Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Jane Yoo warns that sunscreen contouring, where people skip sunscreen on parts of their face to create a sculpted tan, concentrates UV exposure on the area most prone to skin cancer. The practice increases risk of melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, and squamous cell carcinoma. Use broad-spectrum SPF 30+ evenly instead, or try tinted sunscreen or bronzer for color.
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Hi everyone, I'm Dr. Jane Yoo, board-certified dermatologist and Mohs surgeon. There's a new trend going around where people are applying sunscreen only to certain parts of their face, such as their cheekbones, the bridge of the nose, and the jawline, leaving the rest bare so the untreated skin tans darker and creates a more contoured look. As a dermatologist, I have to be blunt with you. This isn't a beauty hack. It's a way to deliberately concentrate UV damage exactly where your risk is already highest. The trend works The hack works like this: apply SPF strategically to the areas you want to highlight and leave other areas unprotected so they tan darker in contrast. The goal is a sculpted bronze look, essentially using sunburn and tanning as makeup. It's being framed online as a clever hack, but what it actually is is targeted intentional UV exposure. The face and the neck are already among the most common sites for skin cancer because they get chronic cumulative sun exposure over an entire lifetime. UV exposure to the areas that already carry the highest risk. Facial skin is also thinner and more delicate than skin on the rest of your body, so UV damage shows up there faster as fine lines, texture change, and pigmentation. And what I want to say is this: a tan anywhere on your body, but especially on your face, is a visible sign that your skin cells sustained DNA damage trying to defend themselves. It's never a sign of health. Selectively tanning parts of your face accelerates collagen breakdown unevenly, Which means that you're intentionally aging certain areas of your face faster than others. That can create permanent texture and tone differences that don't fade back down once the tan itself does. Areas that get repeatedly tanned are prone to developing sunspots and uneven pigmentation that can persist and be generally difficult to treat, especially if you're already prone to melasma. Here's the irony: a tan is diffuse and unpredictable. It doesn't create the crisp, controlled definition that actual makeup contouring gives you. You're trading a temporary blurry shadow for cumulative permanent damage and getting a worse result in the process. Cream or powder contour and bronzer give you that sculpted look instantly, safely, and it washes off at the end of the day. Apply broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher evenly across your entire face every single day, regardless of what trend is circulating. And if you want that warmth without makeup, a tinted sunscreen or a gradual self-tanner Formulated for your face will give you color without concentrated UV exposure anywhere. And if you're outside for extended periods, reapply your sunscreen every 2 hours, evenly, everywhere. The face is already the area most prone to sun damage and skin cancer over a lifetime. The last thing you want to do is deliberately expose more of it unevenly for a look that makeup can already give you safely.
