Sun safety for women of color might sound like a non-issue. If you are a person of color, you’ve probably heard the rumor that the darker your complexion, the less likely you need to protect your skin from those harmful UV rays that your fair-skinned counterparts avoid. Well, you’d be wrong!
Although having more melanin in your skin does offer some skin protection, it by no means is the sole safeguard you should have in your beauty arsenal. In an interview with Chris Birchby of Coola, maker of organic sunscreen, he stressed the importance of using a sunscreen, specifically for people of darker skin tones.
“Even though African Americans have more melanin in their skin, everyone needs SPF. While the effects of the sun may not be as obvious on darker skin, UVA and UVB rays can still cause skin damage,” Birchby says. “In addition, it may be more difficult to spot skin disease in African Americans, as their skin tone can camouflage potential risk spots.”
One of the many things everyone has in common is that we are susceptible to skin damage and even cancer too, so don’t let that extra melanin in your skin keep you from these sun guards:
- Use sunscreen with at least 30 spf.
- Sport an oversized floppy hat for extended exposure to sun.
- Wear sunglasses with UVA/UVB protection for the eyes.
