Skin care for before and after sun exposure

SALT LAKE CITY – The sun is out! It’s the perfect weather for us to get outside, but not without proper skin care.

In the latest Let’s Get Moving with Maria podcast episode, host Maria Shilaos spoke with Dr. Luke Johnson, MD in Dermatology at the University of Utah, to learn why it’s important to protect our skin from the sun and how to properly care for our skin before and after sun exposure.

The sun isn’t always bad for us

“You do get some vitamin D from the sun, but you don’t need that much sun exposure to get the vitamin D that you need,” Johnson said. “We think that if you’re outside in shorts and a T-shirt just 8 minutes a day, 3 times a week, that is sufficient.”

However, most people tend to stay outside for longer than that. For example, taking a walk outside at a nearby park could take at least 30 minutes. In those cases, skin protection is essential.

One of the first steps to taking care of our skin from the sun is to care

“Sunscreen is only just the first part in a multi-pronged attack against the sunlight,” Johnson said. “You want to wear hats, long sleeves, you want to stay in the shade [and] wear sunglasses.”

There are several reasons why this is necessary. One is because of skin cancer, which can occasionally be lethal.

“Also, sunlight has a bunch of cosmetically irritating side effects on the skin,” Johnson said. “So the more sun exposure you’ve had over your life, the wrinklier you get, the blotchier your skin gets.”

He recommends wearing a broad-brimmed hat rather than a baseball cap, although a baseball cap is better than no hat at all.

Listen to the full episode below to hear the rest!

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