Reducing Risk for Skin Cancer

For Everyone

June 17, 2026

Protecting your skin from too much sun every day will help lower your skin cancer risk.
Avoid tanning beds.

Overview

Most skin cancers are caused by too much exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays. UV rays come from the sun and tanning beds. UV rays can damage skin cells.

To lower your risk of getting skin cancer, you can protect your skin from the sun and avoid tanning beds.

Be sun safe

It's important to protect your skin from the sun all year, not just during the summer. The sun's UV rays can reach you on cloudy and cool days, and they reflect off of surfaces like water, cement, sand, and snow. In the continental United States, UV rays are strongest from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daylight saving time (9 a.m. to 3 p.m. standard time).

The UV Index forecasts the strength of UV rays reaching the earth's surface each day. If the UV index is 3 or higher in your area, protect your skin from the sun in several ways:

Stay in the shade.
Wear clothing that covers your arms and legs.
Wear a hat with a wide brim to shade your face, head, ears, and neck.
Wear sunglasses that wrap around and block both UVA and UVB rays.
Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher.

If protective clothing and a wide-brimmed hat are not practical, make sure to apply plenty of sunscreen to all exposed skin (including the ears and the back of the neck).

Avoid indoor tanning

Indoor tanning (using a tanning bed or booth to darken the skin) exposes users to high levels of UV rays. Over time, too much exposure to UV rays can cause skin cancer and cancer of the eye.

A suntan does not indicate good health. When UV rays reach the skin's inner layer, the skin makes more melanin. Melanin is the pigment that gives skin its color. It moves toward the outer layers of the skin and becomes visible as a tan. Any change in skin color after UV exposure (whether it is a tan or a burn) is a sign of injury, not health.

Indoor tanning:

Exposes users to intense levels of UV rays, a known cause of cancer.
Does not protect against sunburns. A "base tan" is actually a sign of skin damage.
Can lead to serious burns and other injuries.