People, tons of them, have this stigma about sunburn and melanin. People think that brown people don’t get sunburn. I actually used to think that brown people don’t get sunburn. Until one day following a summer vacation to Virginia Beach, my face began burning and few days later the skin peeled off like an onion leaving this pink exposed skin.
I am a brown girl, and like most other brown people, I get sunburn. I have had sunburn every year since that first summer vacation. It is very unpleasant and in my experience, it always happens when I forget to put sunburn on. That one time.
So, in turn, with this experience, I never omit to put sunscreen on my baby. I ensure that he understands the importance and he reapplies as necessary.
I always get a strange look from other parents when I am putting sunscreen on my brown kid, but I just keep on spraying.
I’d rather my little chocolate chip to melt than to burn.