African-Americans often don’t believe they need to use sun protection. Nationally, one-third of Americans never wear sunscreen – that number doubles for people of color.
Nearly two out of three African-Americans never wear sunscreen. Although people of color develop skin cancer at rates much lower than Caucasians, when African-Americans do get skin cancer, they die more often than their white counterparts.
According to the American Medical Association, the five-year melanoma survival rate is only 58 percent among African-Americans, compared to 84 percent for Caucasians.
Following is a list of reasons why African-Americans should start wearing sunscreen.
– While incidence rates are lower than those with lighter skin tones, African-Americans are at risk for all of the usual skin cancers: basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.
– Skin tans in the sun. A tan is due to stimulation of repair mechanisms in the skin cells, meaning a tan is DNA damage that the body is trying to repair.
– Chronic sun exposure causes photo-aging, especially in the face and neck, which can lead to wrinkles, leathery skin and sun spots.
– Though you may not see the effects immediately, sun damage is occurring and it will catch up to you as you age.
– African-American skin oftentimes tans unevenly, resulting in more “blotchiness.”
– You may think you don’t get a lot of sun, but the few minutes of exposure you get on a daily basis provide adequate exposure. UV still passes through sunscreen to some degree, so it will not keep your body from soaking up the sun’s vitamin D.
– While some groups warn against the chemical oxybenzone in sunscreen, the American Academy of Dermatology has done several studies and determined it to be safe. For those who are still concerned, choose sunscreens with alternative products like zinc
– Because of their skin color, African-Americans may not recognize skin cancers early on – making it much more dangerous and difficult to treat – as people with lighter pigmentation.
– Black people are most likely to develop skin cancers on their fingernails, toenails, the palms of their hands or soles of their feet.
– Exposure to the sun’s rays can be very damaging and many areas of the head, such as the tops of the ears are overlooked. Blacks should wear hats along with sunscreen for ultimate protection.
Sources: Dr. Jeffery Travers, Indiana University Health; cnn.com/health; huffingtonpost.com.
