Should you get some sunlight, or should you lather yourself with sunscreen and avoid the sun like a plaque? Which one is better for your skin.
One of my customers took a quiz at acne.org and one of the questions was about sunlight. The answer he got back shocked him.
“While the sun is important for the production of vitamin D, especially if you do not eat dairy products, excess sun exposure is actually skin damage. While the sun feels good, it may bite back with acne in the weeks following exposure.”
I agree with this completely. Unfortunately many people miss the point of this message. The operative word is excess sun exposure.
Sunlight is absolutely essential for good health. But that doesn’t mean more is better. It’s the same with exercise. You need enough sunlight - not too much, not too little.
Exposure to sunlight benefits your health in many ways. You get vitamin D from sunlight. It helps you to sleep better. It makes you energetic and happier. It can kill bacteria from your blood. Just to give you few examples.
Sunlight is the only viable source of vitamin D
Since the acne.org quizz mentioned vitamin D let’s talk about it briefly. Sunlight is the only practical source of vitamin D.
In Clear for Life I quoted a study where the researchers measured blood vitamin D levels from people after they’ve been on a tanning bed. They were exposed to amount of UV radiation that leads to very minor sunburn (your skin gets a bit red and is back to normal the next day). The researchers found that those people had blood vitamin D levels of equivalent of taking 25′000 IU of vitamin D.
To put that into a perspective a multivitamin supplement usually has 400 IU of vitamini D and vitamin D supplement has about 1000 IU. A glass of whole milk has less than 100 IU.
As you can see no other source of vitamin D even comes close to what you’ll get from sunlight.
This is a bit of a problem for people living in the Northern latitudes. During the winter months sun rays hit the northern part of the globe in such an angle that most of the UV rays bounce back to space. So in such latitudes your skin won’t make vitamin D from sunlight. You have to either use tanning beds or take vitamin D supplements.
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Clear for Life - The lifestyle for health, happiness and clear skin
September 2nd, 2009 at 8:17 am
Hi,
I’m going to Thailand at christmas for 2 weeks where it will be nigh on impossible to avoid.
Just wondering if you had any recommendations (not sure if sunscreen helps reduce the amount for example, but it will still be hard to avoid getting too much sun especially what I’m used to in the UK).
Thanks!
September 3rd, 2009 at 11:59 am
Ian,
No point in coming to Thailand if you avoid sun. Since you are not accustomed to the tropical sun do whatever it takes to protect your skin - even if it means using chemical-based sunscreens. It’s still safer to use them than to burn your skin.
You can also find coconut oil and other more natural sunscreens here, but I don’t know how effectively they block the sun, or what kind of SPF they have.
In this case I would play it safe and use conventional sunscreens.
September 17th, 2009 at 5:44 am
hey Seppo does a white person seeing that we came form the north hemisphere need less sunlight then say a African or a Chinese person. Seeing that their skin pigmentation is different to a Caucasian person so say 30 minutes in the sun or less. How long would you say i would need per week ? by the way i live in hong kong and the uk is it worth putting a towel over your head sit there in the sun
yeath in China they thought that sunlight is bad for babies so use to keep them in the dark and the babies developed rickets where the bone starts to curve I soar one person his legs Iooked kid you not like the letter C.
September 17th, 2009 at 7:16 am
I’ve noticed Asians don’t like sun. Makes them dark and dark skin in Asia is never a good thing (as far as social consensus is concerned).
Yes, the lighter your skin is the less sunlight you need. How long to spend in the sun depends on many factors (skin color, where you are and the time of the day).
As far as vitamin D is concerned we don’t need that much sunlight. In your case 15 minutes a day on face and arms is probably enough. But sunlight has many other benefits also. It makes you happier (more happy, happy hormones) and helps you to sleep better. For these reasons I’d consider 30 minutes a day the healthy minimum.
Also try to expose your eyes to sunlight. The more bright light your eyes get during the day the better you sleep during the night (all else being equal).
September 30th, 2009 at 10:21 am
In vitiligo for example, sun can be both a friend and a foe.
It is considered to be one of the triggering factors, prolonged exposure contributing to the onset of the disease.
On the other hand it’s used as a therapy and controlled exposure to Narrow Band UV light can bring pigment back.
October 1st, 2009 at 6:36 am
Of course sun can be harmful in some conditions. But in here I was talking about sunlight for general health and acne. Controlled sun exposure is definitely good for overall health.
October 20th, 2009 at 5:49 pm
I have hyperpigmentation that accompanies my acne. I am Mexican, and light skinned, but I also get dark in the sun. I have heard that sunlight makes hyperpigmenation worse. Being light skinned, I still have a lot of melanin. Whenever I scar, it usually turns dark for a long while (even years). I am afraid of making the hyperpigmentation worse.
Also, on a different note, is kojic acid and/or vitamin C beneficial for treating hyperpigmentation?? What works?
Thanks for the help!
October 21st, 2009 at 1:52 pm
I can’t comment on hyperpigmentation or any other health concerns. I really don’t know enough about it to say anything.
As far as general health goes getting some sunlight is definitely good. But it’s true that it may aggravate some conditions.