Wear The Sunscreen. No Excuses!
Just like any youngster growing up in Texas, the pool and sun were my best friends, and eventually tanning beds became my “stress relief” in high school. There were even times I would subject my skin to the sun and the tanning bed in a 12 hour period – with no protection, of course. I want to say I stopped after a skin cancer scare at the age of 17, but I am positive there were a few more times I had to get a “base tan” before summer began. Cue the eye rolls from every skin expert alive, including myself.
It wasn't until I started in esthetics at 20 that I began understanding proper skincare and realized how severe the damage could get if I continued what I was doing. Celebrities started looking more leathery instead of glamorous; freckles were no longer “cute” anymore. Then, I started seeing my own damage come to the surface in the form of severe discoloration. Since then, I consider the sun and I “frenemies.” You will most likely never see me outside, especially without sunscreen, and there better be air conditioning or shade readily available!
If we get really technical about it, from what I understand the sun itself is not what causes damage and aging. It is actually inflammation coming from various light wavelengths we encounter from it. Everyone's skin reacts the same to inflammation on a biological standpoint, but what comes after the inflammation has dispersed, is usually dependent on a patient's genetic makeup. This makeup will tell us if a patient will:
pigment after exposure to inflammation (Post-Inflammation Hyperpigmentation, or PIH);
if he or she will have chronic erythema (redness, capillaries and rosacea);
or the likelihood of them getting skin cancer.
Even siblings with the same parents will react differently to inflammation, one having more discoloration than the other, for example.
Throughout my career, I have heard plenty of similar stories to mine – using baby oil and laying in the sun for hours, no sun protection, and not a care in the world. What surprises me is when we all make excuses as to why we don't wear sunscreen, especially after seeing the damage already happening, so I'm addressing them here, and calling myself out in the meantime.
Excuse #1: “I am in an office all week, so I only wear sunscreen on the weekends when I am outside.”
One of the most important things I try to stress to my patients is that sunscreen is not just for when you plan to be outdoors. Even when you are in an office all day, or it is cloudy at your child's soccer game on Saturday, the sun's rays can penetrate through practically anything, and the heat from those rays coming in your office window, can cause more harm than good. As an extension, uncontrolled blue light rays from computer screens and cell phones (that we all use) can also cause DNA damage and accelerate aging.
Excuse #2: “I only wear sunscreen in the summer.”
The true reason for needing sun protection year-round is because the power to cause damage through inflammation will always be present. That power is active when reflecting off rain particles in the clouds, or when we feel the warmth coming in our car window on a cold day. People even get sunburns and inflammation from wind, when they are out in temperatures below freezing, if that says anything.
Thanks to a few amazing dermatologists, chemists, and other geniuses of the like, we now have skincare products that not only protect us from UVA and UVB rays, and the damage they come with, but also inflammation from infrared (IR-A/heat) and High-Energy Visible (HEV/blue light) wavelengths. Sunscreen is not seasonal, and protecting ourselves from unnecessary inflammation is what I believe proper protection is all about.
Excuse #3: “I don't need sunscreen.”
I hear this mostly from my patients with darker skin types. The truth is, inflammation is color-blind. Outside of the obvious burn from hours in the sun with most skin tones, damage by inflammation can also look like discoloration from acne breakouts, heat- or hormone/oil-induced melasma, and severe collagen loss, especially at a young age. These, among other common concerns, can be prevented by proper protection from the elements causing them. Yes, this includes using sunscreen, but also other products that contain antioxidants like vitamin C or E.
Excuse #4: “There's SPF in my moisturizer, so I'm good.”
Typically when I hear moisturizer (or makeup) plus SPF, I immediately think of 2-in-1 shampoo; how much of it is actually protecting versus just providing moisture? Most skin professionals prefer patients to use a separate sunscreen on top of a moisturizer or hydrating product, then any extra protection with makeup is just a perk!
Excuse #5: “I can never find a sunscreen that goes well with my skin.”
The biggest obstacle I feel everyone has experienced with sunscreen products, is finding the right one for our skin type, skin tone, or activity level. I always suggest looking for a formulation with zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, two of the most important ingredients for proper protection. My favorite sunscreens are by ZO Skin Health and Elta MD. They have the most comprehensive line of sun protection products on the market, for every patient imaginable, so there are no more excuses for anyone!
As someone who has experienced various skin issues in the past, and even now, I feel being able to relate to my patients comes easily. I will always admit to my skincare wrong-doings and excuses because I want to extend my knowledge more so from my personal experience than just professional education. I feel this allows my patients and I to develop a better understanding of each other and a better expectation of what is to be achieved. Through experience comes knowledge, and I believe it is selfish to keep knowledge to ourselves.