Summer Skin Protection Top Tips

Unprotected skin can become damaged from the sun’s harsh rays in under 20 minutes. While you may notice a slight sunburn in the short term, the long-term effects are the most dangerous. Yale Medicine reports that when skin is damaged by ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun, it happens in the dermis, the deepest layers of the skin. It causes DNA changes at a cellular level, but it can take years for those damaged layers to become visible or develop skin cancer. So, what should you do to prevent this? With these summer skin protection top tips, you can take action to prevent short-term and long-term sun damage.

Summer Skin Protection Top Tips

1. Wear Proper Skin Protection

Summer skin protection comes in many forms, but we recommend having the following on hand whenever you take an extended trip outside:

• Minimum SPF 30 sunscreen
  • Note: Expired sunscreen is ineffective. Toss the old and buy new!
• SPF 30 lip balm
• Wrap-around sunglasses with 99% UVA and UVB protection
• Wide-brimmed hats, 3 to 4-inch brims.
• UV protective clothing and swimwear
  • Note: these specialized fabrics are light and breathable but tight. You want them to cover the entire expanse of your skin.

2. Avoid the Sun from 10 am to 2 pm

The sun is the strongest, and you are the most likely to obtain skin damage from 10 am to 2 pm. One of the summer skin protection top tips you can follow is to avoid the sun during this time. If you can’t avoid the sun for these four hours, we recommend ensuring you wear proper skin protection for the duration.

3. Apply Sunscreen throughout the Day

You put on your sunscreen when you got to the beach; that’s awesome! Unfortunately, sunscreen isn’t a one-and-done deal. Sunscreen needs to be applied every 2 hours if you are in direct sunlight, especially in those intense 10 am to 2 pm sunrays. Plus, if you are engaging in water activities, you will need to reapply every 80-90 minutes, even if the sunscreen claims to be waterproof.

Remember, you can get a sunburn from sunrise to sunset, so keep applying your sunscreen until you are back inside for the evening.

4. Protect Your Skin Even When Its Cloudy

It’s cloudy outside, so I don’t need to wear sun protection, right? Wrong! UV rays can penetrate clouds, which means you are still at risk of sun damage even when it is cloudy outside. Anytime you are outside, you should have sun protection.

Waccamaw Dermatology

The key to summer skin protection is awareness. If you are already experiencing any signs of skin cancer, please set up a consultation on our website.