Sunscreen? Yes, no, maybe!

Our life is solar powered!

You keep hearing that you “MUST” wear sunscreen every single day or face disaster!And of course you need to touch it up frequently. A part of you wonders, “is it true? Will I face skin cancer, wrinkles and pigmentation, if i skip this” Lets look at it with perspective and science.

Let’s understand how your body makes vitamin D from sunlight, know what goes inside those sunscreen bottles, and how to choose protection that loves your skin and the sun.

Sun, Vitamin D, and your Indian skin

When bare skin meets sunlight, magic happens! UVB rays convert a natural cholesterol in your skin into vitamin D. Without sufficient Vit D we suffer persistent fatigue, backache, muscle and joint pain, depression, hair loss, slow healing. We run on solar power!

Studies in India suggest that 20 minutes of midday sun on just the face and forearms can help the skin make sufficient vitamin D, though this varies by city, season, and pollution. Despite this, 70%-100% Indians are vitamin D deficient because we live mostly indoors, behind glass, under pollution, and often with sunscreen. Compare this with 1 skin cancer fatality per 625,000 persons. Majority of these cases are due to  contaminated river washing and tobacco consumption.

The real issue is not “too much sun but "too little” of the right kind of sun, at the right time, on the right amount of bare skin.

What’s really inside modern sunscreens?

Most sunscreens rely on UV filters to block or absorb UV rays. These can be:

• “Chemical” filters like oxybenzone, avobenzone, octinoxate, escamsole, homosalate, and octocrylene.

• “Physical” or mineral filters like zinc oxide and titanium dioxide.

 Some chemical filters are known hormone or endocrine disrupters in lab and animal studies.Just read the ingredient list on your sunscreen, it is a staggering cocktail of chemicals that you absolutely do not need. You end up smearing these nasties to prevent the sun’s rays reaching you!

Sunscreen pollution adds 6,000-14,000 tons of chemical UV filters to our oceans. These have bleached corals, caused DNA damage and reproductive failure in fish. Do you really want to use this on yourself or your toddler? Everyday?

The noxious cocktail of chemicals in sunscreens is way more damaging than over exposure to the sun

How our ancestors lived without SPF

Before lab‑made sunscreens existed, our grandparents lived and thrived under the same sun. They did not sunbathe for hours, but they also did not hide from every ray.

Life naturally followed the light: rise early , get morning light all over , shade and rest at harsh noon, use wide‑brimmed hats, dupattas, turbans, umbrellas, and full‑sleeved cotton clothing, step out again in the late afternoon and receive the sun’s bounty. This simple dance allowed their bodies to make vitamin D while avoiding burns and heat

 Safer, natural ways to protect your skin

No one tells you this because there is nothing to sell.-rely on your body's intelligence more.

Instead of automatically reaching for a high‑SPF chemical sunscreen every time you go out, build a more balanced protection routine:

• Seek shade when the sun is directly overhead. Get your dose of solar power in small and regular intervals  for vitamin D In the morning and evening, accounting for your location and skin type.

• Use wide‑brimmed hats, scarves, dupattas, and umbrellas to protect your face and neck in a breathable, skin‑friendly way.

• Choose loose, long‑sleeved cotton or linen to cover arms and legs instead of relying only on a chemical film on your skin.

• When you truly need more protection—like a full day at the beach, trekking, or high‑altitude travel—consider simpler mineral sunscreens (zinc or titanium based), apply to exposed areas, and wash them off well once you are indoors. Use apps like "reveal it" to understand how safe your products are.

This way, sunscreen becomes an occasional tool—not a daily toxin that deprives you of the sun entirely.

You don’t have to be afraid of the sun, and you don’t have to blindly follow every SPF trend either. With awareness, you can enjoy the sunlight the way we were meant to, while choosing calm, commonsense protection that cares for both your body and the earth.

You got this!

The first sun rays to reach you are Infrared, their arrival signals to the body to absorb what is needed and set up protection. Use this solar power to recharge your cells wisely.