Nurse Injector. Lindsay

I accidentally ran my own sun protection experiment… and my skin still reminds me of it.” ☀️🔥

A few years ago on vacation, I forgot one of the biggest rules I teach my own patients…

Reapply your sunscreen. EVEN WHEN IT’S NOT HOT OUTSIDE! (22C!)

That mistake resulted in one of the worst sunburns I’ve ever had.

But something unexpected happened.

The only area that didn’t blister was where I had wiped the leftover Vitamin C serum from my hands onto my upper back before getting dressed (my daily AM skincare routine).

That experience sent me down the rabbit hole of photoprotection research.

Here’s what I learned:

☀️ Sunscreen is your first line of defense.
It helps prevent UV radiation from reaching your skin… protecting from 1/2 of all UV rays.

🧡 Vitamin C doesn’t replace sunscreen.
Instead, it helps neutralize the free radicals that UV exposure still creates—even when you’re wearing SPF (AKA, helps against the 1/2 of UV rays SPF can’t block!)

Together, they’re one of my favourite evidence-based combinations for helping reduce photoaging.

But here’s the bigger message…

The recent trend worries me.

We’ve somehow made skin damage look aspirational.

A tan isn’t a sign of healthy skin.
It’s your skin’s response to DNA injury.

A sunburn is simply that damage on a much larger scale.

Every blistering sunburn increases your lifetime risk of skin cancer, and even without burning, repeated UV exposure breaks down collagen, elastin, and contributes to pigmentation long before you notice wrinkles.

As an aesthetic nurse, I spend every day helping patients improve sun damage.

I’d much rather help you prevent it. I can’t take my 20’s when I’d tan for hours on end.
Now I’m battling advanced sun damage (AK) and Skin Cancer.

✨ My daily summer routine:
✔️ Broad-spectrum SPF 30–50+.
✔️ Reapply every 2 hours outdoors (and after swimming or sweating)
✔️ Morning antioxidant serum (like L-ascorbic acid/Vitamin C)
✔️ Sunglasses
✔️ Hat
✔️ Shade whenever possible

Your future skin is being built by the habits you have today.

Save this post before your next vacation, and send it to someone who’s chasing a tan this summer. ☀️

Imagine saying “my kitchen is way too dark.”

One contractor says, let’s install brighter bulbs.

Another says, let’s install a new window.

Both technically solve the problem.
But only ONE solves what is causing the problem.

As summer sun gets stronger, you may notice small little dark spots on your skin!

Those tiny “wax droplets” on the skin? They may be Dermatosis Papulosa Nigra (DPN).

DPN is a completely benign skin condition that commonly affects individuals with darker skin tones, including those of Asian, African, Indigenous, Middle Eastern, and Hispanic descent.

DPN develop due to a combination of genetics and cumulative lifetime UV exposure. They are not cancerous, do not increase your risk of skin cancer, and once they develop, they tend to slowly increase in both size and number over time.

**Common Treatment Options:
• Cautery (electrocautery) – my preferred method. Using an ultra-fine tip, each lesion is gently treated with controlled heat while minimizing trauma to the surrounding skin.
• Laser treatments – Certain lasers can also effectively remove DPN.

**Can you prevent more from forming?
While we can’t change our genetics, we can help support healthy skin and potentially slow the development of new lesions by:
✔️ Encouraging regular skin cell turnover with an AHA (glycolic acid) or retinol. I often recommend glycolic acid because it’s generally gentler and better tolerated than retinoids for many people.
✔️ Using a Vitamin C serum in the morning to help defend against free radical damage. 10-20%, L-Ascorbic Acid!
✔️ Wearing a tinted mineral SPF 30+ every day to protect against UV exposure and visible light, both of which contribute to pigmentation and cumulative skin damage.

Preparing your skin several weeks before treatment is just as important as the treatment itself.
Any time we use heat or create controlled skin trauma, there is a risk of post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation (PIH)—especially in deeper skin tones.

This means in addition to the SPF, AHA/Retionol and Vitamin C.. we’re adding A prescription-strength hydroquinone, when appropriate, combined with pigment-reducing and calming ingredients (eg. Azealic acid, Kojic Acid, Niacinimide). Connect with your dermatologist for more info!

Book a consult with me Dermapure Fort McMurray (Formally YMM Cosmetic), in downtown Fort McMurray, Alberta.