National Sunscreen Day is a holiday that’s observed annually on May 27th and is a day to acknowledge the importance of sunscreen in reducing the incidence of skin cancer. Also known as Sunscreen Protection Day, this holiday attempts to raise the public’s awareness about sunscreens and how they protect people from the damaging rays of the sun.

Scientists estimate that approximately 20% of Americans will develop some form of skin cancer by the time they are 70 years old, so it’s vitally important that people use sunscreen and employ other preventative measures to reduce their risk of this disease. Celebrating this holiday is a great way to begin.

The History of National Sunscreen Day

Believe it or not, it was pretty common for people during the 1970s and 1980s to rub themselves down with baby oil and bake for hours in the sun to get that golden brown tan that everyone seemed to desire.

During this time, there were also suntan lotions that did nothing to block out the sun’s harmful rays but instead actually amplified the effect of the sun on a person’s skin. Then people learned more about the damage caused by the sun’s UV rays and how they increased a person’s risk of skin cancer.

Today, it’s common knowledge that people need to apply sunscreen to their skin if they’re spending any amount of time in the sun. Most people also know that they should wear sun hats and protective clothing in addition to sunscreen to protect themselves from damaging ultraviolet rays.

Unfortunately, we’re unable to uncover the history of National Sunscreen Day. While we do know that one of the first sunburn prevention creams was invented by Milton Blake in the 1930s, we simply can’t determine who invented this holiday.

As usual, we’ll continue to try to research this holiday if we have time, and if we find anything new about it, then we’ll update this section as necessary.

Observing National Sunscreen Day

This holiday can be observed in any number of different ways. One of the first things that people can do on this day is to take the time to learn more about sunscreens and how they help to protect people against cancer.

Another thing that people can do is to encourage friends and family members who don’t use sunscreen to go ahead and use it for their own personal safety.

And finally, people can take the time to spread the word about this holiday using the hashtag #NationalSunscreenDay on social media. Let’s all take the time to help promote sunscreen use and help people avoid the ravages of skin cancer.