What did people do before sunscreen?

Before the widespread availability of commercial sunscreen, people primarily relied on physical barriers and various natural topical applications to protect themselves from the sun's harmful rays.

Traditional Sun Protection Methods

Historically, humans have devised ingenious ways to mitigate sun exposure, often driven by necessity to prevent painful sunburns and long-term skin damage. These methods range from simple clothing adjustments to sophisticated natural remedies.

Physical Barriers

The most common and effective method for sun protection involved avoiding direct sunlight or creating a physical barrier between the skin and the sun.

• Clothing: People frequently wore scarves and other clothing items designed to cover as much skin as possible. This included long-sleeved garments, long skirts or trousers, and broad-brimmed hats.
• Seeking Shade: Cultures around the world understood the importance of staying out of the sun during its peak hours, often resting during midday or constructing shelters that provided ample shade.

Natural Topical Applications

Across various civilizations, a wide array of natural substances were experimented with and applied to the skin in an attempt to offer some form of sun protection. While their scientific efficacy varied greatly, these methods represented the ingenuity of people seeking relief and prevention.

Some of the notable substances and concoctions used included:

• Edible and Plant-Based Items:
  • Rice: Often applied in various forms, possibly as a paste or powder.
  • Crushed jasmine petals: Used for their potential soothing and protective properties.
  • Olive oil and sunflower oil: These oils were used not just for moisturizing but also potentially for a very minimal barrier against the sun, though they offer limited SPF.
  • Lupine: A plant whose extracts were traditionally used in some cultures.
  • Pine needles: Crushed or extracted, these may have been used for their potential properties.
  • Cocoa butter: Known for its emollient properties, it may have also been used for perceived sun protection.
• Earth-Based and Other Mixtures:
  • Mud: Applied to the skin, mud could offer a physical barrier and cooling effect.
  • Charcoal: Used in some ancient practices, possibly as a pigment or for its purported properties.
  • Burnt almond paste: A unique mixture, likely used for its soothing or barrier effects.

These historical sun protection methods illustrate a long-standing human awareness of the sun's intensity and the necessity for protection, long before the advent of modern commercial sunscreens. To learn more about the evolution of sun protection, you can explore various historical sun protection methods.

Here's a summary of the methods used before modern sunscreen:

[[Sun Protection History]]