Sun and sunscreen myths: Siwon's summer Q&A

Do you need sunscreen if you are already tanned?

❌ Myth

Yes, you do. A tan is a defensive response from your skin and it does give some protection, but the most widely cited estimates in dermatology put it at around SPF 3. In other words: almost nothing compared with a sunscreen.

We wish. It is true that a tan offers some protection, but a minimal one. If you are going to spend time in the sun, sunscreen is just as advisable as before.

If what you want is the colour without the bill: sunless tan for men, without the orange effect.

Can you get sunburnt on a cloudy day?

❌ Myth

Yes, and those are the days when most people get burnt. Clouds lower the feeling of heat, which is the only alarm we go by, but they let a large share of ultraviolet radiation through.

Up to 80 % of UV radiation gets through clouds. The most treacherous sunburns tend to happen on exactly those days. With thin cloud cover, the share that gets through can be even higher.

More on this here: SPF facts.

Why do you burn under a parasol?

✅ Happens all the time

Because shade is not a shield. A parasol cuts about half of the UV radiation reaching you; the rest arrives bounced back off the sand, the water and everything around you.

It is VERY common. Sand and water act like a mirror for the sun and you end up cooked anyway. And when there is a breeze you feel less heat, but you are roasting all the same.

Sand: reflects ~15 % Water: ~10-25 % Snow: up to 80 %

The full list of summer traps: the 10 summer enemies your skin could do without.

Is the sun weaker in the mountains?

❌ Myth

It is stronger. UV radiation goes up by roughly 10 % for every 1,000 metres of altitude, because there is less atmosphere above you filtering it. And because it feels cool up there, you drop your guard.

It is exactly the other way round. The higher you go, the less the atmosphere filters UV radiation, and the sooner and worse you burn.

Can you get burnt underwater?

❌ Myth

You can. At half a metre deep, around 40 % of the UV radiation present at the surface still reaches you. And meanwhile the water is washing off the sunscreen you had on.

Water cools you down, but UV rays keep arriving. In fact, a lot of sunburns show up after long swims.

Is last year's sunscreen still good?

🤷 It depends

It depends on how long it has been open and where it spent the winter. Look on the packaging for the open jar symbol (PAO): the number inside is how many months the formula holds up after you opened it, and on sunscreens it is usually 12M.

It depends. If it spent a whole year in the boot of the car or roasting on the beach, better not to play roulette.

Signs it should go in the bin: the texture has separated or turned grainy, the colour has changed or it smells odd. When in doubt, weigh the price of a new bottle against the price of a sunburn.

How to pick one without losing your mind: SPF 50, simple sun protection.

Does SPF 50 protect twice as much as SPF 25?

❌ Myth

No. SPF is not a linear scale. The number tells you what share of UVB radiation the product filters out, and it works out as 1 minus 1 divided by the SPF. SPF 25 filters around 96 % and SPF 50 around 98 %. That is two points apart, not double.

It does not work like that. The thing to remember is that what matters, in every case, is applying enough and reapplying it.

If the problem is that you simply forget to put it on, the fix is usually making the sunscreen your everyday cream as well. Handsomefyer Sun is our all-in-one cream with broad spectrum SPF 50 UVA+UVB: it hydrates, conceals pores, smooths the look of fine lines and evens skin tone, so you put it on for what you see in the mirror and the protection comes along with it. See it here.

Do creams go off if you leave them in the car?

🤷 It depends

One isolated afternoon usually does no damage; the problem is repetition. Sustained heat can affect the stability of the formula and the effectiveness of the UV filters.

One afternoon now and then probably will not destroy them. Repeating it for a fortnight of holidays, on the other hand, can affect their stability.

Does sea water heal your skin?

🤷 It depends

Heal, it heals nothing. For some people it soothes things for a while, for others it makes them worse, and there is no way to know which group you are in until you try.

For some people it can feel good now and then. For others it dries the skin out quite a bit and can even make eczema, psoriasis and the like worse. It is not a dermatological treatment.

If you have a diagnosed skin condition, the one who decides here is your dermatologist, not the know-it-all under the next parasol.

Is covering yourself in mud or beach sand any good?

❌ Myth

No. Sand works as a rough, uncontrolled exfoliant, and beach mud has no demonstrated benefit.

It can feel nice… but do not expect a free spa. Sand just exfoliates; beach mud has no superpowers.

And if you have just been burnt, just shaved or your skin is irritated, rubbing sand on it is a straightforwardly bad idea.

What does work: the perfect shower.

Does aftersun actually do anything?

🤷 Half and half

It helps soothe and hydrate the skin after the sun. It does not repair a sunburn and it does not buy you an extra afternoon of exposure. It is aftercare, not a free pass.

It does not replace sunscreen, but it can help calm and hydrate the skin after intense exposure.

If you want something light that does not leave a sticky feel after the beach, Dragon Shot is a moisturiser with a water-cream texture and antioxidants. And here is the return to reality: post-holiday care.

Does a beard protect your face from the sun?

🤷 It depends

It protects a little, but far less than it looks, and only where the hair is dense and long enough. Three days of stubble barely counts.

It does protect somewhat… but much less than you imagine. If you have a short beard or patchy areas, sunscreen still makes sense.

And a beard covers neither cheekbones nor nose, forehead, ears or scalp, which is exactly where most facial sunburns happen.

Does the sun damage your hair too?

✅ True

Yes. UV radiation breaks down keratin and the pigments in your hair, and you can see it in the texture as much as in the colour.

Like skin, hair also suffers in the sun. UV radiation breaks down keratin and pigments, which is why in summer it tends to look drier, rougher, frizzier or even lighter.

And your scalp burns like any other part of your body, especially along the parting and at the temples. A cap does nothing there if you wear it backwards.

The whole hair chapter: summer hair.

Does sleeping with air conditioning dry out your skin?

✅ True

Yes, indirectly. Air conditioning lowers the humidity in the room, and the drier the air, the more water your skin loses through evaporation.

Air conditioning reduces the humidity of the room and that can make it easier for your skin to lose water, especially if it is already dry or sensitive. The answer is not to swelter, but to keep your skin well hydrated and not point the airflow straight at your face all night.

Why does my solid soap “sweat”?

✅ Perfectly normal

It is not sweating and it has not gone off. Those are water droplets the soap pulls out of the air, because some of its ingredients attract moisture. It happens mostly in summer and in humid bathrooms.

Relax. It is not nervous and it is not feeling the heat. What you are seeing are small droplets of moisture that appear because some ingredients attract water from the air around them.

It sorts itself out: dry it, keep it in a soap dish that drains and move it out of the shower's steam zone. It will last a lot longer.

Why we make solid soap and not shower gel: soaps and superpowers.

Does perfume last less in summer?

✅ True

Yes. Heat speeds up the evaporation of the more volatile notes, so the top notes go earlier and the whole thing feels shorter.

It is not your imagination.

Two things help: keeping the bottle away from light and heat (the bathroom is the worst place in the house) and applying it on hydrated skin, because dry skin holds it less well.

The full guide: how to smell good all day.