Skip to content 
by Hope Allen, PA-C
July 2025
July Blog
July is a great time for fireworks, celebrating independence, pool parties, bounce houses, and boating. In Florida we love that Florida sun! But does the sun love us? Are those warm rays of sunshine on our skin helping us or hurting us? Let’s talk about it.
Patients always ask, “isn’t it healthy to have a little bit of a tan?” and “don’t I need some sun to get my vitamin D?”
We know that it can feel good to lay out and feel the warm sun on your skin. Plus, many people feel they look better and feel more confident with a tan. Is it really doing that much harm? It’s easy to wonder if the joy of feeling the sun on your skin and the confidence a nice tan can bring might be worth the downsides of sun damage to the skin. Believe me though… IT IS NOT.
Let’s break down why this is. What do we mean when we talk about UV damage or sun damage to the skin? UV rays or ultraviolet rays are a type of invisible radiation from the sun (or other sources like tanning beds). There are three main types of UV rays: UVA or long-wave, UVB or medium wave, and UVC or short wave. UVA waves penetrate deep in the skin and are the main cause of skin aging and wrinkles. UVB waves are mostly responsible for sunburn and are strongly linked to skin cancer. Luckily, UVC waves are blocked by Earth’s atmosphere.
So the two risks of UV rays are 1) skin aging and 2) skin cancer.
Skin aging from sun damage presents in many ways. In fact, most of the time we get asked a question in dermatology along the lines of “why is this happening to my skin” the answer is “sun damage.” For example, most brown spots that start to appear on the skin are caused by UV rays. Skin lesions called lentigos (aka sunspots) as well as seborrheic keratosis (aka age spots) are common complaints among patients. We see more of both lesions on sun damaged skin. Additionally, the sun can damage your pigment cells causing white spots on the skin. Even the easy bruising we call purpura is worse on sun exposed skin due to the collagen damage caused by UV rays.
This collagen loss is also responsible for our main causes of early aging including wrinkles, sagging skin, and loss of firmness of crepey skin. UVA rays penetrate deep into the thickest layer of skin called the dermis where your collagen and elastin live. The rays trigger enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases to break down collagen fibers.
But aside from causing brown spots, white spots, and wrinkles, UV rays can more importantly cause cancer. UV rays cause skin cancer by generating free radicals and damaging the DNA in your skin cells. Over time this damage can lead to mutations that make the cells grow uncontrollably, and uncontrollable cell growth is what we call cancer.
Our most common type of skin cancer Basal Cell Carcinoma is mostly caused by UVB and our second most common type of skin cancer, Squamous cell carcinoma is caused by UVA and UVB. Melanoma, which is more dangerous, has been especially linked to UV damage in childhood.
Prevention and starting early is key. A common question we hear is “why am I getting skin cancer now when I haven’t been in the sun very much for the last couple of years?” We tell patients frequently that skin cancer we treat today is likely due to sun damage years ago. Why is that? Cancer from UV rays often appears later in life due to 1) Cumulative DNA damage 2) Multiple mutations needed on different genes for a cell to become cancer 3) Our cell turnover slows as we age 4) Our immune system weakens as we age and becomes less vigilant in repairing damaged cells.
The moral of the story… That tan and the vitamin D you get from the sun, are not worth the risk.
There is a happy ending though! We live in an amazing time where we can have it all!!
If you feel more confident with a tan, there are many quality foams, lotions, sprays, and creams you can apply to your skin and get a beautiful tan. There are many that don’t leave you smelling bad and looking orange, so if it’s been a while since you’ve tried a good fake tanner, try again! They’ve gotten better.
You also don’t need the sun to get vitamin D. You can get vitamin D from foods such as fish oil, egg yolks, beef liver, fortified milk, and fatty fish like salmon.
You can also take a supplement vitamin D3. 600-800 IU/day is the general recommendation.
So enjoy your July! Have fun, eat some watermelon, go out on the boat or to the beach. But bring your sunscreen, hat, sun glasses, umbrella, long sun shirts, and stay away from those UV rays!
