Exposure of the scalp to the sun can cause skin cancer in the region
Sun protection from head to toe. You’ve probably heard this recommendation. But to be more specific, you have to go a little further: sun protection from the tips of your hair to your feet.
“Contrary to what many people think, hair, being a dead fibre, suffers the harmful effects of sun rays. UVB rays damage the hair cuticle, the outermost layer that covers the medulla and cortex. Thus, when the cuticle is damaged by the sun, it exposes the deeper layers of the hair, as well as becoming dry, hardened and shrunken”, explains Lilian Brasileiro, medical specialist in Dermatology, coordinator and speaker at events on hair treatments.
“From that point on the moisture is lost and the color fades, so the hair becomes dull, weaker, more brittle, less malleable, less elastic. Another thing the sun does is significantly increase the production of oil from part of the seborrheic glands of the scalp. And, therefore, it makes the scalp oilier, more prone to seborrheic dermatitis”, he adds.
And the weaker the hair, the more it is unable to protect the underlying skin: “On the scalp, the most feared damages are skin tumors such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas”, adds Danilo S. Talarico, teacher of the Dermatology, Trichology, Hair Transplant (Hair Surgery) and Aesthetic Medicine at the Centro Universitário Ítalo Brasileiro e Faculdade Primum (formerly Instituto BWS)
Use sunscreen on your hair
To avoid all this damage, doctors recommend using specific sunscreens for hair whenever there is direct exposure to the sun.
“When suffering from direct exposure to the sun, even on cloudy days, the patient must use the product and it is necessary to consider a reapplication every two hours, but if it is not a sunny day, this interval can be extended up to 4 hours,” explains Danilo.
“As a general rule, we apply sunscreen to dry hair 20 minutes before sun exposure; if you go into the water, preferably half an hour, 40 minutes, so that the product dries a little on the hair. And every time you enter the water or do any activity where you sweat a lot, it is recommended to reapply this product,” adds Lilian Brasileiro.
According to the doctor, common sunscreens for the face and body weigh down the locks, leaving the hair in poor condition.
«So the ideal is to use a specific sunscreen for hair, in a lighter form, in spray format, always in spray. The product must be applied to the entire surface of the scalp. Physical protection is increasingly important. So, if you have long hair, you can make a ponytail so that the hair itself protects the scalp, and then apply this mist on the tied hair and not directly on the scalp. In this way, the strand is protected with the mist and the hair and the mist protect the scalp, remembering that this is a very important site for skin cancer,” explains Lilian.
«It is a skin cancer that is often hidden and when a melanoma is discovered on the scalp it is already in metastasis, because it is a mole that is difficult to diagnose», recalls the doctor.
“The focus of action of sunscreens for hair is the hair shaft, so avoid the roots and concentrate on lengths and ends,” comments Danilo.
“And it’s always better to wear caps and hats, especially those that also have UV protection. The little straw hats with holes are not interesting because the radiation passes through them,” says Lilian. The doctor reiterates that the ideal is always to focus on a combination of the two: “The synergy of the protections will guarantee adequate protection.”
Dark hair suffers more
And people with darker hair may suffer more damage, according to doctors, but that doesn’t exempt blondes and redheads from using sunscreen.
“According to the laws of physics, when we have a lighter color, it reflects more light, this implies less absorption of solar radiation in the case of red and blond hair containing pheomelanin, while darker hair absorbs more because it contains eumelanin,” says Danilo.
“So, because it absorbs more UVB radiation, it can cause more damage than light hair. Light hair, blonde hair and red hair have a greater tendency to reflect sunlight. And they have less dryness, less damage, less damage than brown hair, than black hair, but they have color fading that can be even more prominent than dark hair. So they both need to pay particular attention to protecting their hair from the sun,” adds Lilian.
Finally, doctors emphasize that sunscreen should not be confused with heat protectant. “Sun hair protector protects hair from damage caused by UV rays, while thermal protectant protects hair from damage caused by heat (infrared),” summarizes Danilo.
“The thermal protectant is developed to protect hair from high temperatures; it always has oil or silicone at the base, which spreads the heat; which takes heat from that single point and distributes it, causing the heat to spread. So it is important in cases where we will use a modeling tool, a straightener, those curlers”, concludes Lilian Brasileiro.
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Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
