Local experts share how you should be protecting your skin from the sun

“So unfortunately while these rays make you beautiful and tan, they also cause damage,” Baylor Scott & White Mohs surgeon Jeannie Nguyen said.

With temperatures rising, experts in our community are warning us about the impact the sun can have on our skin.

“It is hot but the most important thing is to protect yourself from the sun rays themselves, the UVA and UVB rays,” Dr. Nguyen.

I sat down with Mohs surgeon Dr. Jeannie Nguyen to find out how our neighbors can protect themselves.

“My favorite is actually sun protective clothing, anything with UPF in them, the fishing shirts you can buy at the academy are great,” Dr. Nguyen said. “But if you can't, my second go-to is sunscreen. I like zinc or titanium dioxide. They even make great tinted ones."

Dr. Nguyen told me not protecting our skin can lead to things like skin cancer - something she sees all too often.

“All day every day. I tell patients that basal cell skin cancers are the most common. They are so common that they don’t even make the most common cancer list if you look it up online but I would say more frequently than not,” Dr. Nguyen said.

I did some digging and according to the Texas Medical Association one in three Texans will develop some form of skin cancer, and Texas ranks third in the country for malignant melanoma.

So here’s a few things you should do before heading out to catch some sun:

• Limit exposure to the sun when rays are the strongest
• Cover up with protective clothing
• Wear broad-spectrum sunscreen
• Know your family's medical history
• Check your body regularly for unusual moles

Dr. Nguyen tells me that UVB rays are the strongest from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.