Finally, the weather is warmer, and summer is here. A lot of people dread the long, hot days of summer. Then there are those of us who can never seem to get enough of the hot weather and sun. However, that being said, no matter what type of person you are, it is vital to protect yourself from the sun’s harmful UV rays.
In the winter, you can get by with less sunscreen because there are only certain areas of your skin that are exposed to the environment. As the weather gets better, we all tend to spend more time outdoors and strip more of our clothes away.
Here are some vital things to remember as the seasons transition.
You need to wear sunscreen no matter what color your skin is. There is a myth that once you develop a tan, you can get rid of the protection. There is also a myth that those of us with darker skin are protected automatically. However, this could not be further from the truth. In fact, quite the opposite. Unfortunately, skin cancer is also common in dark-skinned individuals and is also more difficult to detect, meaning that it can be further along when it gets diagnosed.
Some other necessities: You need to wear sunscreen even on cloudy days, and you need to wear it no matter what time of day it is.
You also need to wear sunscreen no matter how much time you are outside. So many patients tell me that they are only outside long enough to go from their house to car or from their car into the store. This might be true. However, we tend to underestimate how much time our skin is actually exposed to the harmful UV rays. Plus, we often have to park at the end of a parking lot, which means that we get a lot more sun than we expected.
And avoid tanning beds at all costs. So many people use them at the onset of summer to get tanned for the beach or other outdoor venues. There are a lot of over the counter healthier products that you can apply to your skin to get that same glow, and that look much more natural than the fake-tan appearance you get from either a tanning bed or from being outside without sunscreen.