CIGNA Member Correction

CIGNA members: Please note that you may receive a letter in the mail stating that The Dermatology Center of Indiana is no longer in your network. This communication from CIGNA is incorrect and we would like to reassure you that we are still in network with CIGNA. We look forward to continuing to service you and your family for all your dermatology needs.

Sunscreen for Men

Posted on by Scott Guenthner

Unfortunately, most men consider skincare regimens or even sunscreen to be something only a female should concern themselves with. This is absolutely not true, and this thought process can cause irreparable damage or even skin cancer. According to the CDC, in 2014 over 51% of the people newly diagnosed with melanoma were men and over 60% of the people who died from melanoma were men. Would sunscreen have prevented every death? Maybe not, but it would have prevented melanoma from developing on many of those men… and maybe even saved a few lives.

Not only will the use of sunscreen help prevent skin cancer, it will also help keep the sun from aging you prematurely. Sun damage causes age spots (also called liver spots), wrinkles, fine lines, and rough skin. While adding sunscreen to your daily morning regimen may seem like a hassle, some moisturizers actually have sunscreen in them – so you can condense a few products. Even if you do not use a moisturizer, you should still apply sunscreen every morning to not only help prevent skin cancer, but to also keep your skin looking healthy. Use sunscreens that are at least SPF 30 or higher and you should also look for sunscreen that provides broad-spectrum protection, which means it protects against UVA and UVB rays. Higher SPFs still need to be reapplied throughout the day if you plan on being outside for more than 2 hours (even if it is cloudy). Sunscreen should also be reapplied after swimming or any water sports, as some of the sunscreen may have come off – even if it is waterproof.

While the use of sunscreen does not guarantee you will not get skin cancer, it does decrease your chance of having melanoma (or another type of skin cancer) and help keep your skin looking youthful and healthy.

Disclaimer: This blog pro­vides gen­eral infor­ma­tion and dis­cus­sion about medical, cosmetic, mohs, and surgical dermatology. The words and other con­tent pro­vided in this blog, and in any linked mate­ri­als, are not intended and should not be con­strued as med­ical advice. If the reader or any other per­son has a med­ical con­cern, he or she should con­sult with an appropriately-licensed dermatologist or other health care worker.