The best time to put on sunscreen? Now.

The cool, rainy days of late April have us lulled into the sense that summer is far away. But it doesn’t have to be summer for the sun’s rays to damage skin.

Lawrence dermatologist Lee Bittenbender says that using a sunscreen should be an everyday habit.

“The prudent thing would be to make sunscreen part of the morning routine,” he said. “Get up, wash your face, brush your teeth, put on your sunscreen. If you wait until you’re out in the sun, or you’re in the car, then you don’t have it with you. If it’s part of the morning routine, it’s more helpful.”

Most people know that the sun can cause damage even when the sky is cloudy; ultraviolet light penetrates clouds and does its damage no matter what, so applying sunscreen is important even when the sun isn’t out.

Use (more) sunscreen

But what most people don’t know is that another problem stems from not using enough sunscreen. For example, Bittenbender said, anyone applying a sunscreen should use a minimum SPF of 30. And a bottle of SPF 30 sunscreen is likely tested at a standardized concentration of about 2 milligrams per square centimeter of skin.

“That doesn’t mean anything to anybody,” Bittenbender said, “but the point is studies show that people put on about a third of what they need to get the right protection.”

So if you’re applying sunscreen to your body before going outdoors, you should use at least an ounce, he said, “which is about shot-glass size.”

For anyone who doesn’t like the feel of a lotion-style sunscreen, a gel might be a better option and one that the user can tolerate.

“I tell a lot of guys they they may prefer a gel because they tend to be clear, they tend to not leave a sticky lotion-y feel,” Bittenbender said. “If a guy’s trying to apply sunscreen to his hairy arms, he doesn’t want to try to rub in a cream. A gel might work better.”

Bittenbender says parents should get children into the sunscreen habit early.

“It’s important to get people indoctrinated early on to using sunscreen, because it’s estimated a person will get 80 percent of their lifetime sun exposure in the first 18 years of life,” he said.

If you got the message too late, sun damage can be treated. We can’t turn back the clock, but skin that has suffered sun damage can be treated to help minimize the effects.

When damage is done

Cheri Thompson, a registered nurse with Lawrence Plastic Surgery, says there are several strategies for improving the look and feel of sun-damaged skin, from topical creams to laser and micro-needling treatments.

“Vitamin C is a great topical product,” Thompson said. “It stabilizes the collagen layer, and it helps protect your skin from environmental pollutants like smoke.”

Products containing vitamin C (or L ascorbic acid) are not sunscreens, but they protect your skin from breaking down and losing elasticity, Thompson said, which can result in wrinkled, aged skin. “We lose our elasticity anyway as we age, and the sun really expedites that,” she said.

Thompson suggested seeing a professional for laser treatment or chemical peels to help minimize age spots. A new treatment, micro-needling, helps not only sun damage but other cosmetic issues like acne scarring.

Thompson recommends using sunscreen in places you would normally skip to prevent sun damage. “Put sunscreen on your neck and on the backs of your hands,” she said. And avoid tanning beds: Opt for self-tanning lotions instead.

“There are several self-tanners that do a good job and give you some color,” she said.

Bittenbender made it clear he wasn’t discouraging being outdoors. “I don’t want to be on a rant on this,” he sad.

“I don’t want to seem overly restrictive or for people to have a sun phobia. There are wonderful things to do outside, so go do them, just use common sense.”