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The idea that you simply need to tan or lay out in the sun to become resistant to skin cancer is a fallacy. That's not how your body works. There is chemical damage to your DNA taking place that your body is actively repairing, but your repair mechanism isn't perfect. There is an inherent error rate. Increase exposure to sun, you are more likely to roll the dice and have a damaged cell that evades detection by your repair mechanisms, and all cells that come from this one damaged cell will also have this mutation that makes them invisible to your defense mechanisms. these cells can slough off the mass and slip into your circulatory system and take root elsewhere in your body. Bob Marley died of skin cancer, and he was plenty tan.



Not saying fair skin people need a tan. I’m still fair skinned, even though I am outside often.

Nor am I calling for simply increasing exposure to sunlight.

All good things in moderation. There’s a balance to be found between adequate sun exposure and overexposure.

The best way is intermittent exposure. A little here and a little there. Hang out in the shade of trees in the heat of the day, out of direct light, but exposed to healthy amounts of ambient UV. Early and late hours of the day have lower UV levels as well. Just need to be more conscious about factors like that.




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