Swiner said while sun exposure might brighten your mood, you do need to be mindful of how you interact with it.

“The more sun, the more Black will crack, and it can crack,” she said. “You definitely want to minimize how long you’re sitting in the sun. I would rather you take five to 10 minutes at a time and take a break in the shade than being out for an hour or two without any protection.”

She explained that lasting sun exposure breaks down collagen and that’s what’s responsible for cracks, wrinkles and crow’s feet.

“The more that those layers are broken down, the more that the underlays of the skin are exposed and can become malignant things. Moles can turn into malignant moles, or even if you don’t have any previous skin history or issues, you can have that become an issue. Whether it be squamous cell or melanoma or basal cell, there are a lot of different things that particularly happen along the bridge of the nose and on the cheeks where we usually get the most sun exposure that can be made worse by the sun.”

It is true that the fairer your skin is, the more damage the sun can do to it, but that doesn’t mean darker skin tones are safe from sun damage.

“I will say the lighter tone you are, the higher risk you are for skin damage and skin conditions. But no matter what tone you are, even if you are of a deeper skin tone, you definitely still need to protect yourself because we all are at risk.”

No matter your past beliefs about sun exposure, climate change has altered the way people are experiencing sun damage. If you have personal questions about sun-related concerns, you should discuss them with your doctor.

sun safety

Get relevant content delivered to you once a week