Spring is here, so here’s a video from two dermatologists who’ll tell you the safe way to get brown this year… if there is one!
Michelle Henry: “Getting a base tan will protect you from a sunburn later on.” You know, a tan is temporary, but your skin never forgets. “I’m covered — I applied sunscreen on my face, arms, and legs.”
Jeremy Brauer: You’re not covered. “Getting sunburned once is harmless.” All it takes is one blistering sunburn. One.
Hi, my name is Jeremy Brauer. I am a board-certified dermatologist and a fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon. I have a new practice in Westchester, New York, called Spectrum Skin and Laser as well as practicing in Manhattan for about a decade.
Henry: Hi, I’m Dr. Michelle Henry. I’m a board-certified dermatologist and skin-cancer surgeon. I have a practice called Skin & Aesthetic Surgery of Manhattan. I specialize in high-risk skin cancers, lasers, aesthetics, and general dermatology, and today we’ll be debunking myths about sun care. “A higher SPF is always better.”
Brauer: So, that, I would have to say, is a myth. SPF is great when we think about UVB, or ultraviolet B, rays, but we also have to worry about our ultraviolet A rays, which also cause sun damage and skin cancer. So in that regard, you’re looking more for a broad-spectrum, UVA/UVB-protective sunscreen. The other part of this that makes it a myth is higher is not always better. Yes, 30 is better than 15, 50 is better than 30, but at some point, roughly around 50, you’re already at 98% blocking of your UVB rays.
Henry: And SPF 100 only takes you 1% more, to 99%, and is that really significant? Likely not. What’s most important to me is that you’re wearing 50 when you’re outdoors, but you also want to make sure you’re wearing sunglasses, utilizing shade structures, you’re wearing a hat, you’re paying attention to your skin.
Brauer: “You can have a ‘healthy tan.'”
Henry: Absolutely not. So, this is complete fake news. We know that UV light is a known carcinogen, so there really is zero safe dose of UV light.
Brauer: I would agree. Healthy and tan do not go together, by definition. When your skin is tanned, it’s damaged. And when you have damaged skin, you increase your risk of skin cancer. We know that approximately 90% of all skin cancers are directly related to exposure to ultraviolet A and B rays, and guess what? Those are what causes a skin to tan.
Henry: Exactly. You know, a tan is essentially just your skin’s stress response. So your skin is distressed when it’s tan. If you want tan skin, A, understand that your skin is OK and beautiful the way it is. But if you for the summer want to look a little bit tanner and you want to do that in a safe way, there are many companies that provide very safe sunless tanning creams, lotions, and sprays that can give you the look that you want but also keep you safe. And that is my singular recommendation for being tan.
