Help a surfer that gets to much sun !

[messmorph]

Hi Everyone,

First post and I am a bit of a newbie to all this.

I am 23 and a regular surfer. I wear zinc, suncreen etc but sometimes you can not help getting a little pink.

Just wondering what I should do to help prevent skin damage from the sun. I want to take one step at a time. Will try to improve my diet later but want to focus on an easy to apply cream.


I have been using Cetaphil Moistureizer every night. Is there a better cream then this?

[jamesherried]

I know one woman who claims that taking a mixed carotenoid (alpha carotene, beta carotene, lutein/zeaxanthin, lycopene, astaxanthin, etc.) supplement prevents her from getting burned when she goes out in the sun. That's an internal approach that you might want to try in addition to sunblock. If the carotenoids are not already dissolved in oil (as in a softgel), you would need to consume it with some fat, since I think most of the carotenoids are fat-soluble. Another supplement you could look into is Heliocare, which is made from the extract of a South American fern, and is supposed to prevent burning. In fact, one dermatologist claims that when she and her husband went to the Carribean, the first day they both took Heliocare and they used sunscreen, and they didn't get burned. The next day, however, she took the Heliocare and used sunscreen, but her husband only used the sunscreen and forgot to take the Heliocare. And on that day, her husband got burned (even though he used sunscreen), but she didn't. Heliocare is expensive, but if it works that well and you have the money to spare, it should be worth it.

[marsto911]

Hi,

I am not a surfer so this is probably a dumb suggestion.... Is there a way you could wear some type of hat like a visor? There are very flexible visors. The only thing I am concerned about is if the visor were to be placed around your neck it could be a hazard.... It is not a safe thing now that I think about it. Maybe there would be a way to attach it to your wrist so you would not lose it while surfing.

With regard to a diet to prevent sun burn, I am not familiar with that approach.

Sunscreen sometimes comes in sticks (like big lipsticks). Some of them come with a little cord. I would just suggest to reapply like heck.

You are wise to think of protecting your skin at such a young age.

M

[rosef]

The active ingredient in heliocare is polypodium leocotomos. It is much less expensive if you buy the active ingredient alone. Heliocare is nothing but overpriced PL, green tea, and beta carotene.

My concern would be the safty of PL. I would love to take it, but am very concerned about its immunomodulatory effects. It is used in a host of immune disorders, from multiple sclerosis to vitiligo. It's even been suggested for use in peyronie's disease.

It affects leukocytes and TGF-beta in ways that are not entirely clear to me. I wouldn't want to disrupt my immune functioning for a little sunscreen protection.

Does anybody know more the safty of PL? Someone who can make heads or tails of the medical literature. I'm no immunologist, so unless it has to do with skin, much of it is Greek to me.

[rosef]

And just by the way, James, PL does indeed work very well. I have tested it on myself for weeks, but became very concerned when I read studies on its activity on myelin sheaths in the brain.

Not toi mention, it remains acive in the blood stream only for around 2 hours, whicyh would necessitate taking it many times a day if you're out in the sun.

Does someone know anything more about the safety profile? I have 6 month's worth of pills languishing on my desk.

[rosef]

It may be wiser to dissolve it into a cream. The rhizome of PL is water soluble. Can anyone suggest a good base to help this man out?