How To Avoid Sunburns
What your dermatologist doesn't know, and won't tell you.
Background
During the 2020 lockdown measures, there were many changes in New York City that were distressing and cumbersome.
One positive change, from a practical perspective, was the limitation of the number of people allowed to attend the beaches.
The usual NYC summer sees people on the sands stacked on top of one another, typical of the sardine-like imagery of life in this city.
The lockdown restrictions, however, made time on the beach much more enjoyable. As the anti-lockdowners that we were, we certainly enjoyed our time.
That summer was the last time that I have ever gotten a sunburn.
For many years before, I would burn very easily. Something that I had never really experienced in my youth. But, for whatever reason I sort of just accepted this as the inevitable result of high sun exposure.
Never had I considered that my lifestyle choices were actively contributing to a weak and highly flammable skin.
I did, however, find it very strange that no matter how much sunscreen I applied, or protective measures I took…I still burned very easily.
Post-2020
If you are not familiar with my experience through the covid mandates, and what led to the rise of this publication, I would highly recommend reading my story here:
Or, if you would rather listen to the story, check out this podcast episode with the great John Vallis:
Needless to say, covid was the final straw.
Since then, I have lost enough faith in centralized medicine that I no longer wish to pursue or advance it in any way.
Instead, I spend my time learning and applying the millenia long practices which survive to this day in many parts of the world that have not been completely consumed by industrialized western medicine.
Along that journey, I have come to learn a couple of things about the health of our skin and its relationship with the Sun.
Many of the things I have learned, are credited to Dr. Jack Kruse, who’s work continues to impart new perspectives in my understanding of health. If you aren’t familiar, check him out.
No Panacea
I’ve seen many people point to a single change in their life which resulted in them no longer experiencing sunburns.
Unfortunately, I don’t think these single changes are universal, although I am sure many of them are effective.
People are different. They have different lifestyles and risk factors.
For instance - some people claim that simply avoiding seed oils (vegetable oil) stopped them from burning.
I’m sure this is true for many people, just as I’m sure it has helped my case as well.
However, for some people the positive effect of no longer consuming seed oils may be met with variable results.
For example, if you are obese with a lot of subcutaneous fat…simply ceasing the consumption of seed oils may be insufficient, at first.
During the time that you build up this layer of fat, presumably while consuming seed oils…the fat stores these highly inflammatory oils.
And, depending on how much fat you have under the skin…it may take a long time after stopping the consumption of seed oils…that they get cleared from the fat underneath the skin.
Particularly, if stopping the consumption is not accompanied by fat loss. As you lose the fat, you may at first experience increased inflammatory symptoms as these stored seed oils get released from the fat and into the bloodstream.
Strategies to Consider
As I mentioned above, there is no silver bullet…although many of the solutions below come dangerously close to being generalizable.
However, in the spirit of personalized medical care, I cannot say with certainty that any strategy will work for everyone.
In any case, most of these strategies are worth implementing anyway, as they are part of an overall foundational health strategy for optimizing your physiological and psychological well-being, as I outline here:
How to Avoid Sunburns
First and foremost: stop using sunscreen.
This may seem counter-intuitive, but it actually makes physiologic sense.
Melanocytes are neural-crest origin cells which in our skin produce melanin. Melanin serves two very important functions in our skin.
It harnesses the power of UV light, and makes use of this electromagnetic wave to carry out various functions in our body.
By absorbing UV light, it prevents the UV light from otherwise causing damage to our skin.
If you’d like to get into the nitty-gritty of the physiology and the lie that UV light causes melanoma, would highly recommend this article:
Suffice it to say, there are many chemicals in sunscreen and makeup which block the enzyme that produces melanin.
Which means, rather confusingly, that sunscreen causes skin-cancer.
Recently, this finding has made its way to mainstream media.
It is these benzenes which block the function of Tyrosinase, an enzyme in the biochemical pathway that produces melanin.
Second: stop wearing sunglasses…at least outdoors.
Let me explain.
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