Sun Protection for All Skin Tones | The Healthy Beauty Project -by Todra Payne

By Lindsay MacAdam

We all know it’s important to protect our skin from the sun’s harmful rays year-round. But it becomes especially important in the spring and summer months, when the rays are stronger and we’re spending much more time outdoors.

To find out more about how to properly protect skin from sun exposure, I spoke with Dr. Marcy Street, Dermatologist, Mohs Surgeon, and Medical Director and Founder of Doctor’s Approach Dermatology and Skin Cancer Center in East Lansing, Michigan.

When selecting a sunblock, Dr. Street recommends looking for something that’s waterproof and broad spectrum (protects against UVA and UVB), containing titanium dioxide and/or zinc oxide, with an SPF of 15 or higher—SPF 30 is best.

Despite popular opinion, sunblock shouldn’t be reserved for a day on the beach. Rather, it should be an essential part of our everyday skin care routine. According to Dr. Street, “If you can find a single-use product that protects you from the sun and also contains antioxidants to reverse the sun damage you currently have, that’s ideal.”

Those taking acne medications—oral, topical, or even over-the-counter acne products – need to be particularly careful. These treatments are known to increase sensitivity to the sun, so users need to make sure they’re applying a hydrating sunscreen on a daily basis while keeping sun exposure to a minimum.

Remember, sun products work best when applied two hours before sun exposure. Regardless of the SPF level, reapply every hour and a half to two hours. If you go swimming or sweat, you should reapply promptly.

SPF 30 provides protection from approximately 97% of harmful rays. Anything higher than 30 only increases that protection by a miniscule amount.  If you’re spending time outside but you’re fully clothed, you should be wearing sunblock under your clothing. According to Dr. Street, the average white t-shirt only has an SPF of around 7.

When it comes to skin tone, no one is exempt from wearing sunblock. “In general, people of color will have some added protection,” says Dr. Street, “but sunblock is important for everyone to wear because we all need to shield our skin from the damaging rays that can cause long-term effects.” Skin cancer can develop no matter what color your skin is. A dark-skinned person, for example, might have moles that can potentially change upon exposure.

According to Dr. Street,those with fair skin and light eyes tend to be at a higher risk for developing pre-cancers and skin cancer. “In addition to wearing sunblock, they should be more vigilant about avoiding the peak sun exposure times, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m,” she says. If you have a family history of skin cancer, you should definitely take extra precautions when it comes to protecting your skin and being out it the sun.

For many of us, it took reaching adulthood to realize how important sun protection is. If you fall into this category and are concerned about the damage that may have been done to your skin in the past, Dr. Street suggests scheduling regular check-ups with a dermatologist. They’re trained to evaluate moles and pre-cancers, and can help you catch a potential problem at the earliest possible stage, which is so important. If pre-cancerous cells are found, there are a variety of light treatments available—such as blue light, recently discussed on the television show The Doctors—which can be used to destroy the cells before they develop into skin cancer.

If you’re given the A-OK from the dermatologist, but you’d like to diminish the visual signs of sun damage on your skin, Dr. Street advises looking for products that contain vitamins A, C and E. “Vitamin A, also known as retinol, helps stimulate cellular turnover and the exfoliation process, which slows down with age and sun damage,” she says. “Vitamins C and E are antioxidants that help reverse the free-radical damage that chronic sun exposure can cause.”

Dr. Street also made a point to stress the danger of tanning beds, which have finally been proven to be directly linked to cancer. If you are longing for a sun-kissed glow without the skin damage that comes along with the real thing, she recommends looking for a self-tanning product that includes skin-soothing ingredients, like the vitamins mentioned above—but don’t think bronzed skin means you can skip the sunblock.

Below are some of our favorite natural sunscreens:
•  Badger SPF 30+ Unscented Sunscreen
• Purple Prairie Sun Stick SPF 30
• Soléo Organics All Natural Sunscreen SPF 30+
• UV Natural Sunscreen SPF 30+