QUESTION: When I am on holiday abroad, for example to Malta, I always get a rash at the beginning of the second week. Not on my hands or face, but on my chest, arms and legs. When I go to the beach in the Netherlands, I have no problems. A friend called it Mallorca acne. Could that be it? And what can I do about it?
ANSWER: “It's hard to diagnose without seeing the skin, but you probably do have Mallorca acne, aka Acne aestivalis † This form of acne often develops with excessive sun exposure.
Many Dutch people sunbathe too much and too often once they are at their holiday destination. The skin is not yet used to the sun, so you can suffer from a rash. A tanning bed before your holiday can cause or worsen Acne aestivalis.
It is important that you know which factor to use. This depends on your skin type. The white 'Dutch' skin has minimum factor 30 necessary, but depending on the holiday destination, this can increase to a factor of 50+. Please inform your pharmacy about this.
For optimal protection, the skin should be rubbed every two to three hours. Build up UV exposure slowly and do not sit in the sun during the hottest hours of the day. Do you want to get a tan faster? Then use a self-tanning product once a week.
It is advisable in your case to use an anti-sunscreen product with a light texture:a product that is too greasy can aggravate the rash. Always make sure you have a good aftersun † The sun removes a lot of moisture from the skin and an aftersun restores the moisture balance.”
Margriet van der Klught, training manager Vichy
