Sun Exposure At The "Safe Hours" Is Worse

J

j.

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This is just what I believe.

Authorities advice to get sun exposure after 4 p.m. If you sunbathe after 4 p.m., I believe you're more likely to get skin damage. What happens is that the damage from UVA rays is less noticeable. UVA tans you, but it doesn't produce sunburn. So you don't notice all the harm that is occurring. After 4 p.m., your UV exposure is practically pure UVA.

If you get sun exposure when UVB is high, like at 1 p.m.(*), your body will alert you if you stayed too long, because excess UVB rays provoke redenning of the skin. So if your skin looks pink, the next time you should stay a shorter amount of time.

Moreover, only UVB creates vitamin D, and UVA alone, or with very low UVB, might even destroy vitamin D.

(*) If it's cloudy, or at certain times of the year, UVB might not be intense even at 1 p.m.
 
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J

j.

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If you feel bad after sun exposure, with or without sunburn, I think exposure to incandescent lights is very helpful. Maybe aspirin too. I'm starting to doubt that aspirin before sun exposure is helpful, but not going into that in this thread.
 
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Kasper said:
What about astaxanthine for skin protection ?

I used astaxanthin every summer and also while on vacations in Mexico, Palm Springs and Hawaii. I found that I could lay in the sun for hours and hours and not get burned, ever. Everyone around me would slather on tons of sunscreen, I used only coconut oil (internally and externally) and astaxanthin and never burned. This was when I was on a low-carb high fat diet that contained a lot of PUFA too....I have NO idea what RP says regarding astaxanthin, but it did definitely prevent sunburn.
 

jyb

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The first post didn't convince me that morning and evening are not the safest hours. The spectrum is more desirable towards red and less UV. And in addition there's less energy.
 

gretchen

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Hmmm interesting. I've wondered for a while if my late afternoon walks were doing more harm than good. As in, I haven't noticed any real gains energy-wise and actually have been feeling fatigued. Might have to switch my schedule around.
 

goofy

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Here's my question: I've always wondered if you lose your "ability to tan". When I was a kid, I used to get really really dark by the time august arrived.

Now im pale as hell because i barely go out tanning anymore, and feel like ***t compared to when I was an active outdoors kid not giving a ****.

I want to get my tan and good vibe back. Im going to start with at least 20 minutes at 12 or 1 pm depending on when I finish my workout. My question is: How does one prevent premature aging of the skin? specially on the face, on the body I don't care as much for 20 minutes. I want to look darker, not as much as I used to, but a bit more. Will 20 min daily be enough at 12-1pm ish?
 

mt_dreams

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Hi goofy,
there's no set amount of time to stay in the sun as it's very individual based. Ideally you would want your skin to turn pink, but never burn. Start experimenting with time in the sun, within a couple weeks you will find your sweet spot. If you are concerned with your face, use a wide brimmed hat, and do not allow direct sun to hit the face (as well as avoiding high reflecting areas like water, or glass panels, etc). Make sure to up your vitamin A intake if you are getting midday sun or you might start breaking out with acne.

keep in mind that having a tan & absorbing vitamin D are different. If you desire having color and are not concerned with vitamin D, you can pretty much go out anytime b/w 9 & 6 during the summer months. Also going out for 5-10 min every hour or so will greatly increase your tan without the danger of ever burning.
 
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goofy said:
My question is: How does one prevent premature aging of the skin? specially on the face

I cover my face with a towel or wear a wide brim hat depending on what I'm doing...at 48 years old I don't need to add to the damage from when I was a teenager.
 

Peat's_Girl

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I'm super sun-phobic (well, wrinkle phobic is more like it) but found that slathering on SPF and hermiting in the summer just caused vitamin D deficiency and more skin problems.

The best advice I found was to use topical vitamin A cream instead (NOT tretinoin, retinyl palmitate!)
instead was a middle-ground because the vitamin A gets destroyed in sunlight while protecting your skin but vitamin D synthesis still happens.

Just my .2$!
 

Strongbad

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I notice that I look noticeably older after being out in the sun very often within the last 3 weeks. More wrinkles and stuff, even after taking aspirin orally with vitamin K2. So now I'm back in hermit-mode for a bit and take vitamin D3 supplement.

Ironic, the Sun does your body good with Vitamin D, but it makes your skin wrinkly and old.
 

Xisca

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I looked for this quite a lot, so I can give you the results of my search!

Yes, UVB are what gives you vitamine D,
so you do not get them early or late.
But you can still sun burn when there are only UVA.

We need to expose ourselves to the sun when UVB are available.
Only 20mns is enough, but the maximum of skin surface.
After this, the skin destroys the vitamine D, to avoid excess.

For UVB, you need the sun to be as high as 50º above horizon.
At my place, 28º latitude north, I have this from end of March to end of October.
The more near the 21st of June, the more I get the right hight of sun during a few hours (as far as I remember, 5 or 6 hours were a maximum).
In march and october, I can get the right amount of sun during a few minutes at noon.
You need a table to target it exactly!

Then, as VitD is made on the skin, you get rid of it before absorbtion if you wash yourself with a soap, because you remove some skin oil. So, apart from the "necessary" few places of the body... just wash yourself with water. This cleans enough and let your skin protection. I also never or little, use soap on the back of my hands (only inside + fingers).

Now this give you some idea about the reason for not getting enough vitamine D from the sun, and how to get more. In 20 mns, you have no time to damage your skin. Then tanning is up to you...
 

charlie

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jaa

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Purely anecdotal, but I notice I feel better and more energized being in the sun when UV is low, whereas if I'm out around midday my energy gets zapped and I don't feel as well later that day and the next.
 

Amazoniac

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Peat's_Girl said:
I'm super sun-phobic (well, wrinkle phobic is more like it) but found that slathering on SPF and hermiting in the summer just caused vitamin D deficiency and more skin problems.

The best advice I found was to use topical vitamin A cream instead (NOT tretinoin, retinyl palmitate!)
instead was a middle-ground because the vitamin A gets destroyed in sunlight while protecting your skin but vitamin D synthesis still happens.

Just my .2$!

Your username could be ThreadResurrector. Haha!
 

Amazoniac

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I'm not sure if it's a good idea to expose yourself briefly close to noon. Most mammals seem to seek shades when the sun is at its peak. It's too uncomfortable to stay just for a short period. Perhaps the best strategy is to expose yourself briefly throughout the day and avoid close to noon. This way it won't be too harsh and you'll also get the benefits that go beyond vit D that Ray Peat writes so much about..
I've also seen some studies suggesting the protective effects of early sunlight in our eyes, unfortunately I couldn't find them anymore.
 

jaa

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Early sun will also help set your circadium rhythm and allow you to sleep easier.
 

Peat's_Girl

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Amazoniac said:
Peat's_Girl said:
I'm super sun-phobic (well, wrinkle phobic is more like it) but found that slathering on SPF and hermiting in the summer just caused vitamin D deficiency and more skin problems.

The best advice I found was to use topical vitamin A cream instead (NOT tretinoin, retinyl palmitate!)
instead was a middle-ground because the vitamin A gets destroyed in sunlight while protecting your skin but vitamin D synthesis still happens.

Just my .2$!

Your username could be ThreadResurrector. Haha!

Haha, I just joined lately and so I started to read all the threads here...
Maybe it should be TooLateToEducate...? ;P
 

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