The Sun & You: A No-BS Guide To Protecting Yourself This Summer

Everyone’s relationship with the sun is a little different. Some of us are the co-dependent types, needing hours basking in it just to feel alive. Some of us have a love-hate thing going on: We love the warm rush and the sun-kissed glow, but are terrified (and rightly so) of melanoma and premature crow’s feet. Others, still, are the on-again, off-again types — the diligent sunscreen users who start every vacation with scorching burns. If we’re all so different, why then should we all be protecting ourselves in the exact same way?

We asked two dermatologists to give us some no-BS advice — not the scare tactics, not the patronizing lecture you've heard a billion times — on how each and every one of us can both stay safe and enjoy the sun based on our personal sunscreen habits. With one blanket exception: Every one of us should be wearing at least an SPF 20 on our faces every single day. That's non-negotiable, friends.

Read on to get your personal sunscreen prescription, and get ready to have your safest, sunniest summer yet.