10 myths of skin care: someone's lying to you about how to avoid acne, wrinkles and skin cancer. We set the record straight - Health - Brief Article

Men's Fitness, August, 2002 by R. Daniel Foster

And tanning by machine is potentially dangerous: Seven minutes in a tanning bed can equal four hours of sun exposure on the beach and up to 20 times the UV light exposure. (If you're a kid in California, you actually have to get parental permission to go zap yourself.) So don't get cocky if you turn turkey-skin brown rather than lobster-shell red every summer. Many people who've never been scorched still get skin cancer.

MYTH #7 "IF I WANT TO DOUBLE MY SUN TIME, I CAN SWITCH FROM AN SPF 15 SUNSCREEN TO AN SPF 30."

Wrong. An SPF 30 sunscreen has just 2 percent more protection than its SPF 15 cousin. SPF 15-rated products block about 94 percent of UV rays; SPF 30, 96 percent; SPF 40, 97 percent, according to McKenzie. Also, some products block UVB rays, but not harmful UVA rays.

* For solid coverage, look for the ingredient Parsol 1789 (avobenzone), but make sure UVB protection is included. Sea & Ski Sport Spray or Hawaiian Tropic Broad Spectrum Sunblock will hit both bases.

* For total coverage, choose a "physical blocker": zinc oxide (which has evolved from that gooey white stuff) or titanium dioxide. Options are available from Neutrogena, Sea & Ski, SkinCeuticals and Total Skin Care.

* Apply sunscreen 15 to 30 minutes before exposure and reapply it every two hours whether or not you've gotten wet, even if the product is labeled "waterproof."

* Check your hat. "Many men think their baseball caps give them sun protection, but the most vulnerable areas--the nose and ears--are often left unprotected," says Kunin, who recommends a cloth-lined hat with at least a four-inch brim.

MYTH #8 "I CAN USE VITAMIN E OIL TO MINIMIZE SCARRING."

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that protects cells from damage; it plays a role in the body's ability to utilize oxygen and helps build skin. But it's "never been shown to help with scarring," says Wieder. "There's actually a rather high incidence of allergy to the vitamin, so applying vitamin E can worsen scarring."

* To get your share of working E, forgo the topical oil and add nuts, green leafy vegetables and fortified cereals to your diet.

* To minimize fresh scarring, it may help to apply a silicone elastomer gel to break down collagen and prevent keloiding. "It's not 100 percent foolproof," says Sanjay Grover, M.D., a Beverly Hills, Calif., plastic surgeon. "Constant pressure can do the trick, and you might get the same result by using adhesive tape."

MYTH #9 "HAVING A FEW--OR A FEW TOO MANY--WILL MAKE MY NOSE SWELL UP LIKE W.C. FIELDS'."

There are lots of solid legal, social and health reasons to keep your alcohol intake at or below two drinks per day, but this isn't really one of them. Drinking alcohol will temporarily dilate blood vessels, giving you a flushed appearance, but you're safe from looking like a cartoon. The classic "rum nose," properly called rhinophyma, is a symptom of rosacea, an adult skin condition usually treated with topical or oral antibiotics.

Inflammation and overdeveloped blood vessels on any part of the face can be caused by accumulated sun damage and topical steroids that thin the skin.