June 13, 2025 • 22 mins
It’s summer and that means slathering yourself with sunblock before you’re allowed to go run around outside. Not everyone loves that ritual: sunscreen can be cold or sticky. Sometimes it gets in your eyes, and it always feels like it’s time to reapply JUST as you’re about to jump in the water or go kick the ball. So, what’s the deal? Is it really all that important? We get the scoop from Dr. Jeff Yu, a pediatric dermatologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. He’ll help us understand: What is a sunburn? What’s a tan? How does sunscreen work? How do you protect your eyes?
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Jane (00:19):
This is But Why
Public. I'm Jane Lindholm. Onthis show, we take questions
from curious kids just like you,and we find answers. Here in the
United States and in othercountries in the Northern
Hemisphere, we're enteringsummer. In the summer, the sun
is out longer and the weatherwarms up, so it's a great time
(00:40):
to play outdoors. I like takinglong hikes and runs, going to
baseball games and havingpicnics when the weather
cooperates here in Vermont. Butjust as you're about to run out
the door to go play outside, youhave probably had this
experience (00:54):
an adult telling you "hold on, you got to put on your
sunscreen." Lots of you haveasked us, what's the deal with
sunscreen? Why do we need to putthis thing on our skin that
sometimes feels cold and clammy?Well, we have a guest today who
can give you all the tips youneed for summer outdoor fun.
Dr. Yu (01:14):
My name is Dr. Jeff Yu, and I am a dermatologist and
pediatric dermatologist atMassachusetts General Hospital
here in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jane (01:23):
A dermatologist. What's that?
Dr. Yu (01:26):
I am a skin doctor. I am somebody that looks at people's
skin, and I diagnose varioustypes of diseases, and I give
information about how best toprotect your skin to my patients
small and large.
Jane (01:38):
What's cool about skin?
Dr. Yu (01:40):
It's certainly the largest organ of the body. It
covers your entire body, and itgrows with you as you get older.
Not only does it include justyour skin, but we also think
about hair, we also think aboutnails. So there is a lot to it
that we are experts in.
Jane (01:54):
We wanted to talk a little bit about sun safety today and
how we can make sure that we arekeeping our skin and our whole
bodies safe during the summerseason.
Gilad (02:03):
My name is Gilad. I live in Israel. What is a sunburn and
how does sunscreen work? I'm twoand a half.
Evie (02:14):
My name is Evie, and I live in Lyman, Maine and I'm
five years old. Why does sungive you sunburn?
Charlie (02:23):
My name is Charlie. I live in Sarasota, Florida, and
I'm six years old. Why do peopleget sunburned? And why do we
have to wear sunscreen? And howdoes the sunscreen make it so we
don't get sunburned?
Jane (02:38):
So let's first talk about what is a sunburn?
Dr. Yu (02:41):
A sunburn is something that happens on your skin after
your skin has been exposed to alot of sunlight. And when you
get a sunburn, the cells on topof your skin, and you have a lot
of those cells, get damaged bythe sun and they get burned, but
(03:02):
by the light that is produced bythe sun, called ultraviolet
light. So when you get too muchultraviolet light, your skin's
not so happy about it, and itends up being burned. When you
get a sunburn, the skin turnsred, a common sensation that
probably many of us have had,and it hurts when you touch it.
It feels hot to the touch, andafter about a few days or a week
(03:23):
or two, you start to notice someof those dead skin cells kind of
peeling off or sloughing off,and the new skin comes in from
below it. People who have darkerskin tend to be more protected
from sunburns, because if youimagine the color in your skin
cells acting as kind of anumbrella, protecting your skin
from those ultraviolet lights,or from those sun rays, it is a
(03:45):
little bit harder for people whohave darker skin to get a
sunburn, but not impossible, andfolks who have lighter skin
cells just don't have that typeof protection, and they can get
sunburned more easily.
Jane (03:56):
if you get a sunburn and then you get over it, is there a
problem?
Dr. Yu (04:01):
Short term, your body has an amazing ability to heal
itself, so short term, probablynot a huge issue. But if you're
someone who grew up gettingsunburned over and over again
every single summer, this leadsto many problems when you get a
little bit older. So when peopleare in their 30s and 40s and
50s, one of the first thingsthat we as dermatologists really
(04:22):
worry about is the increasedrisk of developing skin cancers.
So these are these abnormalgrowths that can show up on the
skin, whether they're a lump,whether they're a bump,
something that is bleeding,uncomfortable, can be painful,
and if they're untreated, theycan grow bigger and bigger, and
sometimes they can travel toother parts of your body, and
they can really cause healthproblems down the road. So we
(04:44):
tend to see this more in peoplewho had a lot of sun exposure,
especially sunburns when they'reyounger.
Jane (04:51):
Dr. Yu says when it comes to protecting our skin,
practicing sun safety andavoiding sunburns is key. We'll
talk more about the differentthings we can do to play safe in
the sun in a couple of minutes.But before we get to that, when
your skin is exposed to the sun,sometimes there's something else
that happens that's a little bitdifferent from a sunburn.
Sometimes, instead of your skinturning all red and itchy, it
(05:14):
just gets a little darker.People call this a tan. And
Dylan, who's four, is wondering,how does our skin get tanned?
Dr. Yu (05:22):
Yeah, that's a great question. In your skin cells,
there are these very specifictype of cells that are kind of
scattered among them, calledmelanocytes. These are special
types of cells that contain theability to produce a type of
color in your skin calledmelanin. And when you get a lot
(05:47):
of sun exposure, thesemelanocytes kind of eat it all
up, and they get really happy,and they start making more of
this chemical called melaninthat is supposed to be used to
protect your skin againstsunlight. So these are the
little umbrellas that I wastalking about earlier that
people who have darker skin tendto have more of in their cells,
and the purpose of them is tokind of reflect that sunlight or
(06:08):
deflect it and prevent it fromdamaging the cells. So when your
skin gets a lot of sunlight, itsees this as a signal to make
more of the melanin. And themore melanin you make, the
darker your skin becomes.
Jane (06:20):
So should you go out first thing in the spring and summer
and try to get really tan sothat you're protected against
getting sunburns?
Dr. Yu (06:28):
So that's a very common question that I get asked by my
patients. And the short answeris no, because every time you
are getting a tan, you areexposing yourself to large
amounts of ultraviolet rays orsunlight.
Jane (06:41):
So one of the ways that I've been thinking about the way
your skin changes color is alittle bit like when you put
bread in a toaster, and if youtoast it a little bit, it gets a
little bit of a light kind ofcaramel color. If you toast it a
little longer, it gets a littlebit darker. And if you toast it
for too long, it burns. Is asimilar thing happening with our
skin?
Dr. Yu (07:00):
Absolutely, you know, you can always do too much, but
even a little bit, even a littlebit of heat or a little bit of
exposure, that doesn't mean thatyou are sparing your cells from
getting damaged. You are stilldamaging your cells to a certain
degree, just not enough to thepoint where you are burned.
Jane (07:15):
Okay, so then one of the main ways that we can protect
our skin, if it's exposed to thesunlight, is by wearing
sunscreen. What is sunscreen andhow does it work?
Ida (07:25):
My name is Ida. I am six years old. I live in Portland,
Oregon. What's in sunscreen thatmakes you not get a sunburn?
Jack (07:35):
My name is Jack. I live in Holliston, Massachusetts. I'm
five years old. If you don't putsunscreen on, why will you get a
sunburn? But if you do putsunscreen on, why will you not
get a sunburn?
Dr. Yu (07:50):
Yeah, so sunscreen is something we recommend to all
kids, no matter your age,whether you are an infant, if
you're a toddler, if you are anadolescent, if you're a
teenager, and even my adultsthat I see at my work who are 90
plus years old, I stillrecommend that they wear
sunscreen. So sunscreen, inessence, is just a type of
(08:11):
lotion that you put on your skinto protect your skin from the
light. It's almost like puttingon invisible armor to protect
your skin from the harmfuleffects of sunlight and
ultraviolet rays. We oftenrecommend people to use
sunscreen starting in thespringtime and then extending it
(08:31):
through the summer into thefall, and then sometimes even
into the early winter, when thesun can still be strong enough
to cause both tanning as well asany sort of a sunburn.
Jane (08:43):
If you've ever been in the sunscreen aisle in a store, you
might know there are lots ofdifferent options to choose
from. We asked Dr. Yu to walk usthrough the different types of
Dr. Yu (08:54):
Sunscreen is not all made the same, so how do you
sunscreen.
pick which one to use? There aretwo main types of sunscreen that
are out there. One of them iscalled a chemical sunscreen, and
the other one is called amineral sunscreen. The chemical
sunscreens like to go on veryclear. They tend to rub in very
(09:14):
nicely into the skin. And thereason for that is because
chemical sunscreens includethese chemicals that are made to
go into your skin cells. Mineralsunscreens are the ones that
tend to go on a little bitwhiter, and the reason for that
is because the minerals used inthese sunscreens do not get
absorbed into the skin. The mostcommon minerals that you are
(09:36):
going to see in mineralsunscreen is either titanium or
zinc. Both of these aredifferent types of metals, and
these are really small, tiny,little metal particles, zinc and
titanium, that will then sit onthe top of your skin. So
chemical goes in, but themineral sunscreen sit on top of
your skin, and they actuallydeflect the light. So imagine if
(09:58):
you have these little particles,these little glass-looking
things that the light shines on,and it just kind of shoots that
light right off of your skin, sopreventing the cells underneath
it from coming in contact withthe ultraviolet light.
Jane (10:11):
Sometimes, too, with zinc sunscreens or mineral
sunscreens, you don't have toget white ones. And in my
family, we have a lot of funwith some colorful mineral
sunscreen, and we put it on ourbodies to make patterns that are
pink or blue or, you know,yellow and green.
Dr. Yu (10:27):
Yes, that's really fun for the kids to put it on in
different colors, and thensometimes for kids who might
have darker skin tones, youknow, one of the other things
that some companies have done areally good job with is actually
making tinted mineral sunscreensthat will then match your skin
tone much better than some ofthese more traditional mineral
(10:47):
sunscreen that just come outchalky white. So I would
definitely encourage kids andparents to kind of look for
these.
Jane (10:53):
When you talk about the mineral sunscreens having zinc
or titanium, I think of titaniumkind of seems like something a
superhero would use, and you'reputting titanium all over your
body, it makes me feel likemaybe I'm a superhero, and then
deflecting all of the sun's rayswhen I'm wearing it.
Dr. Yu (11:11):
Absolutely, yeah, and that is a great way to put it.
Jane (11:15):
Coming up, we tackle other sun safety questions like why
are adults always telling us weneed to drink water? And our
sunglasses just for lookingcool? Stay with us.
This is But Why (11:27):
A Podcast for Curious Kids. I'm Jane Lindholm.
Today, we are talking withpediatric dermatologist Dr. Jeff
Yu. He's a skin doctor. He'shelping us learn how to keep our
bodies protected when we playoutside this summer. We were
just talking about why it'simportant to wear sunscreen when
we go play in the sun, andthat's because it protects us
(11:49):
from ultraviolet rays that candamage our skin. But a few of
you pointed out to us that whenyou put on sunscreen, it can
feel... not great.
Emerson (11:58):
Hi, my name is Emerson. I'm six years old. I live in
Oakville, Canada, and myquestion is: why is sunscreen so
cold?
Zip (12:05):
My name is Zip. I live in Waitsfield, Vermont. Why is
spray sunscreen so cold?
Dr. Yu (12:16):
You know, the bottle the sunscreen is usually kept in. It
doesn't allow a lot of light orheat into the bottle itself. So
therefore, it's probably goingto be a little bit cooler than
where you are, whether that's atthe beach, whether that is out
on a grassy field, or if you'reby a river, or wherever you are,
where it's much hotter. So thatsunscreen is going to feel like
(12:38):
it is much colder when it firstcomes out of that jar or that
tube, and when it goes onto yourskin.
Ellis (12:44):
My name is Ellis, I'm four years old. I live in San
Francisco. Can hair getsunburned?
Jane (12:50):
Can hair get sunburned?
Dr. Yu (12:53):
Hair cannot get sunburned because hair is not
made out of these live skincells that you kind of have on
your arm or on your hand or onthe back of your neck. So hair
itself cannot be sunburned.However, your scalp can
absolutely be sunburned. So ifyou are someone who maybe has a
(13:14):
very short haircut and there's alot of your scalp that is
exposed, or if you are wearingyour hair in such a way with a
very wide part down the middleand your scalp is exposed, you
can absolutely get sunburned onyour scalp. So in the
summertime, we often recommendpeople to wear a hat of some
sort, whether it's like a buckethat or a hat with flaps on the
(13:35):
side or nice wide brim, becausenot only can the hat itself
protect your scalp from the sun,but the brim can protect your
face, for example, your ears,back of the neck, from getting
too much sun exposure and besunburned.
Jane (13:49):
Here's a related question about protecting our eyes from
the sun.
Benson (13:54):
My name is Benson. I live in Richmond, Texas. I'm
four years old. How dosunglasses work that protect
your eyes from the sun?
Dr. Yu (14:11):
So sunglasses are a great way to not just look cool,
but also to kind of protect theskin around your eyes and your
actual eyes from the sun. Solike your skin, your eyes can be
damaged by too much sunexposure. If you're constantly
looking into the sun, or the sunis reflecting off a surface,
kind of like the ground or thewater, or if you're skiing and
(14:34):
the sun is kind of bouncing offof the snow and hitting your
eyes, all of those things areexposing your eyes to
ultraviolet light. Not only canultraviolet light damage skin
cells, it can also damage thecells in your eyes. So using
sunglasses is a really good wayto prevent you from suffering
from some of these side effectsof too much ultraviolet
(14:54):
exposure.
Jane (14:55):
I guess sunglasses are better than trying to wipe
sunscreen directly onto oureyes. I don't know about you,
but I hate it when sunscreengets in my eyes. It stings. So
sunglasses are a much better wayof doing it.
Eli (15:10):
My name is Eli, and I'm from Arlington, Vermont. And I'm
seven years old. Why does theearth look different when you
put sunglasses on?
Jane (15:19):
Eli is wondering why everything looks so different
when you put sunglasses on.
Dr. Yu (15:23):
So sunglasses are made out of special lenses that are
tinted or colored in differentways. A lot of these kind of
tinting can make what you seedifferent, because imagine
you're kind of putting on eithera brown filter or a green filter
or a red filter or something. Soeverything around you starts to
look like that color. So that'swhy things look different when
(15:45):
you're looking out from thesunglasses. But more
importantly, those lenses on theglasses are able to filter
ultraviolet light, just likewhat sunscreen is doing. So when
the sunlight goes through thoselenses, all the bad ultraviolet
light kind of gets filtered outor gets eliminated, and
therefore what is actuallyreaching your eye is a much
(16:07):
safer amount of ultravioletlight. So therefore wearing
sunglasses, especially if you'reon the water, if you're skiing,
or if it's just a really brightand sunny day, that can really
protect your eyes from too muchlight exposure.
Jane (16:20):
So as we talk about how we should take care of our skin and
bodies this summer so we canplay as hard as we want and for
as long as we want outside,another thing kids often hear
their adults say is "make sureyou drink water." Or some adults
might use the word hydration,like, "stay hydrated."
Nico (16:38):
My name is Nico, and I am four years old. Why does my mom
ask me to stay hydrated?
Lily (16:50):
My name is Lily, and I'm three years old. I live in
Dallas, Texas. Why does Baba sayit's always good to hydrate? Is
that true?
Dr. Yu (16:59):
So your body is actually mostly made out of water. So
there is a lot of water in yourbody between the cells, in the
cells, between your organs, inyour blood vessels, there is a
lot of water or fluid. And inthe summertime, what you might
notice when you're out thereplaying around is you're
(17:19):
sweating, and sweat is theprocess with which your body
kind of tries to cool itselfoff, just like the reason you
get into a pool or into theocean in the summertime is
because you get water on you,and then that water on you makes
you feel cooler. So your bodytries to cool itself off by
sweating, by producing waterthat then will kind of soak your
(17:40):
face, your arms, your hands,whatever it is so you start to
cool down. But when your bodydoes that, you are losing a lot
of water from your skin, fromthe bloodstream and from other
parts of your body. So when youstart to lose too much water,
you can get what's calleddehydrated, or there's not
enough water in your body. Andwhen you get dehydrated, a lot
(18:02):
of bad things can happen to you,where you start to feel dizzy,
you might start getting aheadache, you might start to
feel sleepy, some of your bodyorgans might not work normally.
People who are dehydrated alsofeel really tired, so you may
not be able to run as far orjump as high in the summertime.
So drinking water is really goodfor you, just to make sure that
(18:23):
you do not get dehydrated in thesummertime.
Jane (18:26):
So Dr. Yu, we've talked a lot about the sun and how to
make sure that you're protectingyourself, and it starts to feel
like if I'm not drinking enoughwater, or I don't have sunscreen
on, or if the sun is out, maybeI should be worried, and maybe I
should just avoid going outsidealtogether. Because the sun
sounds dangerous. Should we bescared of the sun? How should we
(18:49):
think about protection withoutthinking, danger?
Dr. Yu (18:53):
I do not think you need to be scared of the sun. The
sun's been around for millionsof years, and it's going to be
around for millions more, andpeople for as long as you know
have lived, have really taken tohaving a good time in the sun
and doing so safely. So Iabsolutely do not think you need
to be afraid of the sun. I dothink when you are in the sun,
(19:14):
practicing sun safety is thebest way to go about making sure
that you are enjoying thesummer, enjoying the sun, and
really being able to spend timewith your friends in nature,
which I think is reallyimportant. The way that I would
think about it is, if you can,try to practice more sun safety,
(19:36):
maybe even a little bit ofseeking shade and sun avoidance,
especially between the hours of10am to 4pm during the day. That
is when the sun is thestrongest. That doesn't mean you
can't be outside, but maybe ifyou're able to find areas under
trees where there is shade, orif you're at the playground and
there's a nice shaded area thatyou can play in, or if you're
having a picnic and finding anice shady spot that might not
(19:59):
be a bad idea, because that canprotect you from the sun. During
those hours, it is also veryimportant to make sure that you
are using sunscreen, making surethat you are reapplying the
sunscreen every you know, 40 to80 minutes, depending on what it
says on the bottle, and/orwearing clothing that offers you
some sort of ultravioletprotection factor or UPF, such
(20:22):
as a hat, a shirt, pants, thingsthat will protect your skin from
the sun. But I do not think youneed to be afraid of the sun.
Before those hours, so beforeten o'clock in the morning,
after four o'clock in theafternoon, the sun's a little
bit weaker. That's not to saythe sunlight is not out there,
but it's a little bit weaker.And therefore, perhaps you don't
need to be as, you know, focusedon finding shade. But I still
(20:44):
would encourage you to wearsunscreen and wear protective
clothing, just so you can stayas sun smart and sun safe as
possible.
Jane (20:50):
Thanks to Dr. Jeff Yu, pediatric dermatologist at
Massachusetts General Hospital.Now put on some sunscreen, grab
a hat and a water bottle and goplay outside. We're putting this
episode out on Friday, June13th. If you're in the Northern
Hemisphere, you'll have thelongest day of the year a week
from now, which is a day calledthe summer solstice. If your
(21:13):
family has a special way tocelebrate the solstice, we'd
love to hear it. You can send usa voice recording or a video and
email it toquestions@butwhykids.org. As
always, if you have a questionabout anything that you want us
to tackle, have an adult recordyou asking it, and then have
your adult email the file to thesame place:
(21:34):
questions@butwykids.org. But Whyis produced by Melody Bodette,
Sarah Baik and me Jane Lindholmat Vermont Public and
distributed by PRX. Our videoproducer is Joey Palumbo, and
our theme music is by LukeReynolds. If you like our show,
please have your adults help yougive us a thumbs up or a review
on whatever podcast platform youuse to listen to us. We'll be
(21:57):
back in two weeks with an allnew episode. Until then, stay
curious... and hydrated!
This is But Why
Public. I'm Jane Lindholm. Onthis show, we take questions
from curious kids just like you,and we find answers. Here in the
United States and in othercountries in the Northern
Hemisphere, we're enteringsummer. In the summer, the sun
is out longer and the weatherwarms up, so it's a great time
(00:40):
to play outdoors. I like takinglong hikes and runs, going to
baseball games and havingpicnics when the weather
cooperates here in Vermont. Butjust as you're about to run out
the door to go play outside, youhave probably had this
experience (00:54):
an adult telling you "hold on, you got to put on your
sunscreen." Lots of you haveasked us, what's the deal with
sunscreen? Why do we need to putthis thing on our skin that
sometimes feels cold and clammy?Well, we have a guest today who
can give you all the tips youneed for summer outdoor fun.
Dr. Yu (01:14):
My name is Dr. Jeff Yu, and I am a dermatologist and
pediatric dermatologist atMassachusetts General Hospital
here in Boston, Massachusetts.
Jane (01:23):
A dermatologist. What's that?
Dr. Yu (01:26):
I am a skin doctor. I am somebody that looks at people's
skin, and I diagnose varioustypes of diseases, and I give
information about how best toprotect your skin to my patients
small and large.
Jane (01:38):
What's cool about skin?
Dr. Yu (01:40):
It's certainly the largest organ of the body. It
covers your entire body, and itgrows with you as you get older.
Not only does it include justyour skin, but we also think
about hair, we also think aboutnails. So there is a lot to it
that we are experts in.
Jane (01:54):
We wanted to talk a little bit about sun safety today and
how we can make sure that we arekeeping our skin and our whole
bodies safe during the summerseason.
Gilad (02:03):
My name is Gilad. I live in Israel. What is a sunburn and
how does sunscreen work? I'm twoand a half.
Evie (02:14):
My name is Evie, and I live in Lyman, Maine and I'm
five years old. Why does sungive you sunburn?
Charlie (02:23):
My name is Charlie. I live in Sarasota, Florida, and
I'm six years old. Why do peopleget sunburned? And why do we
have to wear sunscreen? And howdoes the sunscreen make it so we
don't get sunburned?
Jane (02:38):
So let's first talk about what is a sunburn?
Dr. Yu (02:41):
A sunburn is something that happens on your skin after
your skin has been exposed to alot of sunlight. And when you
get a sunburn, the cells on topof your skin, and you have a lot
of those cells, get damaged bythe sun and they get burned, but
(03:02):
by the light that is produced bythe sun, called ultraviolet
light. So when you get too muchultraviolet light, your skin's
not so happy about it, and itends up being burned. When you
get a sunburn, the skin turnsred, a common sensation that
probably many of us have had,and it hurts when you touch it.
It feels hot to the touch, andafter about a few days or a week
(03:23):
or two, you start to notice someof those dead skin cells kind of
peeling off or sloughing off,and the new skin comes in from
below it. People who have darkerskin tend to be more protected
from sunburns, because if youimagine the color in your skin
cells acting as kind of anumbrella, protecting your skin
from those ultraviolet lights,or from those sun rays, it is a
(03:45):
little bit harder for people whohave darker skin to get a
sunburn, but not impossible, andfolks who have lighter skin
cells just don't have that typeof protection, and they can get
sunburned more easily.
Jane (03:56):
if you get a sunburn and then you get over it, is there a
problem?
Dr. Yu (04:01):
Short term, your body has an amazing ability to heal
itself, so short term, probablynot a huge issue. But if you're
someone who grew up gettingsunburned over and over again
every single summer, this leadsto many problems when you get a
little bit older. So when peopleare in their 30s and 40s and
50s, one of the first thingsthat we as dermatologists really
(04:22):
worry about is the increasedrisk of developing skin cancers.
So these are these abnormalgrowths that can show up on the
skin, whether they're a lump,whether they're a bump,
something that is bleeding,uncomfortable, can be painful,
and if they're untreated, theycan grow bigger and bigger, and
sometimes they can travel toother parts of your body, and
they can really cause healthproblems down the road. So we
(04:44):
tend to see this more in peoplewho had a lot of sun exposure,
especially sunburns when they'reyounger.
Jane (04:51):
Dr. Yu says when it comes to protecting our skin,
practicing sun safety andavoiding sunburns is key. We'll
talk more about the differentthings we can do to play safe in
the sun in a couple of minutes.But before we get to that, when
your skin is exposed to the sun,sometimes there's something else
that happens that's a little bitdifferent from a sunburn.
Sometimes, instead of your skinturning all red and itchy, it
(05:14):
just gets a little darker.People call this a tan. And
Dylan, who's four, is wondering,how does our skin get tanned?
Dr. Yu (05:22):
Yeah, that's a great question. In your skin cells,
there are these very specifictype of cells that are kind of
scattered among them, calledmelanocytes. These are special
types of cells that contain theability to produce a type of
color in your skin calledmelanin. And when you get a lot
(05:47):
of sun exposure, thesemelanocytes kind of eat it all
up, and they get really happy,and they start making more of
this chemical called melaninthat is supposed to be used to
protect your skin againstsunlight. So these are the
little umbrellas that I wastalking about earlier that
people who have darker skin tendto have more of in their cells,
and the purpose of them is tokind of reflect that sunlight or
(06:08):
deflect it and prevent it fromdamaging the cells. So when your
skin gets a lot of sunlight, itsees this as a signal to make
more of the melanin. And themore melanin you make, the
darker your skin becomes.
Jane (06:20):
So should you go out first thing in the spring and summer
and try to get really tan sothat you're protected against
getting sunburns?
Dr. Yu (06:28):
So that's a very common question that I get asked by my
patients. And the short answeris no, because every time you
are getting a tan, you areexposing yourself to large
amounts of ultraviolet rays orsunlight.
Jane (06:41):
So one of the ways that I've been thinking about the way
your skin changes color is alittle bit like when you put
bread in a toaster, and if youtoast it a little bit, it gets a
little bit of a light kind ofcaramel color. If you toast it a
little longer, it gets a littlebit darker. And if you toast it
for too long, it burns. Is asimilar thing happening with our
skin?
Dr. Yu (07:00):
Absolutely, you know, you can always do too much, but
even a little bit, even a littlebit of heat or a little bit of
exposure, that doesn't mean thatyou are sparing your cells from
getting damaged. You are stilldamaging your cells to a certain
degree, just not enough to thepoint where you are burned.
Jane (07:15):
Okay, so then one of the main ways that we can protect
our skin, if it's exposed to thesunlight, is by wearing
sunscreen. What is sunscreen andhow does it work?
Ida (07:25):
My name is Ida. I am six years old. I live in Portland,
Oregon. What's in sunscreen thatmakes you not get a sunburn?
Jack (07:35):
My name is Jack. I live in Holliston, Massachusetts. I'm
five years old. If you don't putsunscreen on, why will you get a
sunburn? But if you do putsunscreen on, why will you not
get a sunburn?
Dr. Yu (07:50):
Yeah, so sunscreen is something we recommend to all
kids, no matter your age,whether you are an infant, if
you're a toddler, if you are anadolescent, if you're a
teenager, and even my adultsthat I see at my work who are 90
plus years old, I stillrecommend that they wear
sunscreen. So sunscreen, inessence, is just a type of
(08:11):
lotion that you put on your skinto protect your skin from the
light. It's almost like puttingon invisible armor to protect
your skin from the harmfuleffects of sunlight and
ultraviolet rays. We oftenrecommend people to use
sunscreen starting in thespringtime and then extending it
(08:31):
through the summer into thefall, and then sometimes even
into the early winter, when thesun can still be strong enough
to cause both tanning as well asany sort of a sunburn.
Jane (08:43):
If you've ever been in the sunscreen aisle in a store, you
might know there are lots ofdifferent options to choose
from. We asked Dr. Yu to walk usthrough the different types of
Dr. Yu (08:54):
Sunscreen is not all made the same, so how do you
sunscreen.
pick which one to use? There aretwo main types of sunscreen that
are out there. One of them iscalled a chemical sunscreen, and
the other one is called amineral sunscreen. The chemical
sunscreens like to go on veryclear. They tend to rub in very
(09:14):
nicely into the skin. And thereason for that is because
chemical sunscreens includethese chemicals that are made to
go into your skin cells. Mineralsunscreens are the ones that
tend to go on a little bitwhiter, and the reason for that
is because the minerals used inthese sunscreens do not get
absorbed into the skin. The mostcommon minerals that you are
(09:36):
going to see in mineralsunscreen is either titanium or
zinc. Both of these aredifferent types of metals, and
these are really small, tiny,little metal particles, zinc and
titanium, that will then sit onthe top of your skin. So
chemical goes in, but themineral sunscreen sit on top of
your skin, and they actuallydeflect the light. So imagine if
(09:58):
you have these little particles,these little glass-looking
things that the light shines on,and it just kind of shoots that
light right off of your skin, sopreventing the cells underneath
it from coming in contact withthe ultraviolet light.
Jane (10:11):
Sometimes, too, with zinc sunscreens or mineral
sunscreens, you don't have toget white ones. And in my
family, we have a lot of funwith some colorful mineral
sunscreen, and we put it on ourbodies to make patterns that are
pink or blue or, you know,yellow and green.
Dr. Yu (10:27):
Yes, that's really fun for the kids to put it on in
different colors, and thensometimes for kids who might
have darker skin tones, youknow, one of the other things
that some companies have done areally good job with is actually
making tinted mineral sunscreensthat will then match your skin
tone much better than some ofthese more traditional mineral
(10:47):
sunscreen that just come outchalky white. So I would
definitely encourage kids andparents to kind of look for
these.
Jane (10:53):
When you talk about the mineral sunscreens having zinc
or titanium, I think of titaniumkind of seems like something a
superhero would use, and you'reputting titanium all over your
body, it makes me feel likemaybe I'm a superhero, and then
deflecting all of the sun's rayswhen I'm wearing it.
Dr. Yu (11:11):
Absolutely, yeah, and that is a great way to put it.
Jane (11:15):
Coming up, we tackle other sun safety questions like why
are adults always telling us weneed to drink water? And our
sunglasses just for lookingcool? Stay with us.
This is But Why (11:27):
A Podcast for Curious Kids. I'm Jane Lindholm.
Today, we are talking withpediatric dermatologist Dr. Jeff
Yu. He's a skin doctor. He'shelping us learn how to keep our
bodies protected when we playoutside this summer. We were
just talking about why it'simportant to wear sunscreen when
we go play in the sun, andthat's because it protects us
(11:49):
from ultraviolet rays that candamage our skin. But a few of
you pointed out to us that whenyou put on sunscreen, it can
feel... not great.
Emerson (11:58):
Hi, my name is Emerson. I'm six years old. I live in
Oakville, Canada, and myquestion is: why is sunscreen so
cold?
Zip (12:05):
My name is Zip. I live in Waitsfield, Vermont. Why is
spray sunscreen so cold?
Dr. Yu (12:16):
You know, the bottle the sunscreen is usually kept in. It
doesn't allow a lot of light orheat into the bottle itself. So
therefore, it's probably goingto be a little bit cooler than
where you are, whether that's atthe beach, whether that is out
on a grassy field, or if you'reby a river, or wherever you are,
where it's much hotter. So thatsunscreen is going to feel like
(12:38):
it is much colder when it firstcomes out of that jar or that
tube, and when it goes onto yourskin.
Ellis (12:44):
My name is Ellis, I'm four years old. I live in San
Francisco. Can hair getsunburned?
Jane (12:50):
Can hair get sunburned?
Dr. Yu (12:53):
Hair cannot get sunburned because hair is not
made out of these live skincells that you kind of have on
your arm or on your hand or onthe back of your neck. So hair
itself cannot be sunburned.However, your scalp can
absolutely be sunburned. So ifyou are someone who maybe has a
(13:14):
very short haircut and there's alot of your scalp that is
exposed, or if you are wearingyour hair in such a way with a
very wide part down the middleand your scalp is exposed, you
can absolutely get sunburned onyour scalp. So in the
summertime, we often recommendpeople to wear a hat of some
sort, whether it's like a buckethat or a hat with flaps on the
(13:35):
side or nice wide brim, becausenot only can the hat itself
protect your scalp from the sun,but the brim can protect your
face, for example, your ears,back of the neck, from getting
too much sun exposure and besunburned.
Jane (13:49):
Here's a related question about protecting our eyes from
the sun.
Benson (13:54):
My name is Benson. I live in Richmond, Texas. I'm
four years old. How dosunglasses work that protect
your eyes from the sun?
Dr. Yu (14:11):
So sunglasses are a great way to not just look cool,
but also to kind of protect theskin around your eyes and your
actual eyes from the sun. Solike your skin, your eyes can be
damaged by too much sunexposure. If you're constantly
looking into the sun, or the sunis reflecting off a surface,
kind of like the ground or thewater, or if you're skiing and
(14:34):
the sun is kind of bouncing offof the snow and hitting your
eyes, all of those things areexposing your eyes to
ultraviolet light. Not only canultraviolet light damage skin
cells, it can also damage thecells in your eyes. So using
sunglasses is a really good wayto prevent you from suffering
from some of these side effectsof too much ultraviolet
(14:54):
exposure.
Jane (14:55):
I guess sunglasses are better than trying to wipe
sunscreen directly onto oureyes. I don't know about you,
but I hate it when sunscreengets in my eyes. It stings. So
sunglasses are a much better wayof doing it.
Eli (15:10):
My name is Eli, and I'm from Arlington, Vermont. And I'm
seven years old. Why does theearth look different when you
put sunglasses on?
Jane (15:19):
Eli is wondering why everything looks so different
when you put sunglasses on.
Dr. Yu (15:23):
So sunglasses are made out of special lenses that are
tinted or colored in differentways. A lot of these kind of
tinting can make what you seedifferent, because imagine
you're kind of putting on eithera brown filter or a green filter
or a red filter or something. Soeverything around you starts to
look like that color. So that'swhy things look different when
(15:45):
you're looking out from thesunglasses. But more
importantly, those lenses on theglasses are able to filter
ultraviolet light, just likewhat sunscreen is doing. So when
the sunlight goes through thoselenses, all the bad ultraviolet
light kind of gets filtered outor gets eliminated, and
therefore what is actuallyreaching your eye is a much
(16:07):
safer amount of ultravioletlight. So therefore wearing
sunglasses, especially if you'reon the water, if you're skiing,
or if it's just a really brightand sunny day, that can really
protect your eyes from too muchlight exposure.
Jane (16:20):
So as we talk about how we should take care of our skin and
bodies this summer so we canplay as hard as we want and for
as long as we want outside,another thing kids often hear
their adults say is "make sureyou drink water." Or some adults
might use the word hydration,like, "stay hydrated."
Nico (16:38):
My name is Nico, and I am four years old. Why does my mom
ask me to stay hydrated?
Lily (16:50):
My name is Lily, and I'm three years old. I live in
Dallas, Texas. Why does Baba sayit's always good to hydrate? Is
that true?
Dr. Yu (16:59):
So your body is actually mostly made out of water. So
there is a lot of water in yourbody between the cells, in the
cells, between your organs, inyour blood vessels, there is a
lot of water or fluid. And inthe summertime, what you might
notice when you're out thereplaying around is you're
(17:19):
sweating, and sweat is theprocess with which your body
kind of tries to cool itselfoff, just like the reason you
get into a pool or into theocean in the summertime is
because you get water on you,and then that water on you makes
you feel cooler. So your bodytries to cool itself off by
sweating, by producing waterthat then will kind of soak your
(17:40):
face, your arms, your hands,whatever it is so you start to
cool down. But when your bodydoes that, you are losing a lot
of water from your skin, fromthe bloodstream and from other
parts of your body. So when youstart to lose too much water,
you can get what's calleddehydrated, or there's not
enough water in your body. Andwhen you get dehydrated, a lot
(18:02):
of bad things can happen to you,where you start to feel dizzy,
you might start getting aheadache, you might start to
feel sleepy, some of your bodyorgans might not work normally.
People who are dehydrated alsofeel really tired, so you may
not be able to run as far orjump as high in the summertime.
So drinking water is really goodfor you, just to make sure that
(18:23):
you do not get dehydrated in thesummertime.
Jane (18:26):
So Dr. Yu, we've talked a lot about the sun and how to
make sure that you're protectingyourself, and it starts to feel
like if I'm not drinking enoughwater, or I don't have sunscreen
on, or if the sun is out, maybeI should be worried, and maybe I
should just avoid going outsidealtogether. Because the sun
sounds dangerous. Should we bescared of the sun? How should we
(18:49):
think about protection withoutthinking, danger?
Dr. Yu (18:53):
I do not think you need to be scared of the sun. The
sun's been around for millionsof years, and it's going to be
around for millions more, andpeople for as long as you know
have lived, have really taken tohaving a good time in the sun
and doing so safely. So Iabsolutely do not think you need
to be afraid of the sun. I dothink when you are in the sun,
(19:14):
practicing sun safety is thebest way to go about making sure
that you are enjoying thesummer, enjoying the sun, and
really being able to spend timewith your friends in nature,
which I think is reallyimportant. The way that I would
think about it is, if you can,try to practice more sun safety,
(19:36):
maybe even a little bit ofseeking shade and sun avoidance,
especially between the hours of10am to 4pm during the day. That
is when the sun is thestrongest. That doesn't mean you
can't be outside, but maybe ifyou're able to find areas under
trees where there is shade, orif you're at the playground and
there's a nice shaded area thatyou can play in, or if you're
having a picnic and finding anice shady spot that might not
(19:59):
be a bad idea, because that canprotect you from the sun. During
those hours, it is also veryimportant to make sure that you
are using sunscreen, making surethat you are reapplying the
sunscreen every you know, 40 to80 minutes, depending on what it
says on the bottle, and/orwearing clothing that offers you
some sort of ultravioletprotection factor or UPF, such
(20:22):
as a hat, a shirt, pants, thingsthat will protect your skin from
the sun. But I do not think youneed to be afraid of the sun.
Before those hours, so beforeten o'clock in the morning,
after four o'clock in theafternoon, the sun's a little
bit weaker. That's not to saythe sunlight is not out there,
but it's a little bit weaker.And therefore, perhaps you don't
need to be as, you know, focusedon finding shade. But I still
(20:44):
would encourage you to wearsunscreen and wear protective
clothing, just so you can stayas sun smart and sun safe as
possible.
Jane (20:50):
Thanks to Dr. Jeff Yu, pediatric dermatologist at
Massachusetts General Hospital.Now put on some sunscreen, grab
a hat and a water bottle and goplay outside. We're putting this
episode out on Friday, June13th. If you're in the Northern
Hemisphere, you'll have thelongest day of the year a week
from now, which is a day calledthe summer solstice. If your
(21:13):
family has a special way tocelebrate the solstice, we'd
love to hear it. You can send usa voice recording or a video and
email it toquestions@butwhykids.org. As
always, if you have a questionabout anything that you want us
to tackle, have an adult recordyou asking it, and then have
your adult email the file to thesame place:
(21:34):
questions@butwykids.org. But Whyis produced by Melody Bodette,
Sarah Baik and me Jane Lindholmat Vermont Public and
distributed by PRX. Our videoproducer is Joey Palumbo, and
our theme music is by LukeReynolds. If you like our show,
please have your adults help yougive us a thumbs up or a review
on whatever podcast platform youuse to listen to us. We'll be
(21:57):
back in two weeks with an allnew episode. Until then, stay
curious... and hydrated!
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