End of Summer Skin Check: What Your Selfie Filter Isn’t Hiding

You’ve packed serums, SPF, and a sun hat for a day out in the Miami sun, but when was the last time a dermatologist checked your skin like your aesthetician does?

Ariel Eber, M.D., FAAD, FASDS, a dermatologist with the University of Miami Health System, says most adults need a full-body skin check –– especially in Miami.

With the rise in TikTok trends of monitoring ultraviolet (UV) light and timing peak UV indexes to get the best summer tan, your sun-kissed skin might need an inspection.

When do you need a full-body skin check?

As a general rule, Dr. Eber recommends that most adults over 25 see a dermatologist annually, especially if you’re older and are considered high risk. This includes if you’re someone who:

• Gets a lot of chronic sun exposure
• Has a first-degree relative who’s had skin cancer
• Has had skin cancer in the past

Especially in South Florida, where the sun shines year-round, it doesn’t take much to have an overabundance of UV rays.

“Even just walking to your car, you’re getting chronic sun exposure,” says Dr. Eber.

What about people who are most careful with sun protection?

Dr. Eber stresses the importance of at least getting a baseline screening check to make sure you don’t have any underlying risks for skin cancer. “Even if you’re careful with sunscreen and a hat, a lot of UV rays still make it through,” she says.

Plus, skin damage from the sun often results from exposure during childhood and the teen years. Wearing sunscreen and sun protective clothing as an adult protects you from further damage, but it’s not foolproof. “The majority of patients who had a lot of sun exposure when they were young don’t start showing signs until their early 40s and even well into their 50s or 60s. It’s tough because until then, people feel pretty invincible,” says Dr. Eber.

Dr. Eber has even seen patients with melanoma on areas of the skin without much exposure, like the bottom of the foot. A baseline dermatology visit also allows you to ask an expert how often you should come back for skin checks.

Skin cancer and skin tone: Clearing up myths

You don’t need to be light-haired with blue eyes to get skin cancer. It can affect anyone, regardless of skin tone.

Skin cancer is more common in people with light skin. But skin cancer can look different for people of color, and can show up in places like the palms and soles of the feet. Because of this, skin cancer in darker skin pigment can go unrecognized until it’s diagnosed in later stages, when it’s harder to treat.

It isn’t easy to make universal guidelines on skin check visits with different skin tones, according to Dr. Eber. “As our population becomes more heterogeneous, it becomes harder to say what your true risk is, because we’re all blended now, which is beautiful, but it makes it really difficult for us to make hard and fast recommendations.”

So a good rule of thumb is to get your skin checked yearly.

Self-checks: What to look for

Dr. Eber says giving yourself regular skin checks can teach you to know what’s normal for you. Then, you can keep an eye out for anything new, changing or bleeding.

The ABCDEs of melanoma

There are five features of a suspicious skin spot that might indicate melanoma:

• Asymmetry: if a spot can’t be divided evenly down the middle
• Border irregularity: jagged or has blurred edges
• Color variation: multiple colors, or variations like red
• Diameter: changes in size or larger than a pencil eraser
• Evolution: most importantly, the spot has changed over time

Other signs to watch

Non-healing pimples are concerning and can indicate basal cell carcinoma. For moles, anything that’s becoming irritated, darker or inflamed should be checked out by a dermatologist, says Dr. Eber.

Should you use dermatology telehealth and skin apps?

There are pros and cons of telehealth dermatology services and skin apps that allow you to send in pictures of concerning lesions to trained professionals.

“I’m happy there’s expanded access to care for people who are worried about something on their skin, especially if it means they’ll be evaluated more quickly,” says Dr. Eber. But she’s concerned those platforms might miss something that should be inspected in person.

“Most of the time when I do a biopsy, the patient comes in for a different spot. I end up reassuring them that the spot they were worried about is fine, but I’ll notice something else nearby that’s more concerning,” says Dr. Eber.

Still, telehealth is an option for those in rural areas where providers can triage needs to determine what’s important to address versus what can wait. “I’ve done telehealth where someone sends a photo of a single concerning spot. I can review it, provide reassurance or expedite an in-person appointment,” says Dr. Eber.

Prevention is key

It’s not always convenient to apply sunscreen every two hours. Dr. Eber says UV-protective clothing is a better option if you’re in the sun a lot. Then you can use a mineral sunscreen on your face and wear a hat. “Thankfully, there are a lot of companies making adorable, trendy sun-protective clothing now,” she says.

Written by Wendy Margolin for UHealth.

Tags: dermatology in miami, Dr. Ariel Eber, Full-body skin assessment, Skin health tips, UV protection strategies