Sunscreen Myths You Should Know About

Posted: February 24th, 2020

Most of us know we need to apply sunscreen when going out for a summer day at the beach or a long afternoon at a baseball game. But we may not realize that a lot of things that seem like sun protection common sense are actually common misconceptions instead. Let's take a look at a couple of the most surprising myths about sunburn and sun exposure. 1) "I don't need sunscreen if it isn't sunny out." This is a widespread belief that seems to make sense at first — why would you need to worry about a burn on a cloudy day? It turns out that clouds are made of water vapor, which is not enough protection to block the harmful properties of sunlight, even if the sun doesn't feel as intense as it does when there's not a cloud in the sky. If you want to make sure your healthy skin stays healthy, wear sunblock even on cloudy days.2) "Only people with fair skin need to wear sunscreen." People with darker skin tones can absolutely get sunburns, and they are also susceptible to skin cancer. Sunburn might not be as easily visible on darker skin, and fairer skin does tend to burn faster than darker skin, but all skin tones are susceptible to damage from exposure to sunlight. 3) "I don't need to reapply my sunblock because it's waterproof." Many people think that waterproof products or products with higher SPF values don't need to be reapplied as often as lower SPF products, but this is not the case. All topical sun protection needs to be reapplied regularly in order to provide full protection, and you should be reapplying even more often if you are swimming or sweating more than usual.