NCP Blog: Stay Safe in the Sun With Sunscreen

Summer is upon us- the season officially starts June 21- so sunscreen is top of mind. While it should be used year-round to protect our skin from the sun, many of us don’t think about this product much until it’s hot and bright outside.

 

Sun exposure impacts our skin in many ways. Sunburns are an obvious and painful side effect of too much sun, but sun exposure also causes skin spots, aging, and wrinkles. Worst of all, sun damage can also lead to skin cancer.

 

Skin cancer is on the rise in the United States, according to the Food & Drug Administration. The two most common types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, and about 4.3 million people are treated for these each year. The Skin Cancer Foundation estimates that daily use of SPF 15 sunscreen can reduce your risk of squamous cell carcinoma by 40% and melanoma by 50%.

 

If you plan to be outside during any time of the year, it’s important to use sunscreen, and to use it correctly!

Proper Sunscreen Use

 

How would you answer this question: “When you go outside on a sunny day, for more than one hour, how often do you use sunscreen?”

 

A 2020 study found that only 12.3% of men and 29% of women age 18 and older said they always used sunscreen. But, plenty of other surveys online show widely different responses to similar questions. And even if people are using sunscreen every day, it’s likely they aren’t using enough of it or reapplying it frequently enough.

 

 

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