Importance of sunscreen in winter
By Amanda Sinofsky
November 20, 2024
Image credit: Kateryna Hliznitsova on Unsplash
Only 17 percent of adults wear sunscreen daily, according to the Environmental Working Group. Contrary to popular belief, sunscreen is just as necessary during the colder months as it is in the summer. Whether it is in moisturizer, a spray, or traditional suntan lotion, there is always a way to incorporate sunscreen into a daily routine.
According to the American Medical Association, sunscreen is important to protect the skin from ultraviolet rays. These are often split into ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B rays.
Dr. Klint Peebles, a dermatologist at Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, said that ultraviolet A rays prematurely age the skin, and ultraviolet B rays are the primary cause of sunburn. Sunscreen is essential in preventing damage from both types of ultraviolet rays.
University of Maryland students share their skincare habits regarding sunscreen and the effects they think it would have to use or not use the protective tool.
“My family has a history of skin cancer, so it's important to me to protect my skin,” Grace Adkins, a junior English and government and politics major, said. Adkins said that she wears a CeraVe daily moisturizer with sunscreen in it.
However, some students, like Katelyn Banaszek, own a moisturizer with sunscreen but don’t use it.
“I use [sunscreen] primarily in the summer when I remember to,” the sophomore information science and psychology major said. “But that's maybe once a month.”
If she used her daily sunscreen, Banaszek said she thinks “it would have benefits in the long run.”
Paige Fabbio, a sophomore kinesiology major, said she uses Cetaphil moisturizer daily, which has SPF 30.
“It’s convenient,” Fabbio said. “I like that moisturizer and it also has sunscreen in it.”
While some college students may not see an immediate difference in their skin based on if they wear sunscreen, the negative effects of not protecting their skin could appear later on.
Adkins shared that if she didn’t wear sunscreen, she may not see a difference now, but thinks she would in the future with possible “wrinkling and sun spots.”
However, Fabbio said that even now, she can see a difference between her skin and her friends that wear sunscreen.
“I'm in the sun a lot in the summer so I'm always worried about dark spots and, obviously, skin cancer… in my friends who don’t wear sunscreen, I can definitely see a difference in their skin,” Fabbio said.
According to the American Medical Association, sunscreen is important to protect the skin from ultraviolet rays. These are often split into ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B rays.
Dr. Klint Peebles, a dermatologist at Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, said that ultraviolet A rays prematurely age the skin, and ultraviolet B rays are the primary cause of sunburn. Sunscreen is essential in preventing damage from both types of ultraviolet rays.
University of Maryland students share their skincare habits regarding sunscreen and the effects they think it would have to use or not use the protective tool.
“My family has a history of skin cancer, so it's important to me to protect my skin,” Grace Adkins, a junior English and government and politics major, said. Adkins said that she wears a CeraVe daily moisturizer with sunscreen in it.
However, some students, like Katelyn Banaszek, own a moisturizer with sunscreen but don’t use it.
“I use [sunscreen] primarily in the summer when I remember to,” the sophomore information science and psychology major said. “But that's maybe once a month.”
If she used her daily sunscreen, Banaszek said she thinks “it would have benefits in the long run.”
Paige Fabbio, a sophomore kinesiology major, said she uses Cetaphil moisturizer daily, which has SPF 30.
“It’s convenient,” Fabbio said. “I like that moisturizer and it also has sunscreen in it.”
While some college students may not see an immediate difference in their skin based on if they wear sunscreen, the negative effects of not protecting their skin could appear later on.
Adkins shared that if she didn’t wear sunscreen, she may not see a difference now, but thinks she would in the future with possible “wrinkling and sun spots.”
However, Fabbio said that even now, she can see a difference between her skin and her friends that wear sunscreen.
“I'm in the sun a lot in the summer so I'm always worried about dark spots and, obviously, skin cancer… in my friends who don’t wear sunscreen, I can definitely see a difference in their skin,” Fabbio said.