The latest skin-cancer prevention advice is to stop trusting sunscreen as the front line of defense against harmful rays.

Instead, wear sunblocking clothing or stay out of the sun altogether, experts say.

Sunscreen has been shown to protect against UV skin damage, as well as basal carcinomas and squamous-cell carcinoma — two of the three most common skin cancers.

However, it has not been conclusively shown to protect against melanoma, the most fatal kind, said Stephan Lautenschlager of the Outpatient Clinic of Dermatology at Triemli Hospital in Switzerland.

Wearing sun-protective clothing and a hat and reducing sun exposure to a minimum should be preferred to sunscreens," Lautenschlager said.

People tend to sunbathe for social reasons, he said.

"Nevertheless, sunscreens should not be abused in an attempt to increase time in the sun to a maximum."

The best clothing for sun protection is tightly woven, thick garments made of denim, wool or polyester, not cotton, linen or acetate, he said.