Dr. Teo Soleymani

And I always say this in science, we take two steps forward and then maybe one step diagonally or sideways because we ran into unexpected things. I tend to recommend mineral sunscreens because they don't have any of that data. They haven't for the last 30, 40 years. They're considered safe. And in fact,

And I always say this in science, we take two steps forward and then maybe one step diagonally or sideways because we ran into unexpected things. I tend to recommend mineral sunscreens because they don't have any of that data. They haven't for the last 30, 40 years. They're considered safe. And in fact,

For young kids, particularly those six months and under, the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Academy of Pediatrics generally recommends avoiding chemical sunscreens. Why? Children's skin, particularly infants and toddlers, behaves more like mucous membranes than adult skin. Their barrier is not as tightly woven, so they absorb these things at a much higher concentration.

For young kids, particularly those six months and under, the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Academy of Pediatrics generally recommends avoiding chemical sunscreens. Why? Children's skin, particularly infants and toddlers, behaves more like mucous membranes than adult skin. Their barrier is not as tightly woven, so they absorb these things at a much higher concentration.

For young kids, particularly those six months and under, the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Academy of Pediatrics generally recommends avoiding chemical sunscreens. Why? Children's skin, particularly infants and toddlers, behaves more like mucous membranes than adult skin. Their barrier is not as tightly woven, so they absorb these things at a much higher concentration.

So if you are to apply something on kids, especially young kids six months or under, we recommend minerals to begin with. So I say, if you have a pool of compounds that has maybe even smoldering evidence on the basic science level that something's off versus a group of compounds that have really no data, which one would you pick? And they do the same thing. I naturally gravitate towards that.

So if you are to apply something on kids, especially young kids six months or under, we recommend minerals to begin with. So I say, if you have a pool of compounds that has maybe even smoldering evidence on the basic science level that something's off versus a group of compounds that have really no data, which one would you pick? And they do the same thing. I naturally gravitate towards that.

So if you are to apply something on kids, especially young kids six months or under, we recommend minerals to begin with. So I say, if you have a pool of compounds that has maybe even smoldering evidence on the basic science level that something's off versus a group of compounds that have really no data, which one would you pick? And they do the same thing. I naturally gravitate towards that.

And that's mineral, not like powder, not mineral powder, but mineral topicals because mineral powders are a whole other issue we'll talk about.

And that's mineral, not like powder, not mineral powder, but mineral topicals because mineral powders are a whole other issue we'll talk about.

And that's mineral, not like powder, not mineral powder, but mineral topicals because mineral powders are a whole other issue we'll talk about.

Yeah. So exactly right, mineral-based creams and lotions, I tend to prefer and recommend in my practice, and most people will if you're worried about any risk, any consequence. Chemicals, I tend to personally avoid. Now, this may not be in line with all my dermatology colleagues, but I tend to avoid them, and I do not recommend them for kids.

Yeah. So exactly right, mineral-based creams and lotions, I tend to prefer and recommend in my practice, and most people will if you're worried about any risk, any consequence. Chemicals, I tend to personally avoid. Now, this may not be in line with all my dermatology colleagues, but I tend to avoid them, and I do not recommend them for kids.

Yeah. So exactly right, mineral-based creams and lotions, I tend to prefer and recommend in my practice, and most people will if you're worried about any risk, any consequence. Chemicals, I tend to personally avoid. Now, this may not be in line with all my dermatology colleagues, but I tend to avoid them, and I do not recommend them for kids.

In terms of things that you can do in addition to provide sun protection, polypodium is a fern from the Amazon rainforest that was discovered when they studied an indigenous population that would eat this fern before they would go on their fishing expeditions on the Amazon. And they'd be gone for three days. They'd eat this fern and come back not burned.

In terms of things that you can do in addition to provide sun protection, polypodium is a fern from the Amazon rainforest that was discovered when they studied an indigenous population that would eat this fern before they would go on their fishing expeditions on the Amazon. And they'd be gone for three days. They'd eat this fern and come back not burned.

In terms of things that you can do in addition to provide sun protection, polypodium is a fern from the Amazon rainforest that was discovered when they studied an indigenous population that would eat this fern before they would go on their fishing expeditions on the Amazon. And they'd be gone for three days. They'd eat this fern and come back not burned.

So a lot of studies were done on this fern in the last five, 10 years that showed it increases your skin's minimal erythema dose, the amount of redness your skin gets from UV exposure. That's our general barometer for effectiveness without any topicals. It's taken or ingested orally. I personally use a form called sun powder that also has nicotinamide in it.

So a lot of studies were done on this fern in the last five, 10 years that showed it increases your skin's minimal erythema dose, the amount of redness your skin gets from UV exposure. That's our general barometer for effectiveness without any topicals. It's taken or ingested orally. I personally use a form called sun powder that also has nicotinamide in it.

So a lot of studies were done on this fern in the last five, 10 years that showed it increases your skin's minimal erythema dose, the amount of redness your skin gets from UV exposure. That's our general barometer for effectiveness without any topicals. It's taken or ingested orally. I personally use a form called sun powder that also has nicotinamide in it.