The sun seeker vs. the sun shader

Sarah-Belle Murphy

Thursday, August 20, 2009

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Madonna and Kate Moss take a very approach to fun in the sun. Where do you stand on the sun bathing camp?

The effect UV rays have on our skin's ageing process, not to mention our health, is something that any savvy woman in today's world is well aware of. And while this knowledge sends some of us running for cover, for others, indulging in a spot of sun worshipping is just too tempting to resist.

VIEW GALLERY: Are stars too skinny?

Take the recent pap snaps of Kate Moss in St Tropez looking just a tad overdone. The evidence of sun damage is etched on her forehead, but will that dampen her penchant for basking bikini-clad on yachts? Unlikely.

The model is reportedly on a mission to shave 10 years off her appearance with a healthier lifestyle, after being shocked by the recent photographs. But as we all know, once damage has been done, reversing it is near mission impossible.

On the other end of the scale, and in the same week, Madonna was snapped in Italy hitting the beach in something only slightly more revealing than a coldwater wetsuit. The queen of pop, now in her fifties, is pulling out all the stops when it comes to preventing premature ageing.

She's allegedly going as far as wrapping her body in anti-ageing wraps before bedtime. Effective or not, it's a passion-killer in the extreme. There is no denying the star looks youthful half a century into her life, but at what cost? Well, whatever the price is of cosmetic procedures, extreme rituals and unflattering bathers, by all accounts.

While Kate and Madonna point to both ends of the sun-protection scale, it highlights the importance of looking after our skin as we head back into warmer months.

Your say: Are you a "Kate" or "Madonna" in the sun? Tell us about your approach to sun protection.

User reviews

Kate moss still looks better though? hah.

Palid, I'm totally with you on this. I also have naturally pale skin which only burns on contact with the sun and doesn't tan, but I've been insulted many times by ignorant people (mostly non-caucasian males), who for some reason see it as their right to tell me how I would look so much hotter with a tan, or that I need to go out and get a tan because I'm too white! Never mind the fact that it's not actually possible for me to change the colour of my skin, but according to them I just look white because I am choosing to be?? I don't know why it's acceptable to tell someone who naturally lacks skin melanin that they are too white and yet I'm sure these same people would never tell someone who is naturally black 'oh you'd look so much hotter if you weren't so dark'! I also wish someone in the media would address this reverse discrimination.

kate moss' skin looks that way due to over-indulgence in drugs and alcohol. the northern hemisphere's sun would only leave someone looking like that if they spent every minute of their life on the beach.

When I was younger I used to bake myself for hours, trying desperately to obtain that "golden" tan. Not only did I feel I looked better but I also thought I looked healthier. I no longer bask in the sun for hours, I am 23 and I know better. You'd be silly not to wear sunscreen and take precautions in the sun. Truth is, most people take these warnings too far. Studies show that young aussie kids are suffering with problems as a result of a LACK of vitamin D, which of coarse is from the sun. People need at least 10 minutes of sun a day. You can wear your sunscreen and still enjoy the outdoors! And if you still want that gorgous tan - It comes in a bottle! It may be a little bit more effort but it beats getting nasty skin cancer down the track. Now thats NOT pretty!

It is more likely to be all the parties, drugs and alcohol that have put those wrinkles on Kate's face! I'm a sun baby from a very early age (I'm now 48) and I have only just got my first wrinkles around my eyes. That's the natural ageing process. Living a clean, sober life, getting plenty of sleep, drinking lots of water (not coffee) and good doses of sunshine have kept me looking young and wrinkle free!

Sun exposure prematurely ages skin, scientific fact not so much raising eyebrows. Who is fooling themselves here. Smoking prematurely ages skin, scientific fact. Genetics also plays a part. Dermatology journals can demonstrate people of the same age relatively well matched from North queensland,nsw, Vic and Tasmania to someone from England and the results of sun exposure are quite remarkable in the different latitudes. u-v exposure from sun beds or sunlight has the potential to damage dna and lead to the chnages that cause skin cancer. Fact. The more fairskinned you are the more at risk. Look at the skin colour of a full blood indigenous Australian, that is the skin type that evolved for our Australian sun.

I'm only 23 and I have people from my grade from school who look like they're 30... I'm sorry but I don't want to be a leatherface prune before I'm meant to!

I'm only 23 and I have people from school who look like they're 30 already... I'm sorry but I don't want to look like a leatherface prune before I'm meant to!

While not going to the extremes Madonna goes too, I am very careful about the amount of sun exposure I have. I am 41yrs of age and rarely am thought to be in this age bracket. I seldom stay in the sun for more than a few minutes at a time and I have no desire to change this behaviour. Not only does the ageing effect concern me, but the skin cancer concerns me more-so. I spent many years when younger in the sun as there was minimal information regarding sun cancer and the reltivity of the sun to it. Now Being better informed is being better protected. No more sun worshipping for me and my 20 yr old daughter is the same. sunscreen and shade are a way of life for us.

My boyfriend and I are both extremely fair skinned, almost like milk, in fact. As such, we are both genetically predisposed to burn very easily, even in Winter. Personally, I hate summer and the sun, but I know the sun needed to prevent rickets and boost your Vitamin D levels. So we tend to go out early in the mornings, get some sun on our faces and arms, before putting on sunblock and setting up the sun umbrellas and hiding for the rest of the day. Oh, and we avoid the beach.

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