Borderland dermatologist provides tips to protect your skin this summer

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — During warm months, it’s important to take extra care of your skin! You can spend time outdoors without raising your skin cancer risk by protecting your skin.

Dr. Zainab Mohammodu is a board-certified dermatologist. She sees patients at Epiphany Dermatology in El Paso.

She said there’s a reason why El Paso is called the Sun City: “El Paso actually has some of the highest UV indexes in the country.”

She provided some easy tips to follow:

• Apply sunscreen that has an SPF of 30 or higher, and reapply frequently.

• Wear sun-protective clothing and face coverings.

• Wear wide-brimmed hats.

"The areas that are the most exposed daily include the face, the ears, the neck and the back of the hands. And so those are the areas that I really emphasize for patients to look out for and to remember to apply every day,” she said.

She also said truckers are at higher risk of skin damage because the sun is directly aimed at the left side of their faces.

"They have more freckles on this side, or they have more of those scaly spots that we talked about previously on this side. That just shows you the impact that the sun can have on your skin when you're not even realizing it,” Dr. Mohammodu said.

Dr. Mohammodu also said it’s important to apply sunscreen year-round, not just when it’s hot.

"When you are outside for longer than two hours at a time, you do have to reapply sunscreen every two hours.  And when you're in water doing water activities, that shortens to every 80 minutes," she said.