Three Myths to Stop Believing About Melanoma

Did you know that Australia has one of the highest rates of Melanoma in the world? Two in three Australians are diagnosed with skin cancer before the age of 70 and there are over a million treatments for squamous and basal cell carcinoma skin cancers each year, that’s more than 100 skin cancer treatments every hour.

Adopting sun safe practices is incredibly important, especially now in summer. 95% of Melanomas are caused by too much sun exposure so prevention is absolutely key!

Myth 1: Sunscreen is Just for the Beach

Even if it’s an overcast and windy day, you can still get sunburnt. Sunscreen should be apart of your daily skin care routine not just reserved for beach days. It’s recommended that you should apply sunscreen when the UV index is three or above, however when outdoors you’re constantly exposed to UV radiation so it’s best practice to wear sunscreen if you’re going to be outdoors for long periods of time.

The good news is that you can adopt safe sun practices to reduce your risk of skin cancer and Melanoma including always wearing sunscreen when outdoors, hat and sunglasses and long loose clothing that covers your skin.

Myth 2: You Can Tan Safely

There is no such thing as a safe suntan. A suntan is proof that sun damaged has occurred and you have caused genetic damage to your cells.

“Sunlight is composed of the visible spectrum we all see. It also contains radiation that we cannot see in the form of harmful ultraviolet radiation (UV). When your skin is not protected by sunscreen, genetic damage is occurring to your cells and those areas will age more rapidly, develop wrinkles and most importantly will have a much higher risk of getting skin cancer,” explains Professor Derek Richard from Queensland’s Cancer & Ageing Research Laboratories.

Myth 3: Sunscreen is Horrible to Use

You don’t need to coat your entire body in a thick layer of pink or white zinc anymore to be sun safe, SPF moisturisers have come a long way. A lot of brands now have SPF moisturizers that glide on smoothly and coat your skin in SPF 50+. There are many options available now including sunscreens for dry skin, sensitive skin, oily and acne prone skin and even those with anti-ageing benefits. Most importantly always choose sunscreens that are reef safe and do not contain the ingredient, Oxybenzone.

The impact of skin cancer touches millions of families, and ours is no different and that’s why we donate 20% for each purchase to the Cancer & Ageing Research Laboratories and support their work into cancer research. Our father’s journey with skin cancer is what inspired us to create Ellus & Krue.