Glossy Lips Might Increase Risk of Cancer
Shiny lips are beautiful. Lip glosses bring out the natural color of your lips, and the shimmery light gives you an irresistibly-kissable look. Lip gloss also, however, allows ultraviolet radiation to penetrate the delicate skin of your lips, increasing the risk for sun damage and even lip cancer later in life.
Data from a study at the University of California Los Angeles suggest that lip gloss increases the risk of skin cancer in women.
Ordinarily some sunlight is reflected off the skin on the lips, so it doesn’t penetrate. Shiny balms and glosses actually allow more of the light to penetrate, potentially causing damage.
Ultraviolet light damage can lead to pre-skin cancer growths such as actinic chelitis (rough scaly lips that never heal), dark spots called solar lentigos, or blebs of dilated blood vessels which form an unattractive purple bump called venus lakes. Ultraviolet light can also lead to a potentially dangerous type of skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma.
Fear not though, glossy-lip girls, there is a simple solution.
Lipsticks and lip balms with sunscreens can protect your lips, even with the lip gloss. Apply a lip balm with SPF of 15 (or preferably SPF of 30 if you are going to be in the sun for more than 30 minutes) before you apply your lip gloss. Some of my patients have liked Kiels SPF 15 lip balm or Eco Lips SPF 30. Then leave the house both looking good and feeling good, knowing that you are protected.
Post written by Jeffrey Benabio, MD
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Caffeine and Exercise Protect Against Skin Cancer
Caffeine and exercise together may be up to four times as protective against ultraviolet light induced skin cancer than either alone.
A recent laboratory study found that topical application of caffeine 30 min before ultraviolet-B (UVB) exposure inhibited the formation of thymidine dimers by 70 to 80 percent — thymidine dimers are the genetic basis for UVB-induced skin cancer.
Another study found that the combination of caffeine and exercise boosted elimination of ultraviolet light damaged cells in mice. Disposal of these cells would decrease the risk of future skin cancer.
The study compared the effects of caffeine, exercise, and the combination of both in three groups of mice whose exposed skin is prone to skin cancer.
One group of mice drank the equivalent of one to two cups of coffee a day in the form of caffeinated water. Another group ran on an exercise wheel, and a third drank the caffeinated water and ran on the wheel. All of the mice were exposed to UV radiation.
Some of the mice’s damaged skin cells were eliminated through apoptosis – a programed, choreographed process that occurs when damaged cells die. The rate of apoptosis among these damaged cells was highest in the third group that drank caffeine and exercised.
Of course, caffeine and exercise are not a substitute for wearing sunscreen. But it does justify splurging on a double latte today.
Just don’t bring your Starbucks venti coffee with you on the gym treadmill in the morning; that drives me nuts.
Lu, Y-P., Lou, Y-R., Peng, Q-Y., Xie, J-G., Nghiem, P., and Conney, A. H. (2007) Proc. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res. 48:821
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