How Would You Like To Be A Skin Type I?

How Would You Like To Be A Skin Type I?

by Donald L. Smith

I am convinced that Mother Nature, who most certainly must have a well-developed sense of humor, put Skin Type I individuals on this planet to remind us that our natural skin color and our wonderful contravolitional ability to tan are extremely beneficial.

If your customers are like most people, they do not know the three ways Mother Nature allows us to cope with UVR, which includes sunburning, constitutive pigmentation and facultative pigmentation. Let's take a look at each method.

Sunburning. Strange as it may seem, the sometimes painful sunburning process is the normal, natural way the human body prevents acute UVR damage. The reddening and swelling all serve to protect DNA from damage.

Constitutive Pigmentation. A body's natural skin color is the result of its genetic makeup and will not vary throughout a lifetime. Those with darker natural skin have more natural protection from UVR than those with lighter natural skin color.

Facultative Pigmentation. Those individuals who genetically are able to tan and who choose to develop and maintain a year-round photoprotective tan have three to five times more protection from UVR than they would if they did not augment their natural skin color with a tan. Simply stated, this means that Mother Nature has built in a sun protection factor of three to five within the human body.

What If?

Now consider if you had been born a Skin Type I with no photoprotection provided by your natural skin color and no way to develop and maintain a photoprotective tan. Would that scenario change your life? Would it change the way you view the sun? How about the activities you participate in? Would it color your attitude toward indoor tanning?

I think you would agree the answer to most, if not all, the above questions would be YES. You definitely would have to change the way you lead your life if you were a Skin Type I.

Just imagine that you are a Skin Type I. How would you live? Remember, as a Skin Type I, you always must apply a sunscreen whenever you encounter UVR so as not to sunburn. You also must wear protective clothing, such as a hat and long sleeves, when going out in direct sunlight for a protracted period of time.

Many Skin Type I's also have to practice sun avoidance during much of a summer day. Want to go for a run? Well, you better get up early or wait until the sun goes down. How about going to a ballgame? You will have to sit under the grandstands so as not to sunburn. Finally, if you still really want to look like you have a tan, you will have to use a sunless tanner.

Does this scenario appeal to you? For most of us, the above circumstances would be a nightmare. I believe that Mother Nature uses Skin Type I's to help us see that the benefits of sensible, moderate and responsible exposure to UVR outweigh the minimal and manageable risks involved for everyone who is able to develop and maintain a year-round tan.

An article titled "High Incidence and Regression Rates of Solar Keratoses in a Queensland Community" by Frost et al was published in the August 2000 issue of the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. The authors state in their abstract that, "These results show that the natural history of solar keratoses (thought to be precursors to squamous cell carcinoma) in the community is one of high turnover and that a small percentage of susceptible individuals carry the major burden of solar keratoses (also known as actinic keratoses or AK's) in the community."

The data shows that 12 percent of the individuals had 65 percent of the total number of solar keratoses. Since this study was based upon Australian data, we must keep in mind that 20 percent to 25 percent of the population are Skin Type I's and another 25 percent to 30 percent are Skin Type II's. In other words, 45 percent to 55 percent of the entire population must be considered sun-sensitive individuals.

Therefore, one can surmise that the 12 percent of the population that has the most problem with AK's are those who either genetically are incapable of tanning (Skin Type I) or who are sun sensitive and do not choose to develop and maintain a tan and do not take proper preventative precautions regarding UVR.

The Frost article also provided information regarding the fact that less than one squamous cell carcinoma results from more than 1,000 AK's, and that a high percentage of the AK's resolve themselves normally and naturally.

That is why indoor tanning salon professionals must regularly point out to every client that the benefits of sensible, moderate and responsible exposure to UVR outweigh the minimal and manageable risks involved for everyone who can tan. And, ask every client if they would like to be skin type I.