Yes, You Absolutely Need Sunscreen Every Single Day. Here's Why.

 

Let’s clear up a common myth: sunscreen isn’t just for sunny beach days. Treating it as an occasional product is one of the biggest mistakes you can make for your skin’s health. The truth is, daily sunscreen is the single most crucial and effective step you can take for a healthy, youthful complexion, 365 days a year.

The reason is simple: invisible ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The sun emits two main types that harm our skin: UVA and UVB. An easy way to remember the difference is UVA for “aging” and UVB for “burning.”

UVB rays are what cause visible sunburns. Their intensity can vary depending on the weather. However, UVA rays are the silent threat. They are responsible for deep-level skin damage, like the breakdown of collagen, which leads to wrinkles, fine lines, and dark spots. Most importantly, UVA rays are relentlessly consistent. They penetrate through clouds and even glass, meaning your skin is exposed during your daily commute, while sitting near a window at work, or even on the gloomiest, coldest days.

This incidental, year-round exposure adds up. It’s the primary cause of what dermatologists call “photoaging,” which accounts for the vast majority of visible signs of aging. Beyond aesthetics, the daily defense is critical for your health. Consistent use of a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPFDo you really need to apply sunscreen every day? What about in winter?
I don’t think if you’re going to like my answer but here’s I see it.

I do use sun-screen. I don’t use as often as I should but I try to cover my skin when I’m spending a lot of time outside.

On the other hand, I know of people working in a field 12 hours a day, in the soaring sun who never got skin cancer. I don’t think that soldiers when preparing to go out in the desert tell themselves “Hey John, don’t forget to get your Nivea sun screen next to an extra mag for your M4”.

Skin cancer is possible and UV radiation increases the chance for it but technically, you have a higher chance to die in a car accident than by getting skin cancer.

I don’t know of a single person to have developed skin cancer and in my country almost none wears sun-screen. I know of people spending entire summers in the sun, at the beach and surviving the experience without having to be rushed in the ER room.

Now don’t get me wrong – use sun-screen, just don’t fall for the fear induced mindset that if you go a bit outside in the sun without sunscreen, your skin is going to turn blue and you’re going to die especially if you are unlikely to burn (black hair, brown eyes, naturally olive skin or even black skin).

I would not go so far to say that skin cancer is a first world problem but once again, I doubt that poor families in India or Pakistan start their day by applying their UV 50 sun screen. If every single person who spends time in the sun without protection would develop skin cancer, the population of Earth would be reduced by 95% in six months.

Fortunately, the ratio is around 45 people per 100.000 who develop skin cancer and the factors are more complex than just simple exposure. You could very well be amongst those 45 but you need to make the difference between advertising that is trying to sell you products and actual need.

DO use sun-screen when required and when spending a lot of time under the sun (like hiking or running).

DO NOT fall into the “OMG, we’re all going to die” hype.

After all, if you are to follow the statistics …

you’d not have sex because it is very easy to get an STD …
you’d not drive a car because you’ll die in an accident (did you knew that in Montana there’s a 1 in 4000 chances to die in a car accident?) …
you’d never travel because plans do go down …
you’d never spend time in the sun because you can get skin cancer …
you’d never go for a run because you can slip and die …
… and so on.

If you’re going to the beach, use sun screen.

If you’re going on a two hour hike, use sun screen.

If you’re going to Wall-mart or to walk your dog for 15 minutes, I wouldn’t worry about this. Yes, there’s a chance to develop skin cancer but there’s also a chance for a meteorite to hit you and you don’t think about that every day.

Be rational about it.