Fall is officially here with the cooler temperatures, changing leaves, and pumpkin spice everything! You may be thinking that you can put your sunscreen away now that the temperatures have dropped and there is less sunlight each day. This is FALSE!

Believe it or not, even on cool and cloudy days, you can still get sun damage. This is due to the ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun still being able to penetrate some clouds and may even be more intense due to them reflecting off of the clouds. It’s been found that UVB rays are less strong during the fall and winter months, however UVA rays are consistent all year long. The US Dermatology Partners reports that UVA rays penetrate deeper and are the cause of skin cancers such as melanoma, which have some of the highest mortality rates. 

Also it’s important to remember that the effects from sun exposure are cumulative. This means that the more time your skin is exposed to UV radiation unprotected, the greater your risk of skin cancer. So it’s important to protect your skin from an early age, as well as year round!

And one last reason to wear sunscreen in the fall is that you should use up your bottle of sunscreen before it expires! Most sunscreens begin to decline in efficacy after just 12 months so you may as well use up your bottle of the summer before the next year.