DOES WEARING SUNSCREEN PREVENT VITAMIN D ABSORPTION

Yes apparently according to The Vitamin D Council wearing sunscreen inhibits your production of Vitamin D. You see, not only does sunscreen prevent those nasty UVB rays from burning our skin, it also prevents our body from making Vitamin D. BUT the good news is, you only need to expose your skin to the sun for half the amount of time of what it would normally take for your skin to turn pink to get your daily amount of vitamin D. So you only need a small amount every day and it can be in the early morning or afternoon. You need to expose the skin with no sunblock in order to produce vitamin D.

It also depends on what skin type you have. Lighter skin tones have less melanin or pigment which naturally protects the skin from UVB rays. So a lighter toned person would potentially only need 15 minutes a day to get their Vitamin D required where as a darker toned person would need longer as they take longer to burn.  

For the body to produce vitamin D it needs to be exposed free of sunscreen. Now I am not a big advocate for no sunscreen on face, so I happily will let my arms or legs grab some Vitamin D action either on an early morning walk or afternoon walk. I use the Osmosis Protect on my face and neck daily, as if I am going to be spending more than 15 minutes in the sun will opt for the Little Urchin Natural Sunscreen on my body.

There are some other factors that contribute to the amount of vitamin D you produce:

• The more skin you expose the more amount of D you can produce and therefore do not have to be exposed for as long
• Where you live. If you live at a high altitude you will absorb more Vitamin D in a quicker amount of time
• Your age – you take a lot longer to produce Vitamin D the older you get. 
• Cloudy days – less UVB penetrates through clouds so you will need longer to get that Vitamin D intake

There is a lot of controversy over tanning and the increase chances of getting melanoma. Early and afternoon sun is the safest time to expose the skin for that glimpse to capture your daily vitamin D. There are some that simply prefer to take a vitamin D supplement instead.The choice is totally up to you. I would recommend getting your Vitamin D levels checked yearly so you know if you are getting the amount required. Vitamin D makes your bones strong and is needed to prevent osteoporosis.