Thankfully, it’s that time of year again - the sun starts to come out, bringing with it warmer weather and less clothing. It’s also that time to be extra careful when it comes to protecting your skin. Although you should be wearing sunscreen on your face year round, it is important to wear it all over your body during the summer.

Solar radiation penetrate’s the Earth’s atmosphere, hits the surface of the Earth, and is divided into two ultraviolet rays - UVA and UVB. UVA radiation is actually more harmful b use it has longer wavelengths, letting it penetrate deeper into the skin. Overexposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun can cause harmful skin problesm such as skin cancer, sunburns and premature wrinkles. Although it may look good, a tan is your body’s way of protecting you from the UV rays and it already skin has been damaged.  The best way to protect yourself from the sun (besides staying out of it) is to use a sunscreen or sunblock with an SPF of 20 of greater. SPF measures the length of time a product protects against skin reddening from UVB, compared to how long the skin takes to redden without protection. If it takes 20 minutes without protection to begin reddening, using an SPF 15 sunscreen prevents the skin from reddening 15 times longer. Fair skinned individuals should wear an SPF of 40 or greater, especially b use they are more suseptible to skin cancer.

Sunscreen should be applied liberally to the body half an hour before going outside and reapplied about every two hours. If you are swimming or doing any activity that makes you sweat, you should apply even more often. Wear hats and try to cover up sensitive areas of the body that may be burn easily.