Summer is officially here, and that means people are spending more time in the sun. For many reasons, that’s a good thing: Soaking up sunlight helps you get better-quality sleep by regulating your internal body clock. It spurs your skin’s production of vitamin D, which is crucial for bone health and your immune system. And research suggests the sun can help boost your mood and improve mental health, too.
But you can have too much of a good thing: Excessive exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation (without adequate protection) can lead to serious sunburns that accelerate signs of aging and raise your risk of potentially deadly skin cancers.
While 57 percent of Americans regularly use sunscreen, according to the most recent Practice Safe Sun Survey from the American Academy of Dermatology, one-third said they got a sunburn in the past year. This statistic rings true online, where in a certain corner of TikTok, users are posting viral videos of their painful, reddened skin after spending unprotected time outdoors. And in the comments, or even in their own videos, worried viewers are flagging these burns as “life-changing” in the worst possible sense—urging the original posters to visit a dermatologist for regular skin cancer examinations, or, at the very least, up their sunscreen game.
Meet the experts: Saranya Wyles, MD, PhD, is a dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic department of dermatology in Rochester, Minnesota. Axel Delgado, MD, is a New York City fellowship-trained board-certified dermatologist in Dorado, Puerto Rico.
To be clear: There is no such thing as a safe sunburn. And wearing SPF is an effective strategy to protect yourself from the sun’s UV rays. But as the term “life-changing sunburn” picks up steam, some dermatologists fear “we are conflating risk education into alarmist messaging,” says Saranya Wyles, MD, PhD, a dermatologist at the Mayo Clinic department of dermatology in Rochester, Minnesota.
Further contributing to an online ecosystem already fraught with sunscreen myths and misinformation about safe sun exposure, this viral term has raised questions about when a sunburn actually warrants major concern or calls for a trip to the doctor.
To get to the bottom of it,Women’s Health consulted two dermatologists. Here’s what they want you to know so that you keep your skin safe this summer—and all year round.
What is a “life-changing sunburn?”
What’s most confusing about this TikTok trend is that users are labeling everything from mild redness to blistering burns as a “life-changing sunburn.” On social media, practically any sunburn—regardless of severity—is supposedly a life-changing injury to the skin. But in reality, this term “is not a medical diagnosis,” Dr. Wyles says. “It’s not even a risk category. It’s just social media language.”
To be fair, the idea that a sunburn can alter your life negatively isn’t entirely off base. Just five blistering sunburns between ages 15 and 20 can increase melanoma risk by 80 percent, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, or AAD. And every time you get a burn, your skin accumulates cellular damage and DNA mutations that can potentially lead to skin cancer—so protecting your skin from the sun is undeniably important. Nevertheless, “one blistering sunburn is probably not going to completely change your life,” says Axel Delgado, MD, a New York City fellowship-trained board-certified dermatologist in Dorado, Puerto Rico. “You don’t have to run to the dermatologist if you’re managing it at home.”
Instead of thinking about whether a sunburn is so-called “life-changing,” dermatologists group sunburns into degrees. Here’s a breakdown of each one, plus how to manage them.
First-degree sunburn
This is the mildest and most common type of sunburn, Dr. Delgado says, and it only impacts the outermost layer of the skin called the epidermis. This burn typically results in pink or red-looking skin that feels warm and tender to the touch. You can also experience mild swelling, he says. In the days following the burn, the skin typically peels and flakes off naturally, “but no blisters are usually seen,” he adds.
These burns are uncomfortable, but the good news is they’re very treatable at home, experts say. In the wake of a burn, the most obvious thing you can do is avoid additional sun exposure. Next, immediately apply a cool, damp compress onto the affected skin or take a cool shower “so the heat is not continuing to perpetuate the damage,” Dr. Wyles says.
Keep the skin slightly damp using a fragrance-free moisturizer, she adds, and consider rubbing aloe vera gel or colloidal oatmeal onto the skin to help reduce discomfort. It’s also important to keep the skin hydrated by drinking extra water, Dr. Delgado says.
Swelling, warmth, tenderness and pain are all signs of inflammation in the skin as a result of the burn. To reduce these symptoms, consider taking an over-the-counter pain reliever such as ibuprofen or naproxen, which are sold under the brand names Advil and Aleve, respectively, Dr. Delgado says. And if that’s not enough, you could also apply “a really thin layer of 1 percent hydrocortisone for a few days,” Dr. Wyles adds. But avoid numbing creams, particularly those containing ingredients such as benzocaine—they can irritate the skin and make a sunburn even more uncomfortable, Dr. Delgado adds.
Second-degree sunburn
Also referred to as blistering sunburns, this category damages both the epidermis and the middle layer of skin, called the dermis, Dr. Delgado says. And as the name suggests, it can result in patches of blisters, as well as cause swelling or result in skin that appears shiny or wet, he adds.
Compared to milder burns, second-degree sunburns tend to be much more painful, but they typically heal naturally “within three weeks or so,” he says, though the blisters can potentially leave behind long-lasting scars.
Treating first and second-degree burns at home involves taking many of the same measures, experts say. But when it comes to second-degree burns, it’s important to avoid popping the blisters. “They’re there for a reason,” Dr. Wyles says, and popping them could raise your risk of getting an infection. (If a blister breaks on its own, just clean the area using a gentle soap and water, and apply petroleum jelly to seal in moisture and protect the skin, Dr. Delgado says.)
In more severe cases, the blisters may become widespread and cover a large surface area of the body, Dr. Delgado says. And they can also develop on more sensitive areas, such as on the face, hands, or genital region. In these cases, it’s important to seek medical attention instead of attempting to treat the burn at home, he adds.
Sun poisoning
Technically speaking, it’s not completely impossible to get a third-degree sunburn: One that damages the epidermis, dermis, and even the fat and muscle tissues underneath that.
However, this is so extremely rare that it pretty much never happens, Dr. Wyles and Dr. Delgado say. Instead, a more common yet serious reaction you can get to prolonged, unprotected sun exposure is sun poisoning: “It’s not a separate burn depth,” Dr. Wyles explains, “it is a non-medical term used to describe a severe sunburn with systemic symptoms.” Sun poisoning can cause many of the same side effects as a second-degree burn such as blistering, but the hallmarks are internal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, chills, a fever and dehydration, Dr. Delgado says. You can also get really strong headaches and experience confusion or dizziness.
And while anyone can potentially develop sun poisoning, people who take certain medications can become more sensitive to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation and become more susceptible to burns and severe reactions such as sun poisoning, Dr. Wyles says.
The list of medications that can potentially have this effect is long, but a few common examples include antibiotics, antifungals, antihistamines, and cholesterol-lowering drugs, according to the Food and Drug Administration. If you have signs of sun poisoning, seek immediate medical attention at an urgent care center, an emergency room, a dermatologist’s office, or your primary care physician—it’s considered a medical emergency.
So when, exactly, is a sunburn cause for concern?
It’s never wise to brush off a sunburn. Getting one is a clear sign that your skin was damaged by the sun’s radiation and that it’s worth re-evaluating your sun protection habits, Dr. Wyles says. However, one sunburn isn’t necessarily worth panicking about—and it doesn’t automatically mean you’re destined for skin cancer. Instead, think of a sunburn as an opportunity to change your behavior so you can better protect yourself in the future, Dr. Wyles adds.
That said, some people have “higher-risk features” that make them more susceptible to potentially fatal skin cancers like melanoma, Dr. Wyles says—making extra sun diligence all the more worthwhile. Those features include having a personal or family history of skin cancer, developing atypical-looking moles, an increased number of moles, or skin lesions that change over time; as well as taking immunosuppressants that make you more sun-sensitive, historically using tanning beds, or getting multiple second-degree sunburns throughout life, Dr. Wyles says.
In these cases, it’s best to regularly visit a dermatologist to have a skin cancer screening exam. The exact cadence depends on your personal history with skin cancer, but recommendations range anywhere from once a year to as often as every three months, according to the American Cancer Society. And for those who have had skin cancer before, doctors may recommend doing self-evaluations as least once per month.
For average adults without heightened risk, the guidance is blurrier. In 2023, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force determined that there is not enough scientific evidence to make a recommendation about adults receiving skin cancer screenings from their primary care doctor, according to the AAD. But Dr. Delgado recommends visiting a skin doctor once a year, even if you don’t have the aforementioned high-risk features. After all, the skin is the body’s largest organ, so visiting a dermatologist annually is much like doing a yearly visit to your obstetrician-gynecologist or primary care doctor, he says. The AAD also recommends regularly conducting skin self-exams to help you quickly identify any suspicious changes before they become dangerous.
How can I protect myself from the sun?
There are multiple steps you can take to shield your skin from the sun’s ultraviolet rays and minimize your risk of sunburn. And the good news is, slathering on sunscreen isn’t the only tool in your kit.
When it comes to SPF, people typically only apply one-fourth to one half of the sunscreen needed to get the protection advertised on the bottle, Women’s Health previously reported. To use enough to protect your face, apply two finger-lengths of sunscreen, or a quarter-sized amount. For the body, apply the amount it takes to fill a shot glass, which is about one ounce. So, for reference, if your tube contains four ounces of sunscreen and you reapply every two hours as recommended, your bottle should be empty after eight hours in the sun.
Beyond that, seek shade to avoid direct exposure to the sun whenever possible, especially between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., when the sun’s rays are strongest. You can also wear hats and long-sleeved ultraviolet protection factor, or UPF, clothing. Fabric with UPF 50 blocks 98 percent of the sun’s ultraviolet rays, according to The Skin Cancer Foundation, and it obviously doesn’t require reapplication in the same way sunscreen does.
So here’s the bottom line: Despite what TikTok may suggest, no singular sunburn deserves the panic the term “life-changing sunburn” implies. A blistering burn on your back and a little pink on your shoulders are not the same thing, and treating them as equally catastrophic breaches fear-mongering territory. But no matter how severe a sunburn may be, it’s always a signal worth paying attention to: It's your skin telling you that something went wrong, and an invitation to be more diligent next time.
“It’s very important with public health to get the message across without alarming people,” Dr. Delgado says. “And that’s the tone we should be taking on this.”
Katie Mogg is the beauty editorial assistant at Women’s Health. Since starting college at Northeastern University in 2020, her bylines have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News and The Boston Globe. She strives to help readers lead happier and healthier lives through science-backed stories that explain how to care for hair, skin and nails. When she’s not working, Katie enjoys live music, strolling through Central Park, planning her next beach getaway, and sharing hotpot with friends.
