AIBU to think that it's not usual to wear sunscreen all the time?

[TheKitchenWitch]

Leading on from another thread of mine in which I asked for recommendations for a tinted moisturiser without sunscreen in it (due to skin reacting), I was surprised that it seemed to be very much a given that one would wear sunscreen every day.

Now, I don't think I know of anyone who slathers sunscreen on their whole family every single day of the year. It might well be that it's included in a daily face cream for some, so they are getting it by default, but I don't put any on my children until we get to proper summer, hot sunny days etc and they are outside way more than me.
My husband also would only ever put it on if we're spending the day outside in summer. We live in Germany, so climate is similar to UK for much of the year.

So my question is: do you (as in your whole family) wear sunscreen all year round?

Motheroffeminists - actually there have been articles in the news just this weeks about how chemicals in sunscreens are being absorbed into our bodies at surprisingly high levels.

www.cnbc.com/2019/05/06/sunscreens-may-enter-bloodstream-but-health-effect-unknown-study-finds.html

That said, we do things ever single day that are bad for us - drinking, smoking, air pollution etc... I'll continue to live "dangerously" with my sunscreen for now, at least I'll be a corpse with fewer wrinkles

I don’t use it in the UK. I use hats/scarves/shade.
I’m not convinced skin cancer is caused by normal sun exposure and I’m pretty dubious about slathering chemicals over my skin and then subjecting that to heat.

So no research based evidence then

I used to not bother with sunscreen - after all it's the UK, it's never that hot etc

One melanoma (leaving a 3" scar) and one basal cell carcinoma later I now wear sunscreen April to October.

For those saying skincare is carcinogenic - my son cane home with homework that stated that a few weeks ago. It freaked me out! What's the right answer?!

I wear kheils sun cream along with all my other creams all year rounds. They have recently released their ultra facial moisturiser with factor 30 in it so I am using it instead. I have psoriasis so have had a few goes of uvb treatment so I am really conscious of wearing sun cream all the time

I wear factor 50 on my face every day

Motheroffeminists - I can assure you that the sunscreen companies are desperate to prevent any research being published! They have it but they don’t want it getting out.

Latest research shows sunscreen ingredients are in your bloodstream within minutes.

Stick to mineral ones. Far safer for sensitive skins and for your health. There's lots of good ones these days.

Ah I see. A conspiracy! 🙄

Dp wears sunscreen when I rant at him about skin cancer (and setting a good example to ds)

Ds gets it as often as me as he has the same histamine reaction to uv as I do, which stings and itches just as much as sunburn, with the added bonus of making you look like a plague victim.

We both take prescription vit D as our levels are tanked by the spf, but it's better than the alternative

Factor 50 on face and neck year round. I live in Massachusetts. Every woman I know does this. I have an aerosol factor 50 that can be reapplied over makeup.

Wow. I don’t know it was a thing to wear it daily. I’m fair skinned and only wear it if it’s really hot and sunny and in the summer. I do however wear a tinted moisturiser with spf15. Same for the rest of the family (but they are more olive skinned). Don’t we need the vit D?

Lupus = potential serious damage from sun. I wear it every day, summer and winter. Would rather not have to, I've not found one I like yet. :/ I wouldn't if I didn't have to.

Yes, I wear sunscreen if the UV level is above 2, which it is from about 11 until 4pm at this time of year. A UV level of above 3 means UVB is strong enough to cause sunburn and the UVA level (which causes premature ageing) is also similarly high.

The UV level in May is the same as it is in August in the UK.

I wear factor 50 (boots no 7 facial sunscreen) every day and have for 10 years. In the UK, in the office, on cloudy days. Dermatologists say it is the single most important thing you can do for your skin, UV rays being worse they now say than smoking for premature ageing. I was told even computer screens can have an impact. It's not unusual no, it's standard advice (though I haven't heard about backs of hands I might start doing that too!:)

My dermatologist says any colouring is sun damage. Even if you have skin that tans well it is still damage.

Oh FFS this always comes up on these threads - 'colouring' is your body's production of melanin, which it naturally produces to protect it from the sun. The human body has evolved to do this, and its really very effective. Your body will go through loads of stuff every single day, from birth, which causes 'damage'. Just living causes 'damage' - it's why eventually we die of old age!

Humans are not vampires, we will not melt if we step out into sunlight without sunscreen or being covered from head to toe. Obviously I'm not saying that people should be spending hours outside on a boiling hot sunny day burning themselves to a crisp with no sunscreen on, but covering yourselves and your kids in factor 50 all the time, even on a cloudy winter UK day, is just stupid.

I wear factor 50 most days ! I am 45 and need to 😬

I feel like a different species to those saying they wear sunscreen daily. Brushing my teeth is about as far as I go, and that's a bit of an effort.

I was told by a pharmacist that you should go for the higher uva rating rather than just looking at the spf factor.

If you’re using acids in your skin routine you should be wearing factor 50 every single day. It terrifies me that people are now using products by companies like the ordinary with zero clue about how sensitive it’s making their skin to the sun.
If you want a good factor 50 to wear under make up I highly recommend Alturist, very reasonable from amazon and recommended by skin cancer doctors.

Turnedouttoes I think some of my products have acid. Why does this make it extra sensitive though sunlight? Does the altruist go on ok under a tinted moisturiser/foundation? Thanks

Yes, I always buy the sunscreen that has the 5 stars on it, which funnily enough is always only the own brand Boots/Sainsburys/Aldi stuff - Garnier, Piz Buin etc is always less than 5 stars and I just cannot fathom why anyone (apart from if it gives you a skin reaction I guess) would buy anything but the cheap 5 stars supermarket stuff. Its the best stuff out there. I don't think it's even worth buying Ultrasun and all those really expensive brands, it's not better?

@Tinyteatime because products like glycolic or lactic acid (AHAs) chemically exfoliate your skin and therefore you’re much more susceptible to sun damage to your skin.
I’ve used Altruist for years and wear make up daily and it’s totally fine. I do have skin cancer in the family though so appreciate I’m extremely cautious but better to add the extra step of sun cream to your morning routine than risk unnecessary skin damage.

WeepingWillowWeepingWino

I get vitamin D from food and multivitamins. Dark-skinned people get skin cancer and it’s harder to catch in the early stages because of people believing/ assuming we don’t because our skin is brown. My mother actually breaks out from the sun on her arms, necks and legs where the skin becomes inflamed, bumpy, and itchy just from being under it for minutes and she is darker than me.