Shaving and the Sun

Now that summer is finally here, I imagine that most of you are dealing with the endless cycle of shaving your legs.

If you are anything like me, you probably put off shaving your legs in a variety of ways. I wear jeans with tank tops, long maxi dresses, and generally ignore the stubble until it becomes long enough to braid.

Then, right as I’m headed to the pool, I decide I should give my legs a quick shave.

I head to the pool, lather up with sunscreen (if I’m being smart) and enjoy a few hours of sunshine.

Later that night, I notice brown spots on my legs – tiny little dots near my hair follicles. They fade after a day or two, and I usually never think twice about them.

Last week, I talked to my dermatoligist about these spots. He was quite adament that shaving and sunbathing should NOT be happening back to back.

To put it simply, he says that the close shave combined with UV rays from the sun cause a hyperpigmentation of the hair follicle. While many dermatoligists agree that these spots are harmless, my derm was a bit more cautious.

He said that the hyperpigmentation signals an injury to the skin that, over time, could lead to more serious skin problems.

In short, this is just a short PSA reminding you to try and shave a few hours before getting into the sun – the night before, if possible.

Do you ever get sun spots on your legs like this?? Are your spots permanent, like mine are??