and they're like well, I treated it with apple cider vinegar

for two months and it didn't go away.

I'm like really? (chuckles)

Okay. (upbeat percussion music)

Hi, I'm Dr. Ellen Marmur.

I'm a Board Certified Dermatologist in New York City.

I have two practices called Marmur medical

and a skincare line called MM Skincare.

I'm here today to do a deep dive in the go to bed with me

comments section about sunscreen, eye creams, and cleansers.

First things first, let's dive into sunscreen.

(upbeat percussion music)

Catherine Coon, "Why do dermatologists

"talk about using sunscreen all the time?

"If I'm only going to be outside for a total of 30 minutes

"spread throughout the day,

"isn't that just a good healthy way

"of getting your vitamin D?

"I definitely don't burn unless I'm outside

"for more than 30 minutes at a given time."

The myth is that sunscreen blocks vitamin D.

So really you need to know

that you're gonna get your vitamin D through your diet,

so eat a great diet,

you're gonna get vitamin D through your sunscreen

so you can still wear your sunscreens.

It's not really a reason to not wear sunscreen

and think about sunscreen math.

When you wear sunscreen 20 plus sunscreen 30

you're still just getting a better sunscreen 20.

So there's no reason to not just have it in your makeup

or in your moisturizer every day

and just get that added benefit.

But talk about skin cancer math.

Skin cancer happens from an accumulation of sun exposure

so even if you're out for five minutes here,

five minutes there, five minutes there

you're getting an addition of that sun damage

throughout the day.

So use your sun protection.

I tell my patients it's like money in the bank

for good health and better skin

so there's no reason not to put on your sunscreen.

So what is SPF?

SPF is sun protection factor and really what it means

is how long can you stay out in the sun

without getting a sunburn and usually what is means

is that it's protecting you against UVB

which is a portion of the type of UV you get.

So you get ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B.

A is usually the tanning rays,

B is usually the burning rays.

Now that we have broad spectrum sunscreen

you're getting sun protection

throughout the UVA and UVB segment

but SPF still stands only for UVB protection

and it means how many times longer

can you stay out in the sun before getting red.

So an SPF 15 would mean

that you can stay out for 15 times longer in the sun.

So for example if I were to go out in the sun

and get sun burnt in a minute and I put on SPF 15

it would give me 15 minutes before I turned red.

If you're the kind of person who would go out in the sun

and you live in the tropics where the sun is really hot

and it would take you only let's say an hour

to get a sunburn and you put SPF 15 on

then you could stay out for 15 hours theoretically.

However, the problem is none of us put on SPF

as thick as it is tested in the FDA labs.

So most of us rub it off.

We think we're rubbing it in

but we're really just schmearing it thinner and thinner

so you're really never getting the number

that you have on you label.

So maybe an SPF 50 or an SPF 60

is then giving you an SPF 30.

So always opt up on the number of SPF.

I feel like a 15 doesn't even count.

So really it should be between SPF 30 and 60

for your sweet spot.

KW Jeong said, "How should I put my SPF and with what?"

I think that means how should I put on my SPF and with what?

It depends, so there's so many different kinds of FDA

sort of approved types of applications.

So gels, the balms, the creams, the sprays.

Those are all allowable by the FDA to claim an SPF,

meaning the FDA says those all work.

The old fashioned ways are lotions

and you should just schmear it on and you should put it on

about 15 minutes before you go out in the sun.

I think there's a little bit of a mythology in that

like putting it on for 15 minutes

allows it to come to like your body temperature

and therefore it's active and it works better.

I feel like if you just put it on enough and sufficiently

you can run right out the door and be protected

but put it on thoroughly, put it on with sunglasses, a hat,

UV protective clothing is a lifesaver

because then you're not using so much sunscreen on your body

and then reapply it every 30 to 60 minutes

when you're truly out in the sun being athletic

or being at the beach which I know you would never do

between 10 am and 2:00 PM

but you really wanna keep yourself covered and reapply.

"Quick question regarding sun cream.

"Would an SPF in foundation suffice

"or best to have sun cream underneath generally?"

So that means do you put on a moisturizer

and then sunscreen?

Do you put on sunscreen and then a moisturizer

or do you put on sunscreen, moisturizer, and then makeup?

It gets very confusing.

So here's where you wanna simplify your life

and just get something that has everything in it.

So a tinted SPF 30 is a great moisturizer, sun protection,

and makeup base that you can just put on

and go out the door.

Lilianna B, "Does sunscreen worsen your acne,

"cause breakouts, or make acne scars?"

And then Jenna says, "Lilianna B chiming in here.

"Chemical sunscreens cause a chemical reaction

"on the surface of your skin,

"so it can be irritating for a lot of people.

"Try a zinc or a TD formula."

That means titanium dioxide.

"They'll be a little whiter at first

"but are much gently for skin.

"Just be sure to use a serious cleanser

"at the end of the day."

Okay, all of it's great questions.

Acne can definitely get worse with certain sunscreens.

Part of it is because some sunscreens

that are water resistant are a little bit tacky

and they actually kind of occlude or block the skin

and that can make your skin break out a little bit,

especially like she said, like Jenna said

if they have a lot of chemicals in them.

There are sunscreens that are just for acne.

For example EltaMD Clear has lactic acid in it

and the lactic acid exfoliates the skin a little bit

and prevents blockage of the skin for your acne

and is tinted so it protects your skin.

And then when you wash it off at the end of the day,

because it's mineral based,

it's actually not that hard to get off

so you don't need to use any harsh cleansers.

So do pick something for acne skin

when you're picking your sunscreen.

Okay so Apurva Tik.

"Can I use sunscreen under eyes "and on eyelids?"

Great question, yes you can use sunscreen on your eyelids

and around your whole eyelids.

I see a lot of skin cancers on the eyelids.

I think the best and easiest way

is to wear a really big sunglasses

as much as you possibly can starting at a very early age.

So if you're a mother and you have kids

buy them sunscreen, or sunglasses actually that are bigger

and cover sort of the outer part of the eye.

How much of your body do you need to apply sunscreen to

when you go out?

And the answer is everywhere that's exposed

or that might be exposed as soon as you take off

whatever you're planning on taking off.

The difference between mineral sun protection

and chemical sun protection ingredients

are easy to understand.

Chemical ingredients absorb the energy from the UV light

and that's called photons.

So if you imagine like a ping-pong of energy

coming from the sky, hitting your skin,

it gets captured by the chemical ingredient

in your sunscreen, captured and converted to heat

so it evaporates right off the top of your skin

and doesn't get a chance to go in your skin

and cause a hot mutation to your skin cells

which could lead to sun damage and skin cancer.

The mineral sun protection like zinc and titanium

sit there on top of your skin and are like little rocks

that are protecting and like bouncing the photon off

and they don't get used up in that chemical reaction.

So as long as it's there and you've put it on

and you've haven't gone swimming

or you're not sweating a lot and wiping it off

the minerals sit there better

and they can block or resist both UVA and UVB.

Skin cancer affects men on their backs more often

and it affects women on their legs more often

and when I'm saying skin cancer

I mean the bad kind called melanoma.

So men get melanoma on their backs

and it peaks at the age of 40.

So it's a young person's problem.

So definitely protect your back.

Don't forget, ask somebody to spray it on for you

or just put a shirt on.

Women like to have tan legs.

It makes us feel svelte and skinnier

and all that great stuff

but it does lead to skin cancer earlier.

And again it's on the legs in women.

So protect yourself, wear pants, wear shirts,

do sun-protective clothing but if you're gonna be out

you need sun protection, sunscreen everywhere.

All right let's talk about a heated topic, eye creams.

(upbeat percussion music)

The next comment is, "Yes, eye creams are a waste of money."

(laughs)

It's not even a question,

it's just like they're a waste of money.

Eye creams are wonderful

and I think they're a good investment

if you have sensitivity around your eyes.

Now the question is do you need to spend a lot of money

on an eye cream?

Can you trust

that an eye cream is different from a face cream?

The eyes are more sensitive and the skin is more thin

and so you don't wanna use something

that's like an anti-ager for your face.

It has all kinds of alpha hydroxy acids or scrubs

or anything in it around your eye

'cause it's just gonna be too strong

and cause worse problems.

So when in doubt go simple for around the eye.

Pick something that's in your budget

but does say pH balanced for eyes or eye cream.

Next comment from Amanda.

"She doesn't even know how to properly apply 'eye cream'

"and she wipes her eye cream downward

"when it should be upward."

Oh, by the way it's "eye cream".

"She's dragging down her skin.

"I can't believe my eyes.

"She's horrible."

Okay Amanda. (laughs)

I can tell you're really passionate

about this eye cream application situation and I get it.

Even as a Board Certified Dermatologist

I get a little confused by other people saying like

you have to use your pinky finger

and you have to like dab in a certain particular pattern.