Well, this is beyond ridiculous.
Listen to the medical experts, they say! Wear a mask, stay inside, use a sunscreen!
Yes, you still need to wear sunscreen indoors — here's why
If you're fortunate enough to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic, then you've probably got your morning beauty routine on lock by now. You wash your face, hydrate your skin and apply your no-fail makeup products (if you're choosing to wear makeup at all) before you hop on your morning video chat with your co-workers.
But you might be forgetting an essential part of your beauty routine: sunscreen.
It turns out that if you want to protect your skin from the sun's harsh UVA and UVB rays, you'll need to put on sunblock every morning, according to medical experts, even if you're staying completely inside.
"UVA rays penetrate through glass, so if your room has a window, it is important to wear sunscreen even when inside," says New York-based dermatologist Dr. Hadley King. "UVA rays are generally linked to the aging of skin cells and tend to be the cause of wrinkles, sunspots and other signs of sun damage. UVB rays, on the other hand, are the principal cause of sunburns, directly damage DNA in skin cells and are linked to most skin cancers. The glass typically used in car, home and office windows is designed to block most UVB rays, but it does not offer protection from all UVA rays. So even if you're indoors, if you're close to a window, you are still at risk of exposure to UVA rays and possible sun damage."
Dr. Harold Lancer, a dermatologist in Los Angeles and founder of Lancer Skincare, agrees. "As a general rule, we tell patients, 'If you can see where you are walking without the use of a flashlight, there is enough light to require the use of sunscreen,'" he says. "Indoor light exposure is broad-spectrum and can influence cell behavior in the skin."
If you're hanging out in a space with neither windows nor direct sunlight, your skin could still benefit from applying sunscreen. Hear us out: Our phones, laptops, TVs and even LED light bulbs can emit blue light, aka high-energy visible light, which can impact the health of our skin as well.
"Visible light accounts for 50% of the sunlight spectrum, and it's the only part of light that can be detected by the human eye," explains King. "The blue/violet band of this visible spectrum has a particularly high energy level and is known as high-energy visible light."
Yes, you still need to wear sunscreen indoors — here's why
Yes, even if you're staying inside as much as humanly possible, you need to wear some sunscreen. We asked dermatologists about their favorites, and why, exactly, it's still a necessary skin care step.us.cnn.com
Listen to the medical experts, they say! Wear a mask, stay inside, use a sunscreen!