Sunlight, is it Good or Bad?

So with this subject like any other acne related thing; has two sides to it. There are people who swear that sunlight is an essential part in healing acne, and that it is good for the skin. While others are totally anti-sun, and say that it can make your acne worse and cause acne. I personally believe like many others that there is a happy medium between the two, and that sunlight which is essential for all life on earth is good for the skin, but too much of it can be a bad thing. After all I used to spend 5-6 hours a day in the Arizona sun skateboarding, and it was when I broke my arm and had to stop for a few months that my acne slowly began to start. I never wore any sunscreen, I didn’t eat healthy, and I would often drink Coke or juice instead of water. After a long day of sweating like crazy and being pounded by nonstop sunlight I would go home and instead of taking a shower or washing my face I would just do my homework and go to bed, and around this time my skin was absolutely flawless like the surface of a peach almost. It was when I broke my left arm twice pretty much back-to-back (After the first time I broke it and got the cast off the doctor gave me the “okay” to skate again, I then sadly broke it again a week later haha!) that I was out from skateboarding for a good 4-4-1/2 months with all the rehab included. During this time was when I started hanging out with different people from school and started going to parties and drinking and such. It was all good fun and I was almost glad that I had broken my arm because I got to experience new things, but this was also the time when my skin started to go down the drain…


Whether it was because I wasn’t getting any sunlight and exercising anymore, all the drinking, staying up late and other things that come with partying, or maybe it was both of these things combined, or maybe it was neither. I believe that it had a lot to do with both of the things, but I can’t be sure! My theory was that all of the toxins and things from living like a crazed party animal were just staying in my system because I didn’t exercise or sweat anymore to get them out. So from this my skin was beginning to lose its strength and on top of I had no source of Vitamin D (Sunlight) because I wasn’t skating anymore or going out much during the day. Back then though I had no idea what was going on or causing it so I just bought the harshest treatments I could find and continued on while the condition worsened; again though this is just my theory for what started it, I have no physical proof that these things are what cause my acne.

Either way you look at it sunlight, which is Vitamin D is good for the body and skin let alone all life on earth! If you do have acne though I do hear that being in the sun too long can cause your acne to scar pretty bad. There are sunscreens out there, but I personally don’t like them because they make my face as greasy and shiny looking like a mirror, and I’m not so sure that they work all too well. Now days it’s hard for me to find the time to get proper amount of sunlight but when I do it sure does feel really good on my face. I also notice that whenever I’m on vacation at the beach all day that my skin will look pretty good by the time I get back home.

The bottom line from what I’ve read is that the UV rays from the sun can aid in killing the acne causing bacteria on the skin. On the other hand though it causes your sebaceous glands to produce more oil, and it narrows your hair follicle which can clog your pore and vuela a pimple is born! Though as you already know there are two sides to every story, and while some things might work for others it may not help at all for different people. So let me know what you think, your feedback is always appreciated!

                          Have a good one!

                                -Jpc