Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 54, January 2014 | Page 29

Women’s Running brought to you by

Be Kind to your Skin
What female athlete doesn’t want sun-kissed skin for the summer season, but is it worth the risk? As
athletes, we spend many hours outdoors and it is important to be conscious of what is happening to our
skin. – BY NICOLE DE VILLIERS

“The skin is good at repairing itself
once you burn – it takes between 30
to 60 days – but once you burn again,
the repairing process in the skin gets
damaged and your skin doesn’t repair
100 percent anymore, but rather at 99
percent,” says Dr Levy. “Then when
you burn again, it will repair itself at
say, 98 percent, and so the process
of skin damage has begun. This is when
you get your brown spots and cancerous sores. In
particular, ladies don’t realise how much damage
they inflict on their legs by tanning them – I
have a lot of female patients with sun spots
on their legs. You just need 20 minutes in
the sun, three times a week, to promote your
health, but during this time you should still be
wearing sunscreen.”

SPF EXPLAINED
Now the sun protection factor (SPF) of a
sunscreen does not indicate the strength or

level of protection you will enjoy, but rather the
length of protection. “Different skin types have
different sun tolerance levels: A very lightskinned person will normally start turning red
within two minutes, whereas a dark-skinned
person takes much longer, so if you have a light
skin tone, you should use a higher SPF. If you
turn red in two minutes and you use an SPF15,
it will ‘buy you’ 30 minutes in the sun,” explains
Dr Levy.
He therefore recommends that athletes should
wear protective clothing on races that go over
two hours, and should also make it a priority to
carry sunscreen and reapply it every two to three
hours, depending on skin tone. “Athletes with
a light skin tone should opt for at least SPF30,
and darker toned people should not think they
are not at risk of skin damage, since the only
difference is that cancerous cells develop slower
in darker toned skin. Also, as athletes you rub
or sweat the sunscreen off, and even waterproof
sunscreen doesn’t guarantee you full protection
– it will last you 45 minutes in water and that is
only if you don’t rub it off.”

WIN a Totalsports
Voucher worth
R1000. Simply SMS
the word SKIN and your
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Ts & Cs: Each SMS charged at R1.50,
multiple entries permitted. One
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and the Publisher’s decision is final, no
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Competition open 1 January to
31 January.

WIN WITH

CHECK YOUR
SKIN

There are two types of
skin cancer you need
to look out for. The first
sign of non-melanoma
skin cancer is usually the
appearance of a lump or
patch on the skin that
doesn’t heal after a few
weeks. Melanoma itself is
more dangerous and if left
too late, can be fatal. This
is why we need to check
all those beauty spots or
moles! The simple way to
check a mole is with the
ABCD method:
A is for Asymmetry:
Normal moles or
freckles are completely
symmetrical. If you draw
a line through a normal
spot, you would have two
identical halves. In cases
of skin cancer, spots will
not look the same on both
sides.
B is for Border: A mole
or spot should be nice and
round, so look for blurry or
jagged edges.
C is for Colour: It
shouldn’t be more than
two colours.
D is for Diameter: If it is
larger than a pencil eraser
(6mm), it needs to be
examined by a doctor.

Images: Flickr

T

hese days most of us are aware that being
exposed to sunshine has great health benefits,
but there are also potential dangers from being
exposed to too much sun, yet many of us forget the
sunscreen when doing a long run or race. That’s why
Johannesburg dermatologist and four-time Comrades
Marathon finisher, Dr Gary Levy, urges athletes to
apply sunscreen generously and properly at all times!

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2013/08/15 12:21 PM