3 sun-safety mistakes you didn’t know you were making

Think you’re playing it safe in the sun? Make sure you’re not making these common sun mistakes that can increase skin cancer risk:

Not using enough sunscreen. Experts recommend applying about 1 ounce of sunscreen to your entire body — enough to fill a shot glass — and reapplying every two hours, or more often if you’re swimming or sweating.

Skipping sunscreen indoors. Research has found that people in the United States tend to get skin cancer more often on their left sides, presumably because of exposure to ultraviolet radiation while driving. Standard window glass only blocks a portion of UV rays, leaving skin vulnerable to damage when you’re in a car or working near a window.

Intentionally tanning your skin. Tanning is your skin’s reaction to UV exposure — and a sign of damage. For this reason, dermatologists say there’s no such thing as a safe tan. Even worse: using a tanning bed, which one recent study found increased melanoma risk almost threefold.

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