Skin Articles

Before he answered our member’s questions, Dr Adil shared his trick for spotting signs of melanoma or a bad mole. Just follow the alphabet. ‘Think of the ABCD rule when you are checking your moles,’ Adil says. Here is what to look out for: 

Asymmetry - Is your mole not symmetrical? Go and get it checked! 

Border - Does your mole have a jagged edge instead of a smooth one? Go and get it checked!

Colour - Moles should be uniform in colour. If you can see any purple, blue or grey go and get it checked! 

Diameter - Is your mole growing? Guess what, go and get it checked. 

But, how can we check for these changes at home? There are lots of mobile applications that say they can diagnose a dodgy mole and ‘AI has come a long way over the last few years and we should all embrace it because it’s the future of dermatology’. However, Adil explains that at the moment, we should only use these as ‘monitoring tools not diagnostic ones’. Saying that apps and photos should give us a nudge to go to our GP. 

If you’re not into apps, not to worry your phone camera is just as useful. Simply snap your moles every month or so and check for changes. Dr Adil says, people with cases of melanoma in their families, or those with more moles or skin type one, should check once a month. People with darker skin types need to keep an eye out less often. A great resource for checking your skin type is the Fitzpatrick chart. 

Men, this applies to you more than most! 1 in 36 men is diagnosed with melanoma, in comparison to 1 in 47 females. This is because: ‘Men use less sun protection, they are less likely to visit their GPs and men normally get skin cancer on their torso and back. These areas are harder to see and monitor so cancers are often caught later on,’ explains Sheraz. 

Our members had loads of skin cancer questions. Here are three of the most useful Q&As: 

Are you more likely to get skincare as you age? 

Sheraz puts it simply: ‘Yes, you are.’ This is because of the accumulative sun that you have been exposed to throughout your life. Also, as you age your repair functions don’t work as well as they used to. This means that when the abnormal cancerous cells start to grow, your body is worse at fighting them off. 

Should I use sunbeds for a base tan? 

Sunbed usage before the age of 35 results in an 80% increased risk of melanoma. So, again Sheraz sets the record straight: ‘No sunbed is safe, you should not be using sunbeds.’ This is because every time you tan (even in the sun) your DNA is damaged. Normally your skin can repair this naturally but because of the high-intensity rays from sunbeds, your body is less resilient. Also, sunbeds don’t help with Vitamin D either as they only create tiny amounts of UVB rays, which are the ones that boost Vitamin D. 

What sunscreen should I be using to prevent skin cancer? 

‘The lowest that dermatologists recommend is SPF 30. Remember SPF is a marker of protection against UVB, the burning rays. So, you also need protection against UVA so go for something that says “broad spectrum” on the bottle,’ says Adil. 

People with skin type one or two need to go for something stronger, so make sure to apply SPF 50 every day. Whilst you apply, you should take extra care to apply the cream on the tops of your ears, lips, eyelids and soles of your feet (if you are on the beach). 

Whilst you're here, Adil wants to remind you that ‘sun cream should be applied every couple of hours’. Even if it’s water-resistant, you need to top it up after sweating and drying off with a towel. Also, ‘glass will only block UVB not UVA’, so you should apply protection if you are driving all day too.