It's a bit complex, I'll try to summarize. Let's think of being exposed to the sun as a continuum with different risks: 1. The best you can do is sun bathe ev

It's a bit complex, I'll try to summarize. Let's think of being exposed to the sun as a continuum with different risks: 1. The best you can do is sun bathe every single day, all year round, avoiding mid-day hours in summer. Think "a gardener who loves being shirt-less". This scenario is related to more non-melanoma skin cancer (survival rate >99%), but both a lower incidence of melanoma, and a higher survival rate for melanoma. 2. The worst you can do is never sun bathe except for occasional heavy exposures. Think a week in the beach during summer vacation, and the rest of the year completely indoors. This scenario is related to more frequent melanoma, and a lower survival rate for it. Sunscreen is great for #2 (people who can't or just won't be exposed often). But it's both unnecessary and undesired (since it limits the bening effects) in #1. And it also limits Vitamin D absorption. So a better advice would be "be exposed to the sun often, every day if you can, and don't wear sunscreen when you do it".