eli5: Do people with darker skin have to wear sunscreen?

Question

I heard the UV cause skin cancer, I’m a brown guy and never wear sunscreen, does that mean I have a higher likelihood of getting skin cancer?

In: 159

Answer 1

Technically no one has to wear sunscreen. Despite being about as pasty as a human can get, I am free to not wear it. I just will burn and prematurely age.

Now the darker someone’s skin is, generally the longer it takes to burn + the less damage is done by UV rays. But…I’ve always figured that if someone can reduce that damage (which can cause cancer + prematurely age the skin), why not?

This is probably less of an issue in, say, Seattle in the winter for an office worker than someone who is hiking for 10 hours in the sun in an equitorial area, though.