You should wear sunscreen every day — even when indoors, doctors say. Here’s why
Just because you’re indoors doesn’t mean you can forget sunscreen, dermatologists say, especially as you continue to work from home or spend more time inside because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Not only is that small glimmer of sunshine beaming through your home windows to blame, but also your devices such as your flat screen monitor, laptop, phone and tablet that give off harmful blue light known to affect sleep quality, eye health and skin.
“As a general rule, we tell patients, ‘If you can see where you are walking without the use of a flashlight, there is enough light to require the use of sunscreen,’” Dr. Harold Lancer, a Los Angeles dermatologist and founder of Lancer Skincare, told CNN. “Indoor light exposure is broad-spectrum and can influence cell behavior in the skin.”
Broad spectrum includes two main types of ultraviolet radiation the sun emits: UVB and UVA.
UVB is the type slathered on sunscreen bottles as the one that causes sunburns. These can damage skin cells and are known to cause most skin cancers, according to the American Cancer Society.
Most types of glass used in car, home and office windows are designed to block most UVB rays, but they do not protect people from all UVA rays — those mostly emitted by tanning beds, for example, experts say.
“It’s a common misconception that you don’t need to wear sunscreen when you’re indoors,” Dr. Joyce Park, a California-based dermatologist told Allure. “Standard glass windows block UVB but not UVA rays, which can penetrate deeper into the skin than UVB [rays], [and] are the main contributing factor to photo-aging — which are changes seen as dark spots, wrinkles and leathery textured skin.”
Children are also more vulnerable to the consequences of unprotected skin because their skin is thinner and their immune systems are not fully developed, the World Health Organization says.
So, if you sit next to a window at home for work or casual reading, you should apply the same sunscreen rules as if you were on the beach. The lotion, which should have a “broad spectrum” label on it, should be applied once every couple of hours, experts say.
One North Carolina-based dermatologist told Health, you can close blinds and sit away from brightly lit areas, but he warns to avoid cutting off sunlight completely.
“That’s going to take its toll on mental health,” Dr. Chris Adigun, spokesperson for the Skin Cancer Foundation, told the outlet.
Blue light can harm your skin
Zoom meetings, virtual happy hours and endless Twitter scrolling all have an effect on skin, too, dermatologists say.
Studies have shown that blue light can help generate molecules that kill collagen — a protein that’s a major component of skin— and they’ve demonstrated that it can disrupt sleep and hurt eyes.
Blue light has a high energy level that can penetrate the skin deeper than some other forms of light, which can cause hyperpigmentation and melasma, a condition that causes brown patches on the face, New York-based dermatologist Dr. Hadley King told CNN.
Fortunately, blue light has not been linked to skin cancer, King added.
It does, however, cause dryness because blue light can cause skin inflammation, leading to a loss of hydration and irritation, Dr. Joshua Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, told Teen Vogue.
A proper moisturizing routine is therefore necessary, Zeichner told the outlet.
Women of color are also more prone to “severe issues with dark spots, skin discoloration and hyperpigmentation, Dr. Shontay Lundy, founder of Black Girl Sunscreen, told Teen Vogue.
Lundy said that’s why including sunscreen in your daily routine, regardless of skin color, is important and necessary.
This story was originally published June 29, 2020 at 3:48 PM with the headline "You should wear sunscreen every day — even when indoors, doctors say. Here’s why."
