Guard Your Skin for Life: A Discussion on Sun Protection with Ian Michael Crumm and Dr. Dendy Engelman

Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Dendy Engelman and licensed esthetician Ian Michael Crumm are teaming up in the name of sun protection this Skin Cancer Awareness Month: The duo’s experiential SkinWatch event in NYC - an SPF-centered soiree loosely based on Baywatch - was designed to educate attendees on a serious topic in an approachable, playful way. In the following conversation with the two skincare professionals, we learn more about the various ways sun exposure can affect our skin, the pair’s favorite products for warding off sun damage, advice for those looking to better integrate skin protection into their everyday routines, and more.

Q: As skincare professionals, both of you have a long history of caring about the health and appearance of skin. We’d love to hear a bit about how both of you got started in your respective careers, and how your paths crossed along the way!

Ian Michael Crumm: Since I was little, I naturally gravitated towards beauty and skincare. When I got older, I had some mild acne, and I started seeing a dermatologist in central Pennsylvania. During my visits, I ended up getting exposed to the aesthetic side of things, like extraction facials, and I fell in love with the experience of getting these treatments. Over the years as a content creator, I've always ended up talking about beauty, and about five years ago, I shifted to talking almost exclusively about beauty. During the pandemic, I decided to go back to get my esthetics license. I've had my license now for about just over a year. I'm excited to keep taking courses and building on my professional knowledge, especially since I've been such an enthusiast my whole life!

Dr. Dendy Engelman: I am a board-certified dermatologist, and I've been practicing since my fellowship in 2008. I’ve been seeing patients since then, but finished officially in 2009 and now work at the Taj Mahal of beauty at Shafer Clinic — everything from lasers to peels, to injectables and facelifts. We have everything, it's the happiest place on earth for adults. I too loved beauty from a young age where we used to do spa days in my parents’ Jacuzzi tub in our bathing suits for like nine hours and wash our hair 65 times and do all the facials that we knew of at the age of seven. It's no surprise that I went into the world of aesthetic medicine!

Ian and I came in contact through Tyler, who runs my social media — he was fantastic to connect us years ago!

Q: Sun protection is a vital part of skin health; are you able to explain the ways in which it’s an indispensable part of one’s skincare routine?

Ian: We are so excited to have the SkinWatch event - it’s really designed to celebrate protecting your skin and teach people how to make sun protection part of their regular routines. Beyond sun protection and skin cancer, there are so many other things like hyperpigmentation, sunspots, well-aging initiatives people might want to take with SPF as that front guard. I think a lot of people think of it in terms of protecting yourself from getting burned, but there are so many other concerns that occur because of the sun.

Dr. Dendy: I come at it from the perspective of “as long as you get there.” Whether you have a family history of melanoma and you're hyper worried about skin cancer, or you’re coming at it more from the “looks” perspective and all you care about is wrinkles and having even skin tone — I don't care how you get there, but I want you to get there and have it incorporated into your daily routine. I feel like in the US everybody wants the sexiness of the “correction”, where you have the before and after and can say “Look how much better I look!” But it’s better if you don’t have to correct something; it's way better than ever having all these devices, surgeries, injectables, peels and everything that Ian and I do every day to reverse it. How much better if you've never had it! So the key is protection. It's just hard to show in a compelling way the effects of SPF because if you don't ever have the wrinkles, it's hard to know what you would look like with them.

Q: SPF is something most people reach for in the summer when the weather is hot and we’re spending a lot of time outside. Can you help our audience understand why sun protection is important all year round, not just in the warmer months or in hotter climates?

Dr. Dendy: So much of what we do in skincare should be routine, and SPF is certainly part of that — just like brushing your teeth and putting on deodorant. Cumulative sun exposure over time is what causes collagen degradation and elastin breakdown, so it's not just in the summer. It's a lifetime of incidental sun over time. And it's not just wrinkles and losing elastin, it's really skin cancer related. Five blistering sunburns before the age of 20 increases your risk of melanoma by 80%. This is a deadly skin cancer! So if you're going to take things to the extreme, just outside of the realm of beauty, this is dangerous stuff that's completely preventable. Just by doing very minimal things like one extra cream, it’s going to be infinitely beneficial.

Ian: To that point, I think a lot of people still associate sun and sun exposure with heat. If it's not warm out, then they're not even processing that they’re still getting UV radiation. For example, in the winter, the reflection of the light on snow is so intense. So just because you're not on a beach in a bikini doesn't mean that you're not getting really strong exposure on your face or other body parts.

Q: There are countless types of sunscreens: chemical and physical, sprays and lotions, formulas for face and body, tinted and untinted, and of course SPFs low and high. What are some tips you can provide for those who may have a hard time choosing the right sun protection for their skin?

Dr. Dendy: It is definitely overwhelming to look at the amount of offerings on your own. The good news is there is a formula that we can find that will work for you. I think Ian and I would both agree that mineral sunscreens are our favorites! Zinc oxide for example is a very good filter that sits on the surface of skin, they are much less likely to break you out because they aren't chemical sunscreens, and they're immediately effective versus having to wait 30 minutes for the effectiveness of the chemical conversion as with chemical sunscreens. People often say they don’t want to look like Casper the ghost because they’re going to be opacified from the zinc or titanium, but the reality is the formulators have done a beautiful job in formulating and making them more cosmetically elegant and more universal in application on all skin tones.

None of us really apply sunscreen with the amount that we're exposed to! A good rule of thumb is to divide whatever the SPF number is on the bottle by two — that's probably the amount you're getting in reality. The way they determine SPF testing and the levels in the lab is by putting dedicated amounts on a certain area and then exposing it to ultraviolet radiation. And it's a lot, it's very thick, and it just is not practical in terms of normal human usage. It's all the same price no matter what the number is, so just go with the highest if you're truly dedicated to sun protection.

Ian: I agree with that. In those tests, it's religiously applied, like within the two-hour mark. The reality is that people on vacation might be reapplying, but there are a lot of variables - like getting in the water and sweating - that get in the way. To the point of countless types of sunscreen, I think it comes down to the one you're going to use and get in the routine of using every day.

Q: Can you each walk us through your sun protection routine? For example, what products will you not leave the house without? How often are you reapplying?

Ian: I have quite a large sunscreen wardrobe but I grab a few time and time again. I love Play by Supergoop!, Glo Skin Beauty, and EltaMD’s UV Clear a lot. In terms of my routine, I slather it all over my face, my neck, the back of my neck, and my ears. In terms of full body SPF, what I like to do is post-shower is towel dry my skin and while I'm still standing in the shower, spray body spray SPF all over and rub it in. It’s a fast way to do it and is built into my routine without feeling like a chore.

Dr. Dendy: An important thing to add is the step before SPF should be a topical antioxidant, which I think is such a key safety net for whatever isn't filtered through the ultraviolet filter. Even the highest number SPF will not still not filter out 100% of the UV rays, so we want there to be a safety net. It will help to neutralize the free radical damage that can occur from ultraviolet radiation from pollution and other toxic things and environmental assailants that our skin or is coming into contact with.

There are a few sunscreens that I really love. One is by Glo Skin Beauty. It’s a beautiful tinted formula that feels like a nod to old CC or BB creams without the extra thickness. I also love the SPF compact from SkinBetter Science, and City Smart by Elizabeth Arden.

Q: There are endless myths floating around social media surrounding skincare. What are some prevalent myths and misconceptions about sun protection and skin cancer you want to debunk?

Dr. Dendy: The old myth that any SPF higher than 30 is a waste — that's definitely not true. The higher number is more ideal! We also can't emphasize enough the importance of the amount you use and the reapplication that needs to occur. I think that protective vortex that people think that it's just one one pop of sunscreen for your whole body is really under informed. We have to rely on the effectiveness but also the limitations of sunscreen; there's a lot more that goes into it, whether it's wearing sunglasses, wearing a hat, applying sunscreen multiple times throughout the day, avoiding peak hours of sun, wearing very broad spectrum sun protection and reapplying quite often — all of these things go into it. It's not just a one and done type of habit that's gonna keep you healthy.

Ian: Another myth is this idea of a “base tan.” Even if you're not visibly seeing a burn, you're still causing your skin to get that tan. Even if you're not seeing redness or burn with continued exposure after that, you're still exposing your skin to the UV radiation and getting those kinds of micro-doses and damages. Cancer can be the result of exposure over many years. This idea of a base tan needs to be debunked and stripped from people's vocabulary. Also, there’s the myth that sunscreen is only for those with a light complexion like myself or Dr. Dendy, when it’s really for everyone.

Q: Do you have any favorite products for achieving a sun-kissed glow without exposing yourself to harmful sun rays?

Dr. Dendy: I love self tanners, they help achieve two things: you get the desired outcome of a tan, but with none of the damage. I think that Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Glow Pads are great for the face. I love tanning water because it doesn't mess up your clothes and you can mix it in with your moisturizer or face serum. It looks very natural, doesn't smell bad, and doesn't look orange. Vita Liberata and St. Tropez are great ones too.

Ian: I normally gravitate towards cosmetic products if I'm looking to be glowy, and normally turn to more bronzing products. Iconic London has this really beautiful sheer bronzer that has a very skin-like texture. I also always use Charlotte Tilbury’s bronzer. Those are the two things I normally go to if I want to look sunkissed.

Q: What advice do you have for those who may not have taken care of their skin in terms of sun protection in the past and may have been exposed to a lot of sun in their lives?

Dr. Dendy: I want to communicate that all hope is not lost — you can definitely reverse existing sun damage. I'm not saying let’s fix it later when it's broken for the young ones. The reality is the body's amazing at repairing damage, it just doesn't need continuous assault. We have DNA repair genes that are trying to correct existing damage all the time. Retinols and retinoids that are both over the counter and prescription can help to reverse that damage, not just keep it at bay, but actually correct it. There are real prescriptive agents that we can use that help if you're really in the pre cancerous realm. Not only will they make your skin healthier, but you'll look better because of it. The tincture of time is an important one that people don't need to give up hope — you actually have to put in the investment. We need to have faith in the process that if you're engaged with people who know what they're doing, and of course, we want your best skin, we have your best skin at heart with how we're trying to achieve outcomes.

Ian: I love that it's never too late to start. Patience is a really good word to keep in mind here. The skin's natural cycle slows down as we age. So as you are trying a product or doing any sort of treatment, if you are trying to reverse any sun damage that exists, let the skin heal itself and take the time to turn over. It's not going to happen within a week. You've got to really give your skin that time to truly regenerate itself and get better, because it is the body's largest organ. Let's just remember that you’ve got to treat it with kindness and give it patience.

To see more of Ian and Dr. Dendy's favorite products, head to their shops:

And to shop some of their favorite SPF products, head to their SkinWatch list below!