I first appreciated the need for a high-factor sun cream last year during the photo shoot for the Pretty Bald Calendar, as did every other lady on the shoot for that matter! We're all pretty intelligent, we all bought sun cream with us, yet in the excitement and nerves of being nude, outside in the middle of June, we all forgot to apply any at all! A major error on a warm summer day in June! The result? A series of heavily burned, red scalps, similar in colour to a tomato, later to peel in large patches as we all lamented our lack of caution!
I know I'm stating the obvious, but the more regular sun-exposure your skin gets, the more its own Melanin protection kicks in, lightly tanning the skin and preventing serious burns. As you'd expect, your scalp, which has likely spent many years covered in a thick mop of hair, it is a little more sensitive than most, particularly if you opt for regular wig wear too! Obviously the longer you've been without hair and the more it sees small doses of the sun, the less sensitive it becomes, but that does not mean it'll ever have the tolerance of the rest of your skin.
What this means is a need to select and regularly apply a sun cream with a good SPF. Ideally you should buy a new one each year to ensure it is still functional and useable and you should use it on your face, scalp and body. In fact, if your hairloss is the result of either Alopecia or Chemotherapy, then the body's own abilities to protect itself will be diminished and you are likely to need a higher factor than before, plus to apply it more regularly. Your body's natural defences will change and in many cases lessen, so the need for Factor 30 on your whole body will be higher.
One final point to make as I sit here in the garden enjoying the gorgeous weather, you can burn your scalp through wigs; granted it isn't significantly likely, but it does happen. It will of course depend on the design of the cap, but thin, flexible and uber-natural lace can be incredibly thin and if your parting used to burn before you lost your hair, it is likely to burn through lace too!
I'm not trying to patronise you with this post; merely encouraging you to learn from my own lesson - sunburn on the scalp is the single most painful sun damage I've done and even sleeping on a pillow is excruciating!
Happy sunbathing!
Victoria x
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