free to move on without responding. As a dermatologist could you recommend a sunscreen or qualities in sunscreen one should look for? I was told by my primary doctor to look for titanium oxide, which is commonly found in children's sunscreen. I use something from Banana Boat and have found it to be a good product over the years.

MTB Maven,

No worries.. I get asked this a lot !!!.. The best sun protection is prevention of exposure... cover any part of the skin than you comfortably can.. so the light does not hit it at all.

For sunscreen, the issue is not really the brand or type... it is the correct, adequate application. Most of us apply too little and do not apply it often enough. For cycling I advise a THICK application re-applied every TWO hours. I happen to like and use Neutrogena 70 with helioplex...

I do think the newer 70 and above SPF products are vastly better than the lower strengths. Titanium dioxide is very good, but if you apply it too thinly and too infrequently, your skin will still get trashed. If you get ANY.. and I mean ANY tan from riding.. your skin got damaged, a tan is just as bad as a burn from a skin damage and skin cancer point of view. I have very strong opinions on this because of the skin cancer that I see and treat every day in my office.... Jesse

Jesse

Thanks for the response Jesse. I will do my best to be more vigilant about applying suncreen more frequently. I think I apply enough just not frequently enough.

I have read recentlyt (but cannot reference it) some concerns about nanoparticles like those used in sunscreens penetrating cell walls when they shouldn't.

Machka has hit upon Neutrogena sunscreens as they apparently feel less greasy that other traditional types.

I am an advocate of using clothing to avoid sun exposure. I work outdoors and wear long-sleeve shirts and pants all the time, even if temps are up around 40+ deg C.

I have taken to wearing loose-fitting trousers for cycling (and randonnees), and the majority of my jerseys are long-sleeved.

In summer, I grow a beard to assist fascial protection, and usually it comes off in winter.

I have thin to no hair on my head, and a bandana is standard wear almost anytime I go riding. Otherwise, I wear a cap.

Jess' cape is a good idea, although I would be inclined to prefer it for touring, and then probably would use a collared shirt or jersey and my bandanas with supplemental applications of sunscreen.

Maybe you should also post in the Touring Forum (if you haven't already).

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/wor...uery=helioplex

Do you mean this?

$30 dollars, really! Come on, I'm with Rowan, a cap and a $1.00 bandana. Used it today for a 95 miler. I use 70 SPF Neutrogena but it still doesn't hold up well enough for me...

No, it's not. It wasn't cosmetic-specific.

wow. Looks like you have not much faith in sun screens. Well, they wear such stuff on the Sahara.. So, you think sun screens ineffective.?
.. Can I ask a question please. That I was about to post. You are the best source, anyway..
I notice soon after the return of Summer weather and intense sunlight, it just takes a couple weeks before My skin takes on an itchy sensation. Before the end of the summer season, I might even notice itchy boil like spots on my arms and legs that last until the Fall when the sun goes away..
Soon after the sun is less intense, they go away and the itchy skin problem goes away.. I ride as much in the winter as the summer. Well , almost..
I regularly use the strongest sun screens I can find and try to hydrate my skin with hydrating creams each day.
. ....Are some of us more prone to sun poisoning or some such malady. Usually by October , these skin problems go away until the following June.. Your opinion, please.

1) I use Neutrogena Ultra Sheer® Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 30. It's not bad as far as sunscreens go. Most are horrible, but it isn't too bad. Most make my skin feel moist and greasy ... I break out ... bugs stick to my legs ... just nasty. Skin is meant to be dry to the touch, and thankfully the Dry-Touch sunscreen provides exactly that sensation.

2) From everything I've heard, 30-40 SPF is the highest you need. Anything higher than that is just meaningless advertising ... they add moisturisers or something and pass themselves off as having a higher sun protection. That's what I've heard!!

3) I'm working on the idea of needing to cover up out there. I've spent most of my summers in Canada where the hours of damaging sun usually occured while I was at work or school, and the weekends when I would be out on my bicycle during those hours were usually heavily overcast and rainy. But now I live in Australia where I run a higher risk of actually encountering sun.

Cycle zealot,

I am trying not to get into clinical questions here, but yes, people can have differing reactions to UV light exposure, some get skin conditions only during the summer months

Sun Protection from a Dermatologist
 

Canopus,

Can you tell me how you wear your bandana. I have always been unsuccessful in getting one to work in the way I wanted it to. It would just flap up from the wind and not cover where I wanted it. I tried cutting wind vents, but it still did not work. I did not consider the $30 dollars too much because it works so perfectly, has a draw string cord, and I still get the cap along with the cape.

Also I have spent WAY more than $30 dollars on various bicycle gadgets and cool tools over the years that I never use anymore.. so it seems a bargain to me...

Friends even to me.. this seems way overboard
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Jesse

Hope this is not a too much of a clinical question, Jess.. ?.. But, sometimes I wonder if I am allergic to sun screens.. As soon As I pop one on, I seem to commence with the itching. Could be the sun , could be the sunscreens.? Let's say at the worst case, if it were Melanoma - that would not disappear when the sun retires for the winter. ? Thanks.
ps. I do try different sunscreens , so I don't stick with the same brand.

I would discuss this with your local Dermatologist... Jesse

Hi Jesse,

I use the Neutrogena sunscreen as well and was wondering what your position is on oxybenzone. I understand it's banned in Europe as it's known to be a hormone disruptor. Unfortunately many of the sunscreens up here in Canada contain it. So far I've been of the mindset that the risk of skin cancer outweighs any damage the oxybenzone may be doing. What's your position?

It is the consensus among USA Dermatologists that the benefit outweighs the risk.

If you want to go zinc oxide based only without the suspect chemicals try any of the following

http://www.soleousa.com/#app=f8f5&e9...electedIndex=1

http://www.badgerbalm.com/pc-372-6-s...face-body.aspx

Both are available via Amazon

Jesse

I like Coppertone Sport spf-70. It doesn't sweat off as easily as others, so I don't end up with it in my eyes. I carry a little Nalgene squeeze bottle of it in my handlebar bag so I can goop up every couple of control stops.
Being chrome bald, I wear either a cap or other helmet liner so I don't burn my dome. If it's crazy hot and sunny, I've taken a cue from another guy in our club and I wear a bandana to cover my neck.

http://www.dermatology.ucsf.edu/skin...Sunscreen.aspx

Or for a SPF of 70 you would burn after 700 minutes. That is over 11 hours! You are likely to sweat off the protection before it wears off.

Anything over SPF 30 is over protection.

Well, that is the thing... you will sweat if off. In general though the higher the SPF the greater your chance at protection. You don't want a sunburn, so what you're doing by using a higher spf is lessening that risk and lessening the uv a/b radiation getting into your skin. It is important to note that a sunburn doesn't happen immediately at 700minutes. It occurs gradually over the time of 700 minutes.

- wikipedia.

This means if you misapply spf30 you could only be getting spf5!

For whatever this is worth, my tired-person-with-no-brain-left mnemonic at every controle is:

Electrolytes
Ass
Tylenol
Sunscreen

Eats, Tylenol, and Sunscreen are self-explanatory. Ass is probably best left to speculation.

good thread.

Do you tuck the cape into the neckline of your jersey?