UV Protection Beyond Sunscreen: UPF Clothing, Supplements and Vitamin C

 

By Heather D. Rogers, MD, FAAD, Double Board-Certified Dermatologist

Sunscreen is essential, but it is not enough on its own. If you want to truly protect your skin from UV damage, you need to do more than just apply sunscreen.  

Here are a few of my favorite tips and products to reduce sun damage over time. These are not alternatives to sunscreen, but instead complementary products to provide you with comprehensive protection day in and day out.

Hats and Sunglasses

Hats and sunglasses play a significant role in shielding your skin and reducing UV exposure. 

You should choose sun protective hats that provide ample coverage for your face, neck, chest and ears, as these areas are often exposed to the sun's rays. Choose wide-brim over a baseball cap when you can for maximum UV protection.

When it comes to sunglasses, choose ones that are polarized as they offer enhanced sun protection for the delicate skin around your eyes and reduce UV damage over time. 

Sun Protective Clothing

Clothing is one of the most effective ways to protect your skin from UV exposure.  Long sleeves, pants, and higher necklines provide consistent coverage and offer an extra layer of defense against intense sun.

Lighter color clothes should have Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) to provide enough protection. You should look for specialty clothes labeled as UPF clothing or use a wash-in UPF protection product like RIT SunGuard and Lemon of the Sun. 

For example, a white T-shirt only has a UPF of 8, but a dark grey T-shirt has a UPF of 98, providing significantly higher protection. Coolibar, Watskin and Claudent specialize in UPF clothing, but many brands are making sun protective clothing now.

Seek Shade

Don’t ever lie in the sun solely for the sake of getting tan. Seek shade whenever you can, especially, during the hottest hours of the day. Go for your run or hike in the early morning or late afternoon. Take a break from the beach or pool to have lunch in the shade. If you can, use an umbrella or pay for a cabana so you always have shade available. It is far cheaper than paying to fix your skin from the sun damage later in life. 

UV exposure adds up over time, and the shade is one of the simplest ways to reduce that cumulative damage.

Oral Supplements

There are oral supplements that can help reduce sun damage, but they do not replace sunscreen. You should think of them as an additional layer of protection, not a substitute. 

The active ingredient in these supplements, polypodium leucotomos, works to enhance your body's natural defense against UV radiation. Some notable brands that use this ingredient are Heliocare and ISDIN. 

Taking these supplements throughout the summer can help minimize the potential damage caused by sun exposure. If you are taking it for sun protection, you should take it in the morning before UV exposure. 

What the data shows

Clinical studies on polypodium leucotomos show that it can

• Reduce UV-induced DNA damage (cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers)
  
• Decrease sunburn response (erythema)
  
• Help preserve immune function in UV-exposed skin
  
• Provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protection

Why it matters

UV damage is not just about sunburns, it continues well after exposure and includes DNA mutations, inflammation, and immune suppression. Polypodium leucotomos helps reduce all three, making it a useful addition for long-term skin health and skin cancer prevention.

Vitamin C Serums

A well-formulated vitamin C serum helps protect your skin from UV damage and makes your sunscreen work better. Applying a well-formulated vitamin C serum in the morning is going to help your sunscreen work better. 

Doctor Rogers Day Preventive Treatment is formulated to both prevent and correct sun damage. It contains three powerful antioxidants that work synergistically to protect your skin before, during and after sun exposure.

Key Antioxidants

• Bis (Cyano Butylacetate) Anthracenediylidene: A proactive antioxidant that suppresses the formation of free radicals.
  
• Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate: A lipid-soluble form of vitamin C that is better tolerated than other forms of vitamin C such as l-ascorbic acid and collects the free radicals, to penetrate deeper into the skin
  
• Acetyl Zingerone: Slows and corrects damage to the skin after UV exposure and stabilizes the vitamin C to make it more effective

Why Acetyl Zingerone matters

Acetyl zingerone is particularly important because UV damage continues for hours after exposure through ongoing oxidative processes. It helps interrupt this damage and supports repair, something sunscreen alone cannot do.

Research shows it can: 

• Neutralize multiple types of reactive oxygen species (ROS)
  
• Scavenge peroxynitrite, a highly damaging oxidative molecule
  
• Inhibit UV-induced DNA damage
  
• Support DNA repair after UV exposure
  

How I Use it

Every morning on bare skin, the first thing I do is apply Day Preventive Treatment to my face, neck, chest, and the backs of your hands. I follow that with my face cream, then a zinc based sunscreen for excellent protection. On days when I have spent a significant amount of time outdoors I reapply my Day Preventive Treatment before bed.

UV Protection in the Car 

Most people don’t realize that standard car windows do not block UV radiation. Windshields typically block most UVB and a large portion of UVA, side and rear windows do not, allowing significant UVA to pass through. This ongoing exposure contributes to photoaging and increases your risk of skin cancer over time. 

Image: Gordon & Brieva, New England Journal of Medicine, 2012

What the Data Shows

Research shows that:

• UVA penetrates glass and drives aging, pigmentation, and DNA damage
  
• Increased photoaging and skin cancer have been observed on the driver’s side of the face
  
• UV exposure accumulates during daily driving, not just time spent in the sun

How to Reduce Exposure

An easy fix is to add a clear UV-filtering window film to your car windows. This blocks over 99% of UVA and UVB without darkening the glass. Most of your sun exposure does not come from occasional beach days, it comes from daily driving, school drop-offs, and errands.

Sunscreen is essential, but it is only one part of protecting your skin from UV damage. The more you reduce cumulative sun exposure with clothing, shade, antioxidants, and daily habit, the better your skin will age and the lower your risk of skin cancer. 

References

Middelkamp-Hup, Maritza A., et al. "Oral Polypodium Leucotomos Extract Decreases Ultraviolet-Induced Damage of Human Skin." Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, vol. 51, no. 6, Dec. 2004, pp. 910–918. https://www.jaad.org/article/S0190-9622(04)01714-1/abstract

González, Salvador, et al. "Mechanistic Insights in the Use of a Polypodium Leucotomos Extract as an Oral and Topical Photoprotective Agent." Photochemical & Photobiological Sciences, vol. 9, 2010, pp. 559–563. https://doi.org/10.1039/b9pp00156e

Chaudhuri, Ratan K., et al. "Acetyl Zingerone: An Efficacious Multifunctional Ingredient for Continued Protection Against Ongoing DNA Damage in Melanocytes After Sun Exposure Ends." International Journal of Cosmetic Science, vol. 42, no. 1, 2020, pp. 36–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/ics.12582

Srivastava, Jyoti, et al. "The Role of Acetyl Zingerone and Its Derivatives in Inhibiting UV-Induced, Incident, and Delayed Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimers." Antioxidants, vol. 12, no. 2, 2023, article 278. https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12020278

Gordon, Jennifer R.S., and Joaquin C. Brieva. "Unilateral Dermatoheliosis." New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 366, no. 16, 2012, e25. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMicm1104059

Image credit: Gordon, Jennifer R.S., and Joaquin C. Brieva. "Unilateral Dermatoheliosis." New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 366, no. 16, 2012, e25. https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJMicm1104059

About the Author: Dr. Heather D. Rogers, MD

Dr. Heather D. Rogers, MD is a double board-certified procedural dermatologist and Mohs surgeon and the co-founder of Modern Dermatology in Seattle, where she sees patients full-time. She is nationally recognized for her expertise in skin health, aging, and skin cancer prevention, and for her clear, evidence-based skincare guidance. Dr. Rogers serves on the American Academy of Dermatology Media Team, the Credo Beauty Council, the Sorette for Motherhood Scientific Advisory Board, and the NewBeauty Brain Trust.

She is the founder of Doctor Rogers Skincare, a dermatologist-developed line reflecting her less-is-more, science-backed approach to healthy skin. Dr. Rogers is a graduate of Stanford University, the University of Washington School of Medicine, and completed her dermatology training at Columbia University Medical Center.

Instagram: @drheatherrogers
Practice: mdinseattle.com
Skincare: doctorrogers.com

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