As the bell rings, senior Chloe Amos packs up her bags as she heads for swim practice. In the few minutes before practice starts, she finds herself deciding between two things: having a snack or putting on sunscreen.

For Amos, it’s a sacrifice she has to make.

“It can be kind of challenging to apply sunscreen regularly, especially if I have practice right after school and it’s a sunny day,” Amos said. “But I’m willing to spend that extra 15 minutes putting sunscreen on. I’m pretty good about putting sunscreen on because I’m worried about getting sunburned.”

According to Cancer Research in the UK, too much ultraviolet exposure, from real or artificial sunlight, damages DNA in skin cells, potentially leading to skin cancer. While some people may be at higher risk for skin cancer, anyone can develop it given enough exposure and no skin protection. According to the Mayo Clinic, a sunburn is inflamed skin that is hot and painful to touch and appears as a result of too much exposure to UV light. Getting sunburned increases the risk of skin cancer significantly as it is a clear indicator that DNA in your skin has been damaged.

Ann Marqueling, clinical assistant of Dermatology and Pediatrics at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, said freckles, wrinkles and tans are all signs of skin damage.

“Any amount of tanning is basically sun damage to the skin, so sunscreen does a good job of preventing that,” Marqueling said. “Preventing sun damage to the skin helps minimize the impact of aging on the skin, which we don’t really appreciate at your age. It also decreases the risk of sun-related conditions.”

Marqueling said there are two main types of sunscreen to prevent skin damage.

“The goal of sunscreen is to minimize the impact and damage of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation,” Marqueling said. “There’s physical sunscreens that reflect the sun’s rays so they’re not getting into the skin and causing damage, and there are chemical blockers that absorb those rays.”

According to the American Medical Association, physical blockers work instantly and are more resistant to water, while chemical blockers take time and can be more irritating to people with sensitive skin. Marqueling recommends finding a sunscreen that has a SPF, “sun protection factor,” of 30 or higher.

“Physical blockers are kind of the same as mineral sunscreen, so ones with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide sit on the surface of your skin and try to block or reflect the sun’s rays,” Marqueling said. “Often, they’re the white ones that leave a cast on the skin that a lot of people don’t like. Often, they’re harder to rub in. Chemical blockers are things like oxybenzone, avobenzone and several others that sit in that layer of your skin and absorb some of those rays so they don’t damage the skin. And sometimes those sunscreens are likely to be irritating, especially for sensitive skin.”

Senior Charlotte Lungren said she uses sunscreen with high SPF to prevent burns.

“Usually I use the Banana Sun Bum one — it’s SPF 70,” Lungren said. “I also have a zinc stick that I put on my face, so it’s just more protection for my face because I burn real easily.”

Although sunscreen is the most effective option for sun protection, Marqueling said there are other methods if one faces allergic reactions to sunscreen.

“Protective clothing — wearing hats, wearing rash guards, long sleeves — can definitely be helpful,” Marqueling said. “You can look for a sunscreen that doesn’t have the things that are most irritating or most likely to be allergenic — looking for the physical blockers rather than chemical blockers or ones that are fragrance-free. Once you find something that doesn’t bother your skin, stick to it.”

According to Elta MD Skincare, zinc oxide, a common ingredient in physical sunscreens, is an astringent, which means it shrinks pores to absorb excess oils. Using zinc sunscreens on dry skin can worsen dryness. 

Amos said because she uses sunscreen so often, she has to add in moisturizer to prevent drying.

“I have to be mindful of what brands I use and apply moisturizer often,” Amos said. “Neutrogena zinc sunscreen has a lot of zinc in it. I’ve used that on my face in the past, and it’s gotten pretty irritated and dry, so I’ve kind of strayed away from using that and using more sensitive sunscreens on my face because of that.”

Amos also said other swimmers around her don’t put on as much sunscreen as she does.

“They don’t want to take the time to put it on, or they also feel like they might be less worried about getting sunburned, and their skin tans more than burns,” Amos said. “My skin burns pretty easily, so I understand why some people might not be as concerned about that.”

But Marqueling said regular sun exposure without sunscreen can lead to problems down the road.

“I think those who have spent a lot of time in the sun when they’re younger often will have signs of aging earlier,” Marqueling said. “There is a higher risk of getting those types of skin cancer sooner. My adult colleagues will see basal cell carcinoma in 20 and 30 year olds who have gotten a lot of sun exposure when they were younger. Basal cell cancers do have to be removed, and so those usually wind up having to be removed surgically, and that leaves a scar behind. And if you’re starting out with those in your 20s, you can imagine how many of those you’ll have in the next several decades.”

Likewise, Lungren said a primary motivator for her to regularly apply sunscreen is to avoid skin cancer in the future.

“My dad was also a swimmer his whole childhood, and he didn’t really wear sunscreen that much,” Lungren said. “And now he has stage one skin cancer, and he has to go to the dermatologist every year and get treatment and prevent it from spreading more. So seeing that he has to do that below 50 years old, is a sign to me to take precautionary measures, because I don’t want to have to do that every year as soon as I turn 46.”

As such, Marqueling said applying sunscreen every day is crucial even when you may think you’re only going to get a few minutes of sunlight, and reapplying at least once every two or three hours is ideal.

“It’s always hard to know how long you’re going to be out, and we do get exposure through windows,” Marqueling said. “In an ideal world, making it a habit to put sunscreen on every morning is going to get you more protection than if you’re making that decision every morning.”

According to the American Medical Association, up to 80% of UV rays can still penetrate through the clouds, making sunscreen application on overcast days still important. Marqueling also said another common misconception is that people with more pigment, or melanin, in their skin often don’t need sunscreen.

“The darker the skin, the (more) pigment, (which) does provide more protection to the skin,” Marqueling said. “There is a lower risk of a lot of these types of skin cancers that are sun-related, but I don’t think that means that they don’t need any sunscreen.”

Overall, Lungren said anyone can get skin cancer, and it’s important to consider the potential risks of not wearing sunscreen. 

“People don’t quite know how easy it is to get skin cancer — it doesn’t have to be like one big event that makes you get it,” Lungren said. “It just build(s) up over time (with) more and more sun exposure. If you’re outside, I feel like there can’t be any harm in putting on sunscreen.”

This story was originally published on The Campanile on February 26, 2025.