iVillage Sun Care Poll / The Skin Cancer Foundation

Method
The results contained in this report are based on telephone interviews
conducted from May 11 - 13, 2007. A total of 1,004 interviews were completed,
with 521 female adults and 483 male adults. The margin of error for this study is
+/- 3 percentage points and is higher for subgroups. Statistically significant
differences are highlighted with upper case letters "A" and "B" within the tables.

Findings

A Majority Of Women Still Struggle With Their Relationship With The sun. Three
Quarters Love How It Makes Them Feel And Nearly Half Say It Makes Them
Looks Better, And Even One In Four Feels It Makes Them Look Thinner - And All
This Despite What We Know About The Damage The Sun Can Cause

Total Agreeing With Each Statement !Agrees Strongly Somewhat

Women Men
TOTAL
n=521 n=483
n=1004
A B

I know that tanning

is not good for me
43% 44% 42%
but, I look better
with a tan

I am more attracted
to people who are
29% 23% 36%A
tan than to people
who are not
I look thinner when I
21% 26%B 17%
have a tan

More than three quarters of Americans (76%) say that being out in the sun
makes them feel happy. In spite of potential adverse effects that the sun has on
our skin, seven in ten people also believe that the sun makes them feel healthy.

The gender gap comes back into view when we look at the different effects that
the sun has on men and women.

Women are more likely than men to say that the sun makes them feel sticky,
sleepy and/or lazy
A quarter of men surveyed report that the sun makes them feel sexy!

How Being in the Sun Makes Us Feel

Total Total Total

(n=1004) (n=521) (n=483)

Happy 76% 76% 76%

Healthy 68% 66% 70%

Sticky 52% 57% 47%

Sleepy 39% 44% 33%

Lazy 36% 41% 31%

Sexy 20% 16% 25%

S-U-N

U is for understanding.
Applying sunscreen before going outdoors is an important step that we can all
take to protect our skin from the sun.

Results from this study suggest a lack of understanding among Americans and
particularly among men, about the importance of using proper sun protection.

Only six in ten Americans wears sunscreen with an SPF 15 or higher.

Nearly half of all men surveyed say that they NEVER wear sunscreen.
Is it a macho thing? Or are they just lazy?

There is a notable difference between the number of men and women who wear
sunscreen everyday. Two in ten women wear sunscreen everyday, compared to
just one out of twenty men.

The gender gap is most likely attributed to the fact that women are more prone
to taking care of their skin everyday, regardless of time spent outdoors. They
regularly take the time to apply skin creams and makeup products that include
built in sun protection.

There clearly needs to be more understanding among men to realize that daily
skin care and sun protection is just as important for them as it is for women.

Wears Sunscreen With An SPF 15 Or Higher

Women Men
TOTAL
(n=521) (n=483)
n=1004
A B

Wears sunscreen
59% 65%B 52%
(NET)

Everyday 11% 18%B 4%

 Only on weekends 1% 1% 2%

Only when I know I'll

be outdoors, in the 39% 41% 37%
sun

Only when I know I'll

be outdoors,
2% 3% 2%
regardless of
weather

Only after being in

the sun for a few 4% 3% 5%A
hours

I never wear
sunscreen with an 1% 1% 2%
SPF of 15 or higher

I never wear
40% 34% 47%A
sunscreen

Once is never enough

While most American's are wearing sunscreen, research suggests that we might
not be wearing enough.

Generally speaking, doctors suggest that sunscreen should be reapplied at least

every two hours, regardless of the SPF. Even waterproof and water-resistant
sunscreens typically lose their effectiveness after about 80 minutes in the water
or after 80 minutes of heavy perspiration. [SOURCE: iVillage.com]

Results of this study show that a large number of people who wear sunscreen
are not taking the time to reapply their sun protection.
 Fifteen percent of people who wear sunscreen are waiting too long to reapply.
More than two in ten sunscreen wearers say that they never reapply.
Reapplying Sun Protection

TOTAL !Sunscreen Wearers

(n=619)

Never 22%

Once every hour 5%

Once every 2-3 hours 28%

Once every 4-6 hours 15%

After swimming or sweating 26%

Separating Fact from Myth

Aside from knowing when to wear sunscreen and how often to reapply, survey
results show that there are several other common misconceptions about the sun
and how we can protect ourselves.

More than half of Americans agreed that they can spend more time in the sun
if they wear sunscreen.
About one third of all Americans and more than four in ten men agree that
clothing and sunscreen provide the same levels of protection.
Sunscreen alone does not provide complete protection against UV rays. It is
only one component of a complete program to reduce the harmful effects of sun
exposure on the skin.

Also, wearing clothing provides more sun protection than sunscreen. People can
do more to protect themselves from the sun by limiting sun exposure during the
peak hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. [SOURCE: iVillage.com]
 Total Agreeing With Each Statement !(Agrees Strongly+ Somewhat)

Women Men
TOTAL
(n=521) (n=483)
n=1004
A B

I can spend more

time in the sun if I 55% 57% 53%
wear sunscreen

I get sun burned at

least once every 42% 39% 45%
year

I'm not worried

about getting skin 40% 33% 48%A
cancer

Clothing and
sunscreen provide
36% 29% 44%A
the same levels of
protection

S-U-N

Finally, N is for Naughty.

Despite everything we now know about the damaging effects of the sun on our
skin, most Americans would not change the amount of time they spent in the
sun when they were younger. If given the chance to change the past in order to
look more attractive today:

Only one in ten Americans would have spent less time in the sun during their
youth
An overwhelming majority (81%) would have spent more time exercising
Changing The Past To Look More Attractive in the Present

TOTAL

(n=1004)

Spent less time in the sun 12%

Spent more time exercising 81%

Don't know 7%

Returning to the present, when given the choice between having a nice tan year
round or the ability to lose weight without dieting, it comes as no surprise that
eight in ten Americans would opt to lose a few pounds the easy way.

However, interesting differences emerge between men and women as nearly

20% of men would prefer to have a nice tan.

Tanning vs. Losing Weight

Women Men

TOTAL!(n=1004) (n=521) (n=483)

A B

14% 11% 18%A

Nice tan all year
 round

Losing weight
80% 84%B 75%
without dieting

Don't know 6% 5% 8%

Ouch!, one in ten of these brave sun worshippers were even honest enough to
admit that they had trouble sitting comfortably one summer because they
burned a part of their body that they were too embarrassed to tell people about.

Had An Embarrassing Burn

TOTAL

(n=1004)

Yes 8%