Our Reminder of Why it's Important to Protect your Skin from the Sun

Ahhh, summer has finally arrived. 

This is an exciting time of year for everyone, both children and adults alike. The kids get off from school and us adults get to enjoy that time outdoors. Now’s a great opportunity to pick up any outdoor activities which you’ve always wanted to get into but maybe never found the time for. There’s truly no better way to take advantage of that vitamin D and warm weather by spending it outdoors and enjoying that heat while it lasts. 

That being said, we also want to remind you and your family how important it is to protect your skin from the sun. Though you may have grown up with the myth that your beautiful dark skin doesn’t need any sun screen, we’ve finally become more aware of just how important it is to stay safe and keep our skin protected. 

Where Does this myth come from?

This myth wasn’t made up out of nowhere. It comes from the fact that the darker skin tone you have the more melanin you have. Melanin is this beautiful natural shield from the sun’s harmful UV rays. However, while it may protect our skin from some of that UV index, it doesn’t do a complete job. Melanin can supply up to SPF 13, but it’s not enough to protect your skin from sun damage or even skin cancer. 

A Bit About Skin Damage 

Any darkening of the skin from the sun is considered skin damage. Even if we may not see it that way. Getting sun burnt however, certainly feels like sun damage. However, there are also other forms of skin damage that many of us have to deal with, which includes hyperpigmentation. If you’re dealing with darker spots on your skin and an uneven skin tone, the sun will only heighten that imbalance and increase your chances of hyperpigmentation. 

The sun will also cause the skin to age, lose elasticity, creates sunspots, wrinkles and can cause skin cancer. Mortality rates can be much higher for darker skin tones, for many reasons, one major reason being we’re either less likely to screen for it, or the signs of skin cancer can be much harder to find and usually appear on our palms or feet. That’s why we want to remind you to protect your skin from the sun, to reapply that sunscreen and to make sure your children are also well into the habit of using sunscreen. 

There are so many sunscreens out there made with our skin in mind, like Black Girl Sunscreen, Vonetta Cosmetics Extreme Suncare Gel and more. Here’s a list of some sunscreens you may want to have a look through. 

So, when it’s time to leave the house, don’t forget to leave with that Sunscreen and your favorite all natural Play Pits deodorant so you can really enjoy those long days, worry-free!