WA skin specialist Marian Rubock says ‘slip, slop, slap’ leads to Vitamin D deficiency

West Australians lacking vitamin D should stay in the sun until their skin turns pink, according to a skin specialist.

Marian Rubock said the “slip, slop, slap” message had gone too far and led to more people suffering health conditions from lack of sun exposure.

Ms Rubock said nine out of 10 clients she sees at her Cottesloe clinic were vitamin D deficient. Symptoms include burning throat or mouth, cramps, sleeplessness, softening of bones or teeth, irritated digestive system and skin conditions such as acne.

To boost vitamin D, she recommends exposure to the sun for 20-30 minutes during the heat of the day, “until you feel and see your skin go pink”.

But Cancer Council WA said advocating sun exposure during the day — when UV rays were strongest — was “potentially harmful”.

Ms Rubock said education about “sun health” shouldn’t just be about protection.

“When you’re talking about SunSmart, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach because it depends on your skin type and there are seven skin types,” she said, adding that minerals were vital to skin health.

“Generally speaking, if you have no magnesium and you’re not really getting out in the sun or you’re putting sunblock on, and you’re not getting those nutrients, you’re really setting yourself up for disease.

“The sun helps us make serotonin, it makes us feel good, it makes us feel alive. There’s got to be a little more education around wellness and sun health, as opposed to just being about protection.”

Ms Rubock said a dose of erythema, which was a measurement of UV rays required to turn the skin temporarily pink or red, helped generate vitamin D and keep the skin healthy.

“If you’re only going out for one erythema dose which may be 20 minutes or 30 minutes, that’s all you need to do,” she said. “Your skin needs to go pink, then you cover up and use sunscreen.”

But Cancer Council WA spokesman Mark Strickland said if skin turns pink, “it’s already the first step towards a sunburn”.

He said the incidental sun people get on their arms, face and hands as they walk from the car to the office or down to the shops for lunch was “more than enough” for vitamin D.

Even for people who are vitamin D deficient, any exposure to the sun without protection when the UV index is above three is not recommended, he said, adding that only about 6 per cent of Australians had moderate or significant vitamin D deficiency.

“It’s far from being an epidemic and when you balance that with the skin cancer rates, we see in excess of 23,000 people a year dying from skin cancer in Australia and 950,000 lesions are removed from Australians every year,” Mr Strickland said.

“Vitamin D is important but there’s nothing about the slip, slop, slap message that is intended to reduce the amount of vitamin D you get.”