Skin Cancer Prevention: Ways to Reduce Your Risk

Skip the sunbathing session

You’ve applied sunscreen, but are you still directly exposing your skin to the sun? Seeking that sun-kissed complexion can have dangerous consequences. “Sunbathing is bad because ultraviolet rays are harmful to the DNA of the cells in the skin.

When those cells get damaged, it leads to signs of aging and then skin cancer,” Lamb says. At the beach, reapply a water-resistant broad spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 30 every two to three hours, and much more often if you’re in the water or sweating a lot. Seek shade as much as possible, she says. “Often people apply sunscreen, but don’t actually stay out of the sun,” Lambs says. “Sitting under an umbrella and wearing a hat are critical.”

Avoid tanning beds

The radiation from indoor tanning beds is sometimes stronger than radiation from the sun. This can cause skin cell mutations, explains Dr. Gary Goldenberg, assistant clinical professor of dermatology and pathology at the Icahn Sinai School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

“Once cells are mutated, they continue to grow into tumors that are cancerous. Wrinkles are caused by damaging the epidermis – the outer layer of the skin – and the dermis – the middle layer of the skin,” he says. “The skin becomes thin, wrinkled and can look sullen from years of sun exposure.”