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Sun exposure: how much is too much?

Aziraphale

Veteran

Reading through Alicat's self-tanner thread (I'm a pale girl too) reminded me of a question that's been bugging me for a while. It's the question of sun exposure: how much is too much?

I ask because I'd prefer not to get skin cancer and excessive wrinkles, but I can't help but feel that slathering your skin with sunblock every time you leave the house might be, I don't know, somehow unhealthy. They say you're supposed to wear sunblock all the time, even on cloudy days, even in the winter, even if you're only going to be outside for 10 minutes. How can this be right? Doesn't your skin need to breathe? Who knows what all those chemicals are doing besides blocking the sun's rays?

I'm all for wearing sunblock if I'm going to be out in the blazing sun at midday. It prevents burns, which is always a good thing. However, I have noticed that if I'm out in the sun for a long time, I feel slightly ill anyway, despite wearing tons of sunblock and a hat. I don't get a burn, but my skin feels hot and uncomfortable for hours afterward.

The only solution I've found so far is to stay out of the sun during the hot part of the day (in summer). I'm of English/Scandinavian descent, so I guess my skin isn't meant to see much sun anyway! But this isn't always practical.

Any thoughts? Am I being irrational? Does anyone have any other solutions?

General

17 replies

Latest reply was from anne

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

It totally depends where you are too. A Seattle/ Dutch sun is *nothing* compared to the power of an African sun (have lived in Africa for many years and paid my serious sun dues on two occasions). I'm sure that the Australian sun is a force of nature too.

A morning walk in the sun, with some sunblock if you are fair like us, is really good I think.

Oh, and I wear SPF 40 every day (face, neck and hands).

Louise

Veteran

I (try to) put SPF30 on every morning if it's sunny, if it's overcast or winter I just use a moisturiser with SPF 25 (I always think moisturiser with SPF is less effective that true suncream, don't know where I got this idea from as I suppose an SPF is the same no matter what it's in?) I'm not religious about reapplying unless I know I'm going to be out in the sun continuously all day, though I do carry a mineral powder sunblock which I'll sometimes fluff on x

lyn*

(website)

Veteran

PS: The "feeling slightly ill" = you're probably dehydrated. Keep up your fluids

sarah

Veteran

I have pretty strong opinions about this. You should wear sunscreen every sunny day, with UVA/UVB protection, along with sunglasses. If you're worried about vitamin D deficiency, you can have your doctor check you, and take a supplement if necessary. A neighbor down the street died from a melanoma a few years back, leaving behind two elementary school aged children. You definitely don't want to mess around with this.

MsMaven

Veteran

I advise you to err on the side of caution. The earth's atmosphere isn't as protective as in prior decades, so the damage might be much worse 20-30 years from now than for past generations.

DH grew up in So Cal and spent plenty of time on the beach. He has had a lot of pre-cancers to treat on his face and neck. I also have skin damage from my carefree youth when getting a tan was highly desirable.

In anticipation of my yearly trip to the dermatologist I put some Efudex on my reddish-looking throat and upper chest. (This is chemotherapy cream for cancer and pre-cancers.) I was surprised to find I didn't have a reaction to it on my chest, EXCEPT at the cleavage. I have put sunscreen on my body, but over the years missed getting it low enough and here I am dealing with the painful result.

Make sure you put it all over your hands and reapply. My hands are the first place the damage showed up. Too bad I didn't take photos of them while treating them last year.

I am also English/Scandinavian, but I do have a Mediterranean spirit. I love sunshine.

Anonymous

There has actually been an increase of skin cancer since the use of chemical sun screen- you can find many studies on it. Some believe it to be the chemicals of the sun screen affects on the body and creation of free radicals. Some believe it to be that people stay out longer. And of course problems with sunscreens breaking down
in the sun (not photostable). Avobenzone HAS to be reapplied often.

It was discovered that avobenzone, one of the most widely used sun filters in sunscreen formulations, degrades rapidly upon exposure to light when it is used by itself. This characteristic decreases avobenzone’s ability to protect against UVA rays. However, when avobenzone is combined with certain ingredients, such as octocrylene, the result is a stable sun filter, which delivers the ability to block UVA rays effectively.
Studies have shown that a range of sun filters including Mexoryl XL, Mexoryl SX, Tinosorb M, Tinosorb S, zinc oxide and titanium dioxide are photostable. As long as they are found in adequate concentratations, sunscreens containing these ingredients will deliver over time.

Vitamin D and Disease- 1/2 hour of sun exposure is enough.

In 2005, scientists cited in the journal "Photochemisty and Photobiology" studied the number of cases of cancer, multiple sclerosis, and hip fractures that probably could have been prevented with adequate vitamin D intake versus the number of cases of skin cancer and cataracts that likely have been prevented by avoiding excess sun exposure. The investigators concluded that the number of cancer deaths that could be prevented with adequate vitamin D far outweigh the number of deaths from skin cancer.

Sun does cause skin damage - so protect your face with a hat. Stay out of the sun or wear clothing that covers during peak hours- 10am to 3pm.

RoseandJoan

Veteran

Well I'm also of the very fair variety and I love to have a morning coffee sitting in the garden without sunblock when the weather allows. I will also go for a walk without sunblock on my legs BUT I slather on the factor 40 once the sun is high, wear a hat and sit under an umbrella.

There are now cases of rickets returning which has been linked to the use of total sunblock so I also allow careful exposure of my girls' skin to the sun (they have never burned or tanned).

Diana

Veteran

OK, so keep in mind that I am (a) not caucasian, but East Asian, so my skin is not "white", and (b) hardly ever burn - I think I have gotten sunburnt twice in my entire life, both after spending all day at the beach.

I think that your skin knows what it can handle. By that, I mean that a little tan is fine but sun exposure to the point of burning is not. So, sunblock should definitely be used to the extent that it'll prevent you from getting burnt/overly tanned, but I don't think it's necessary to slather it on to avoid any and all sun exposure at all.

I use a facial moisturizer daily with SPF 15 on my face, but don't use sunscreen other than that unless I'm going to be spending all day outside or going to the beach or something. I'm also allergic to one or more of the chemical UVA blockers (probably avobenzone but I'm not 100% sure and unwilling to test it out) so I stick to primarily mineral/physical sunblocks like zinc oxide which is longer lasting. I also usually wear great big sunglasses in the sun, but that's more because my eyes are sensitive to bright light.

nicoleb

(website)

Veteran

This can be a pretty hotly debated topic and i've seen and heard both sides many times and what i've come up with is this: It greatly depends on where you live and what your skin type is like but i believe both (the sun and sunblock that is), in moderation, are fine. I don't consider the sun my enemy but i also have seen what happens to those who worship it. Most of all i say stay hydrated and don't get sunburnt.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Thanks for your input, ladies.

Angie: it's absolutely true that the weak Vancouver sun is nothing like what you get in Africa! That's part of the reason I asked this question. I used to wear sunblock every day when we lived in California. Here, it's cloudy most of the time. I have a hard time with the idea of clogging up my skin with sunscreen every day of our cold, gray autumn/winter, especially since I don't have a job that requires I be outside. I wear it on the sunny days in spring, and pretty much every day of the summer.

lyn: I'm sure I'm not dehydrated. I drink plenty of water. I'm also pretty sure that sun damage occurs despite the sunblock. The sunblock might lessen the damage, and it definitely prevents a painful burn, but the fact that I feel gross and my skin feels hot and prickly after being out all day in the sun -- slathered in spf 40!! -- might have more to do with the colour of my skin than how much I drink! Thanks for the tip, though.

nicoleb: I wholeheartedly agree with you. I try to find a happy medium, too. I do wear sunblock when there is a chance I could get a burn, and I haven't had a sunburn since I was about 15. Honestly I don't like being out in the blazing sun -- it makes me hot and crabby! But I do love fresh air and exercise. It's just hard to justify glooping on the sunscreen when I'm just dropping my kids off at school on a cloudy day.

Louise

Veteran

elisabeth I'd be inclined to choose a moisturiser with an SPF if you're only dropping the kids to school. Could you try a different sunblock if it's making your skin feel 'gloopy' I'm currently using one by Peter Thomas Roth and it's fantastic not greasy or gloopy at all and I've had no breakouts x

DanaLynn

Great topic! I know exactly how you feel.

I have a hard time buying into the fact that the sun is a giant ball of poison that rains down on us and the only way to avoid it is by wearing SPF 70 everyday of the year.

At the same time I have a hard time believing th other side, that sun block is a concoction of cancer causing potives that we are applying to our largest and most vulnerable organ.

On top of that every 3 months I have to have my vitD checked because I am so deficient and my doctor attributes it directly to my heavy use of sunblock. Ive cut back since then and now will go out in the early morning with out any on to drink my coffee or walk the dog. I still have to take supplements but I no longer have to take prescription strength.

As others have mentioned I'm kind of living in the happy middle right now. I use block every day in the summer- which is 8 months of the year in az. But I still get a little sun sans sunscreen.

I am eager to see if anyone else has recommendations for good products that are not goopy, and don't cause breakouts.

Aziraphale

Veteran

Louise: thanks for the suggestion. As it happens, I do like the sunblock I use -- it does a pretty good job of disappearing into my skin without leaving a residue, and it doesn't appear to cause breakouts. When I say "glooping on the sunblock," I'm referring to the amount you're supposed to use -- they say you have to put quite a lot on to get the sunblocking effect.

It's more the *idea* of coating my entire face/neck/chest with a chemical cocktail that makes me a little uncomfortable. But like anything, you weigh the risks (unknown safety of the sunblock itself -- is it possible sunblock can contribute to cancer?) against the benefits (KNOWN prevention of sunburn, which carries its own cancer risk). And so I tend to wear it only when there's a risk of sunburn happening.

There's another reason I'm becoming increasingly gun shy when it comes to putting stuff on my skin. Over the past five years, I've started to develop rashes in response to certain skin creams. It appears that some of this is related to hormones -- I'm way more rashy at a certain point in my menstrual cycle, sorry for TMI! -- but I have had definite reactions to nice-smelling face creams. Yikes!

taylor

Veteran

I believe everything from plants to humans thrive with a good dose of sunshine...but I am with you...how much is too much. ???

I grew up 20 min. from Santa Cruz and have had too many sunburns to count...but i also tan up fairly easily so I am not too fearful when I am in the sun. I wear foundation with sunblock in it...but never on my body. I usually allow my self only up to 1 hr, in direct sun per day in the summer...my skin seems to handle that well enough.

I am with you...the thought of slathering myself each time I step outdoors wouldn't appeal...fortunately I don't have to...some absolutely must.

Much depends on our own tolerance...each of us so different...trial and error.

Mamapicklejuice

Veteran

At one point I heard that you should get 15 minutes of sun a day to get enough vitamin D. Almost immediately on the heels of that, I heard that the risks of sun exposure far outweighed the benefits of getting vitamin D that way and you should take supplements or other nutrients (milk?) to get the right amount of vitamin D. Yikes.

As I understand it, it's not sunburns that are the problem so much as just sun exposure, period. Am I wrong? Even so, I am not very good about putting sunscreen on every day. I guess I should get better. Even moisturizer with sunscreen is better than nothing.

Mac

Veteran

My derm recommends sunscreen every single day and, to make it even better for my skin, to apply a vitamin cream on my skin first to provide a bit of a buffer btwn my skin and the harsh chemicals of the sun block.

anne

Veteran

Angie, my South African friend reckons australian sun is harsher than in SA - though I don't know if by Africa, you meant SA or further north.