Yes, You Should Be Wearing Sunscreen Inside — Here's Why

Paging skincare fans far and wide — it's time to pick back up your go-to sunscreen. "Whether you are indoors or outdoors, rain or shine, you still want to wear sunscreen daily," Ramya Viswanathan, senior product development manager at Biossance, tells The Zoe Report in an email. The topic of conversation: Should you wear sunscreen if you're inside, well, literally all of the time? The answer: definitely. "UV rays pass through windows and can be damaging if skin isn’t protected," Viswanathan continues.

And while being indoors without sunscreen is still theoretically safer for your skin than being outside, sans SPF, in the full sun — "UVB doesn’t penetrate through glass as much," notes Viswanathan — UVA rays alone are worth the extra skincare step. "When we talk about sun protection, we’re referring to protection against UVA and UVB rays," the manager explains. "A good way to remember is to think of UVA rays as 'Aging' and UVB as 'Burning.' While both can be damaging to skin and increase skin cancer risk when not adequately protected against, UVA can also result in premature aging of skin (i.e. lines, wrinkles, loss of elasticity, etc.)."

Dr. Gregory Bays Brown, RéVive Skincare founder, notes that UVA rays are known to penetrate both clouds and windows — "so you always need to be protected," he says. "There is a cumulative effect of exposure from UVA that is often not recognized, for example sun damage on the left side of the face (as opposed to the right side) can be found on drivers since UVA penetrates the driver side window."

Luckily, sunscreens have come a long, long way. Case in point: The $165 Soleil Supérieur Body SPF 50 from RéVive Skincare, launched on March 12. "Our new Soleil Supérieur Body SPF 50 was developed for everyday use. Not only will it protect indoor skin from UVA exposure, but it’s also designed to provide moisturization and antioxidant protection from free radical damage – which can happen both inside and outside," says Dr. Brown.

Just now realizing you're in the market for an SPF update? Ahead, six recently dropped SPF products, for outdoor and indoor use.

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