The school year has wrapped up and summer is in full swing with the reopening of local waterparks and spraygrounds and the start of outdoor concerts and fitness classes. But all that time outside can take a toll on your skin.
Wearing sunscreen is a nonnegotiable, no matter the season, says Courtney Herbert of FDL Dermatology in Ballston, but especially in the summer.
Herbert, a Best of Arlington winner and American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) fellow, recommends using water-resistant, broad-spectrum sunscreen that protects against both UVA (skin-aging) and UVB (cancer-causing) sun rays—and reapplying it often.
“Spraying it on in the morning and then moving on to whatever you’re doing doesn’t mean that you’re OK,” she says.
Research suggests a troubling public health trend: A May AAD report found that 52% of 18- to 25-year-olds were unaware of one or more sunburn risks, including the increased risk of developing skin cancer or premature skin aging. More than a third of people in that age group (37%) said they used sunscreen only when someone nagged them to.
“Anyone can get skin cancer—any age, any gender, any skin tone—and people forget that,” Herbert says.
We asked her to shed light on other common sun-related skincare myths. The responses below have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
☀️ Myth: The highest SPF is the best.
No sunscreen is going to block 100% of UVA and UVB rays. We recommend an SPF of at least 30. That blocks 97% of UVB rays, which are the most damaging. The higher number SPFs last the same amount of time as the lower number SPFs when you’re outside. And it really does need to be reapplied, whichever one you choose.
☀️ Myth: More expensive sunscreens are better.
You can get the Costco brand, or Coppertone, or spend $700 on La Mer. All I care about is that it’s something you’re going to use and you’re going to reapply.
☀️ Myth: Sunscreens contain chemicals that are harmful to humans and the environment.
The current scientific evidence doesn’t show that any sunscreen ingredients are harmful to human health. AAD supports the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine’s recommendation that the Environmental Protection Agency assess the ecological risk of active ingredients in sunscreen. A 2022 report found that evidence of harm so far is very inconclusive.
☀️ Myth: Avoid putting sunscreen on babies.
Keep kids under six months out of the sun as much as possible. After six months, you can use sunscreens that have zinc oxide or titanium dioxide, which are physical blockers. Special sunscreens made for infants or toddlers can cause less irritation for their sensitive skin.
☀️ Myth: Wearing sunscreen fully protects me from sun damage and cancer.
No. You need to also wear SPF clothing. Many companies have nearly perfected this. They’ve even researched how many washes a garment can sustain before it loses its effectiveness. Wear broad-brimmed hats and sunglasses. These are critical because you forget how much damage you can get to your retinas. I wear gloves in the car because the tops your hands get so much damage [through the window] when you’re driving and sitting in traffic.
☀️ Myth: If I do all this, I won’t get skin cancer.
These precautions will protect you from sun damage, but they won’t necessarily protect you from cancer. The biggest question we get from patients is, “How did you find that cancer on my buttock or the bottom of my foot? It wasn’t an area that I was sunning.” There is a genetic component to it.
☀️ Myth: I need sun exposure to get vitamin D.
Vitamin D is important, and using sun protection does decrease the body’s production of vitamin D. I advise patients to make sure they are getting an adequate amount of vitamin D from their diet. Fatty fish like salmon and cow’s milk are two good sources. If you’re concerned about having a vitamin D deficiency, talk to your primary care physician about supplementation. You don’t want to take too much of it because you can get kidney stones and problems with the calcium imbalances.
☀️ Myth: I love the look of a real tan. There’s no other way to achieve that.
Tanning damages your skin, speeds up the aging process and increases your risk of skin cancer by beating down the mechanisms that we have built in to protect ourselves from sun exposure. You can get that same look with tinted lotions and tinted sunscreens. Spray tans and self-tanners are now quite advanced in their ability to make you not look orangey.