Isn’t it strange that we’ve had mass-produced sunscreen for less than a century, though we’ve been wandering about outdoors for millennia?
Part of the reason for this boils down to class.
Key inventions tend to benefit those in power, and through most of settled history, the rich only sporadically spent time outdoors. It was the farmers, sailors and soldiers who toiled in the sun, and, sadly, no one was about to birth an industry to care for their skin.
Then came Coco Chanel.
Apparently, the healthy tan as a status symbol can be traced to this iconic French designer (or so the legend goes). In the 1920s, she returned from a trip aboard a yacht with bronzed skin, and suddenly the pale tints that had been fashionable for centuries (partly because they indicated a life devoid of manual, outdoors labour) was no longer the aesthetic ideal.
A pale, sun-kissed bronze, instead, became a sign of leisure and modern-era luxury.
As the elite sought out the outdoors, they realised they needed to protect their skin from the long-term ageing effects and short-term blemishes and blotches of direct exposure, and the sunscreen industry took off.
Early innovations came from a man rather removed from the luxury yacht-boarding set.
The first mainstream commercial sunscreen was invented by the Swiss chemist and mountaineer Franz Greiter, in 1938. He returned from Mount Piz Buin badly burned and, tired of this happening over and over, retreated to his lab and created Gletscher Crème (Glacier Cream).
Its zinc oxide and titanium dioxide formed a physical barrier against the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays. It had an SPF or sun protection factor of 2; but low as that was, it was Greiter who introduced this scale of protection, which remains the global standard. (More on SPF in a bit.)
It is worth mentioning here that the worst kind of sunburn is typically suffered amid new snow, or water, because both surfaces reflect as much as 95% of the light that hits them, onto the nearest objects (or people).
Why the battle against UV light?
Because UV light has a shorter wavelength and holds more energy than visible or infrared light, its photons can cause damage. It is UV rays that burrow into skin, aging it, while also scarring and damaging the surface (and increasing the risk of skin cancers).
What can a cream do to help?
Chemical sunscreens use carbon-based molecules to absorb UV radiation and release it as harmless heat. Mineral sunscreens (still made with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide) act like tiny mirrors, reflecting and scattering UV rays. They work immediately upon application and are gentler on sensitive skin than the chemical ones, but must be more regularly reapplied.
The thick white pastes of the past were mineral sunscreens; thanks to modern milling and coating techniques, today’s can be clear and invisible.
I’d like to spend a little time now on SPF, because of how widely misunderstood this scale is.
Sun Protection Factor measures protection against UVB rays, the ones that burn (not UVA, which burrows and ages). If one’s skin normally starts to feel the effect of UVB burn after 10 minutes, an SPF of 30 could, in theory, allow one to stay out 30 times longer (or, for about 300 minutes) before the effects on the skin begin.
SPF 15 blocks about 93% of UVB rays; SPF 30, about 97%; and SPF 50 around 98%.
To guard against UVA rays, it’s important to also look for the term “broad-spectrum” protection.
The country with the most heavily monitored sunscreen industry today, incidentally, is Australia. It has some of the strictest regulations, and for good reason. Australia also has the highest rates of skin cancer in the world. Products undergo rigorous SPF testing, and claims such as “broad-spectrum” and “water-resistant” must be scientifically validated.
Most of us don’t need that much protection, as we sit at our sedentary jobs indoors.
Find a lotion that feels comfortable on the skin, and you are more likely to use it as needed, which is the most crucial factor.
The skin, after all, is our largest organ and is “ingesting” pollution, photons, chemicals — anything we apply to it. If it tells you something isn’t right, do listen.
Meanwhile, look out, in the coming weeks, for more related Sound Bites, on lipstick, air fresheners, sanitisers and more.
(To reach Swetha Sivakumar with questions or feedback, email upgrademyfood@gmail.com. The views expressed are personal)
