My Holistic Approach To Sun Exposure: Vitamin D, Nontoxic Sunscreens, & Realistic Sun Safety
I think it’s possible to be *smart* about our sun exposure without being *paranoid* about our sun exposure.... ;) Here's how!
Hey, you!
So, today we are going to talk about something I have literally been asked about probably 500 times on Instagram (and I've debated even talking about it at all because it is such a complicated, nuanced topic) and that is…..
*drum rollllll*
sun safety 101:
Today, we're talking skin cancer, sun exposure, common sense sun safety, sunscreen, alllllllllllllll of these things that have very polarizing views.
In terms of sun exposure, in the modern medicine we often hear that we need to be slathered in sunscreen absolutely EVERY. DAY. But in the more holistic, crunchy world, they often proclaim that sun exposure is nothing but beneficial and sunscreen isn’t necessary.
*le sigh*
And here I am, (as with almost everything concerning health), camped out somewhere in the middle.
Let’s start with this statement–
sun protection IS important, full stop.
I acknowledge that skin cancer is very real and we should all be smart in the sun. That said, I don't think we should *fear* the sun.
Smart sun exposure (emphasis on the word “smart”) is so crucial for mood, nature exposure, Vitamin D production, and many other health benefits, which we will cover below.
So, as with all things health, I’m not all one way all the other. I am not someone who slathers myself head-to-toe in sunscreen every single day and hides from the sun nor am I someone that will just go out at noon without a single bit of sun protection on.
Being smart in the sun is all about balance for me, and I hope this post helps explain some of that nuance!
And before I dive into today’s post, I do want to acknowledge that each of these topics could be an entire textbook on their own, so I’m just going to do a brief overview of my thoughts on and *my* general approach to sun safety.
(As always, everyone’s medical history, skin cancer risk, situation, etc. is different and that goes for your skin as well! I always recommend working with your doctor when it comes to anything related to your own personal health. These are just general tips that have worked for me!)
Why sun protection matters
One of the most important things to be aware of any time we talk about the sun is the risk of skin cancer. As much as it seems like we’ve made a lot of strides when it comes to sun protection, skin cancer is still on the rise.
In fact, 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70 (that’s 20% of people!), and more than 2 people die of skin cancer in the U.S. every hour. It’s important to realize sun damage is a huge factor here: having 5 or more sunburns doubles your risk for melanoma (yikes!). Thankfully, when detected early, the 5-year survival rate for melanoma is 99%, but it’s still definitely something to be aware and cautious of.
I’m not trying to fear monger here — but moreso just explain that sun protection IS important. It DOES matter. Skin cancer is a very real threat.
But I am on team being *aware* of the potential risks of sun exposure, and then using the information to empower yourself to have good sun exposure habits for your health.
pros & cons of sun exposure!
We often talk about the cons of sun exposure — the skin damage, the wrinkles, the risk of skin cancer, free radical damage… and these ARE valid.
But, it’s important to remember that there are some pros to sun exposure as well.
First, and most obviously, is that Vitamin D is so, so crucial for our health (for fighting inflammation, for immune function, mental health, etc.) and it is most effectively made in the sun. To get an idea— it has been shown that 30 minutes in the summer sun in a bathing suit can initiate the release of about 50,000 IU vitamin D into circulation within 24 hours of exposure for most white people; 20,000–30,000 IU in tanned individuals and 8,000–10,000 IU in dark-skinned people.
If we are constantly avoiding the sun (or blocking the sun via excessive clothing, sunscreen, etc.), we’re likely going to be deficient in Vitamin D, which has health impacts of it’s own. It is now thought that Vitamin D is thought to play a crucial role in at least 1,000 (!) different genes, therefore having a subsequent impact on nearly every tissue in the body— most notably, bone health/calcium metabolism, neuromuscular function, and immune system activity and response.
In addition to the crucial impact of Vitamin D, time in the sun can also boost mood, help regulate sleep-wake cycles, and is correlated to have other health benefits (although the data of these is preliminary): potentially reducing the risk of certain cancers, improving autoimmune disorders, killing bacteria, aiding in musculoskeletal health, lowering blood pressure, helping with psoriasis, reducing risk of multiple sclerosis, potential hormonal and endocrine benefits, etc.
But again, skin cancer, skin damage, free radical production are a real risk.
So, my point here is that there are pros AND cons to regular sun exposure, and both deserve to be considered.
Just be aware there’s a balance between good and bad when it comes to the sun, and doing what you can to responsibly and safely be in the sun is huge (and I’m going to break down some of my best tips for doing just that!).
My sun protection philosophy
(there is MORE you can do besides plain ol’ sunscreen!)
Whenever we talk about skin cancer, sun damage, etc. the first (and kind of only thing) that people recommend is sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen. Which makes sense— sunscreen is a great tool in sun health!
But with skin cancer being on the rise despite sunscreen being much more popular than it was in the past does kind of beg the question:
What can we do beyond traditional sunscreens?
Now, I am not anti-sunscreen at all (Like, whatsoever. It’s so important, and I have a full section below on my fav options!), but first I am going to share some smart sun exposure tips that have NOTHING to do with sunscreen!
Because there are other ways to protect yourself from the sun *and* reap some of the sunshiney benefits. These are smart sun exposure ideas that you may not have heard of and offer more options than just the sunscreen, sunscreen, and more sunscreen approach!
Tip #1: Be aware of the time of day
A huge aspect of sun protection is the time of day you’re going to be in the sun. As well all know, it’s verrrrrrry different to be in the sun at 7:30 a.m. as opposed to noon in terms of sun intensity.
Especially if you are someone who is more sensitive to the sun, try to take your nature time in the morning or evening. If you’re very fair skinned, maybe stick to 20 minutes and see how that goes, and if you have medium to darker skin you likely have more melanin (which means you are able to tolerate sun a little better) so you can try to spend a bit more time in the sunshine.
You can also probably be a little more chill with things like sunscreen, shade, and visors if you’re going outside at the beginning or end of the day as opposed to the heat of the day. I personally often time my nature time for these morning/evening times of day to get the sun exposure in a more gentle way.
Tip #2: Get your morning sunlight in
Going off the above, this is something I am HUGE on. Getting outside (or at least being right by a window or something!) for at least 10 minutes right away in the morning helps get Vitamin D in your eyes and on your skin.
It is shown time and time again that morning sun exposure supports our circadian rhythm — AKA our sleep/wake cycles — our mood, our hormone production, our Vitamin D levels… so just getting outside for 10 or 20 minutes if you can in the morning specifically can have soooooooo much impact on our bodies’ regulatory systems.
This is an n=1 note, but I was SO intentional about gettin my newborn outside each morning to help him learn his day/night cycles and I swear it helped. He is, and has been, SUCH a great sleeper with a clear delineation between day and night. And, like I mentioned in my previous tip, the sun isn’t quite so intense in the morning so it’s a great time to get out— for kids and adults alike!
Tip #3: Stay out of those rays
I know that getting out first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening isn’t always possible, so here’s what I would recommend if you’re going to be in the sun at a more intense time of day.
First of all, shade is always AMAZING, so using an umbrella, finding the shade of a building, a tree, etc. just getting yourself out of the direct rays is huge.
Next is wearing physical layers like an overshirt, a dress…covering up your body physically is SUCH an overlooked way to reduce skin damage. I often wear a button-up long sleeve loose shift as swimsuit cover-up to protect my burn-prone areas like my shoulders, neck, and back. It’s SO easy and offers great protection!
And lastly for the face a hat or visor is amazing for providing some shade to the fragile skin of the face. So for me, especially in the summer, I like to wear a hat or visor if I’m going on a walk, in the garden, or at the beach just to provide that shade and physical barrier for my facial skin.
Tip #4: Build your tolerance
This might be kind of a weird comparison, but think of sun exposure almost like alcohol. If you haven’t drank in a long time and then you have one glass? You are feeling it quickly. But if you drink pretty often, that one glass might not feel like anything.
Sun exposure can be really similar. You may relate to that first warm day of the year where you go outside, annnnnnnd you’re instantly burnt. This happens because you haven’t built up your skin’s tolerance to the sun.
So, every warm season or tropical vacation, I really recommend building your tolerance, which you can do by just starting with 10-15 minutes of direct sun exposure and gradually building up. Doing 15-20 minutes the next day, 20-25 minutes the following day, etc.
You can start in the morning or late afternoon light because that’s less intense, and then work your way up with more time and more sun intense times of day. Over time you are building up your melanin supply at a healthy rate which makes you more resistant to sunburn, and you’re also getting the benefits of the sun exposure while *allowing* your body to adjust. Start small, build up!
Tip #5: Add sunscreen
But what if there’s no shade to be found? What if you’re going to be outside at peak sun exposure times? What if you are going to be gardening on a hot day? What if you have burn-prone skin? What if you have a family history of skin cnacer? What if you want to prevent wrinkles? This is where I do think sunscreen plays an important role.
I think sunscreen is SO important, and an amazing tool! I personally have an SPF in my everyday makeup routine (more on that below) to protect my face from sun damage, but sometimes I need more than just my “everyday” sun protection– a higher SPF, protecting different areas of my body, an especially sunny day, etc., and here’s my approach.
So, first things first, let me be clear– sunscreen MATTERS. It is incredible. I highly recommend using it, when needed.
But– I personally do have some long term concerns about some of the ingredients in conventional sunscreen.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of concerning ingredients, most noticeably oxybenzone, and they worry me because we are spraying/applying them on our skin, which– as we know– things we put on our skin do get absorbed into the bloodstream, especially with oxybenzone’s small particle size.
In fact, a CDC analysis showed that 97% of people had some level of oxybenzone present in their urine. This is worrisome as it is linked with being an endocrine disruptor (AKA bad for your hormones), crossing both skin and placental barreriers, increasing Hirschsprung's disease, and polluting water sources, bleach coral reefs, and other environmental impacts.
While, sure, these conventional sunscreens may help protect us from the sun, are there other health concerns they may be causing?
Again, I am not about extreme fear mongering. Is using a conventional sunscreen instantly going to impact your health? Absolutely not. Do you need to be “afraid” of using it on occasion? No.
But it’s just one of those things where we might look back and be like “oh my gosh I didn’t know I was putting all these potentially harmful chemicals on my body.” Because of these both individual and environmental concerns, there may be a safer choice when trying to protect your skin from damaging effects of UV rays.
mineral sunscreen options
So while I am pro-sunscreen, I do tend to shy away from conventional sunscreens and opt for a mineral-based sunscreen with clean ingredients and non-nano particle sized active ingredients.
To simplify— I specifically look for zinc oxide with an SPF of 30+.
The reason I like zinc oxide is because it protects against both UVA and UVB rays (UVB is the traditional “burn” rays, but UVA is more subtle skin damage that goes deeper). With UVA rays you might not have to burn to have skin damage (it’s more sneaky and subtle!), so it’s crucial to find a sunscreen that can protect you from both. Mineral sunscreens, especially the zinc oxide ones, are great for protecting against UVA and UVB rays, woohoo!
So again, I’m not anti-sunscreen at all. It’s amazing! I just *personally* avoid conventional sunscreens and try to find clean ingredient ones.
I’ll list a few of my faves here: