makes SUN sense

What if we saw a suntan for what it really is: a visible sign that skin has been damaged? Sherine Youssef looks behind the golden facade

ON THE CLOCK

What can you achieve in 10-15 minutes? Quite a lot actually. It’s about how long it takes a hair treatment to transform dehydrated mid-lengths and ratty ends into silky, lookshealthier-than-it-has-any-right-to strands. It’s also how long it takes a sheet mask to revitalise the look of skin and give the impression you regularly enjoy a full night’s sleep.

Conversely, that amount of time can also do a lot of harm. Spend just 10-15 unprotected minutes in the sun and you will start to damage your skin – permanently. And that suntan? It is, in fact, a scar, a signal that sun-exposed skin is in distress and has turbocharged melanin production to try to protect itself from further devastation.

Suntans have long been considered part of the Aussie summer experience, and getting sunburnt is often viewed as “just what happens” when you spend a day at the cricket or by the beach. Social media keeps serving up celebrities and influencers who appear to be in a state of perma-tan. And the compliments seem to flow more frequently when skin has a golden colour.

TO TAN OR NOT TO TAN