Is It Really Bad to Leave Sunscreen on at Night?
Every year around this time, when I kiss my children goodnight in the calm, dark silence of their rooms, I smell something that fills me with dread: sunscreen. In the chaos of evening activities—preparing dinner, working out in junior high, doing homework, and cleaning the kitchen—baths and showers are sometimes skipped, and kids spend the night still covered in clothes.
But how bad is it to let your baby sleep with sunscreen on? Quick answer: not as bad as you think.
What happens if you leave sunscreen overnight?
A 2006 study even found that sun damage can be increased if sunscreen is left on the skin for too long, but this happens when you are still in the sun with old sunscreen , supporting the argument for frequent reapplying. applications. But what about leaving it overnight? A Google search will turn up a lot of beauty and skin care websites telling you to definitely not do this , using strong words like ” cleansing your skin at night is not a must ” and ” simply washing your face with soap and water won’t help ” . it .”
But what is it really going to do to your kids? A little. The only real risk, Dr. Jody Levin , a New York City dermatologist, told New Beauty , is that “it can unnecessarily dry out the skin or clog pores.” Ugh. That’s all?
Be sure you don’t let “bad chemicals” get deeper into your children’s skin by leaving them on them overnight. (FYI, Lifehacker has already wondered if consumers need to be afraid of sunscreen ingredients, and the answer is no.)
The bottom line is that applying sunscreen doesn’t give your natural sebum a place to go out at night, which can really lead to clogged pores and potential breakouts. While it’s obviously not ideal to go to bed with a pore-clogging substance on your skin, you can rest assured that nothing bad happens to your baby while he sleeps, except perhaps for the formation of his first pimple.