Let’s face it, we all like to be in the sun whether we are playing sports, or hanging out on the beach on vacation…but how much is too much sun exposure?  

There is a tricky balance between getting your daily dose of vitamin D and risking too much exposure. Over the last few years I really started to think about how much I was laying out in the sun and how it would affect me later on in life. Throughout my teens and early 20’s I would almost never wear sunscreen; I always wanted to get a tan, and fast! Now in my late 20’s and truly realizing the harm I have been doing to my skin for years, I decided to wear sunscreen regularly, even when I know I am going to be indoors all day.

For the people reading this – no matter how many serums or night creams we use, the sun damage cannot be reversed. We really only need around 20 minutes of sun a day to get a healthy intake of vitamin D, whether that be from walking to work, grabbing your morning coffee, or taking an afternoon swim. Too much exposure to UV rays can cause permanent skin damage such as dark patches, loss of skin elasticity, wrinkles, premature again of the skin, and skin cancer.