There is a lot of weird discussion on English-speaking forums that you should always always wear sunscreen, even if the day is grey, because skin cancer is a constant risk.

I do not get if it’s a massive and long-running marketing campaign that has brainwashed the entire population, if it’s because many living in US and UK have a very white skin tone thus burn easily, or what else. Skin cancer is a fact of life, but for a species that evolved in the sun, I do not believe one bit that sun exposure, which incidentally is linked to many benefits because it’s so bloody normal, is something that can only be dealt with modern technology and we should be deathly afraid of it. Sure, UV radiation can cause mutations, but our immune system has evolved over billions of years to deal with this exact problem.

By all means use sunscreen if you have to spend a lot of time in the sun and risk a very unpleasant sunburn, but I wish someone would explain the Anglo obsession with daily sunscreen routine.

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phito 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

> for a species that evolved in the sun, I do not believe one bit that sun exposure, which incidentally is linked to many benefits because it’s so bloody normal, is something that can only be dealt with modern technology and we should be deathly afraid of it. Sure, UV radiation can cause mutations, but our immune system has evolved over billions of years to deal with this exact problem.

Yeah, most of the time our immune system deals with it, but sometimes it misses one roge cell and you've got cancer. That's why you want to limit your exposure to mutations even if you're somewhat adapted to deal with them.

Then it's a matter of looking at studies and statistics and deciding for yourself. Personally, I'll keep putting on sunscreen, as I sunburn easily ;)

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elcritch 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

The important piece missing from both of these comments IMHO, is that sunburns are the problematic piece.

There's always going to be some risk from UV exposure, but as the parent comment points out we're evolved to deal with it and even to rely on it. There's research showing that low amounts of cellular damage is actually beneficial as it triggers cellular repair mechanisms or aptosis of senecent cells. Even here other commenters point out how exposure improved their skin or vision.

However that natural evolved state doesn't include sitting inside all week and then going outside on the weekend and getting completely toasted sunburnt!

Doing that and getting completely sunburnt overwhelms our normal cellular repair mechanism, the immune system response, etc. It's much more likely a rogue cell evades the immune system when it's swamped with such cells.

Personally I avoid sunscreen if possible for short excursions but will use it if going to the pool as I'm indoors more these years and paler.

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uncircle 4 days ago | parent [-]

> The important piece missing from both of these comments IMHO, is that sunburns are the problematic piece.

Then the problem is light skin tone, and the advice to wear sunscreen always, only applies to them, hence my doubts.

I do not get sunburnt if I go buy groceries or if I spend 1 hour outside, like most ethnicities on Earth; yet if I dare question the dogma of sunscreen, I get downvoted, which makes me wonder if it's at all rational. It boggles my mind how it has become a kind of innocent yet taboo argument on the (English-speaking) internet.

Just google it. I mean, there's plenty of articles that say you need to wear it even if you plan to stay indoors all day. WTF.

	▲	dennis_jeeves2 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		>> The important piece missing from both of these comments IMHO, is that sunburns are the problematic piece. >Then the problem is light skin tone, and the advice to wear sunscreen always, only applies to them, hence my doubts. My view: sunscreen for any skin is not healthy, lots of marketing there. People with sensitive skin to sunlight( generally light skinned folks but not always) should either avoid harsh sun of wear clothing that will protect them from harsh sunlight.

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trallnag 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

While we may be one species, there are very obvious differences between some ethnic groups and ancestral clusters.

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codr7 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Cancer is a parasite, the sun kills parasites.

	▲	harperlee 4 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Soap also kills parasites. And antibiotics!
	▲	wiseowise 3 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Also bleach to cure corona.

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heyheyhey 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> I wish someone would explain the Anglo obsession with daily sunscreen routine.

Because it's more about skincare for physical attraction and less about the cancer. Sun ages your skin with wrinkles, sagging, hyperpigmentation, etc.

This isn't specific to Anglo nations too. Any country where being "fair skinned" is more desirable will have lots of demand for sunscreen.

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saltcured 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Where the medical establishment pushes it, it is largely about establishing habits for people who may get a lot of exposure that they didn't plan for.

Also, local climates differ dramatically. A couple of my worst sunburns in my life were on extremely gray days on the California coast. It is easy to fool yourself into thinking the sun isn't strong when you don't feel the heat of it. But on those kinds of days, it's just diffuse UV blasting from every direction.

I found it instructive when I got photochromatic eye glasses. Since they are UV-activated, it is like carrying a UV detection instrument around with a heads-up display. It really helped me get a better sense for what conditions and hours of the day have significant UV in my normal daily life.

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Earw0rm 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It's context collapse, the curse of a shared language.

If you live in Australia or Florida and have Anglo skin, you'd best believe that's good advice.

In the natural range of the Anglo skin type, Edinburgh or Dublin, not so much.

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jusssi 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Maybe we're getting more UV now than we evolved with?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ozone_depletion

	▲	amanaplanacanal 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		It's a small factor, but humans evolved in the tropics. Ancestral humans has very dark skin because of the tropical UV exposure. Then when some moved into Europe and Asia, selection pressure means they rapidly lost their pigmentation because they weren't getting enough vitamin D.