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The Solar Callus Guide A definitive resource that will put most medical professionals who don’t believe in this concept to shame (You’ll also get a practical framework on how to develop it with sunlight) SOLAR CALLUS THREAD
You hear ‘solar callus’ all the time I’ve mentioned it often in my work But the question remains.. What is it? Here’s the shocker: It’s a TAN
But the ‘solar callus’ goes well beyond having tan skin It’s in reference to the development of melanin through gradual midday sun exposure It’s a mental model for how you should approach your sunlight exposure A damn great one at that
Considering how uninformed many medical professionals are on the subject of light I’m not shocked that they don’t believe in the concept of a solar callus I expect it to be the case How can they? Their entire philosophy is geared around the idea of sun-avoidance
So whenever you hear ‘solar callus’ Think of a tan, more specifically melanin production from the sun I’ve discussed the benefits of melanin at length on this platform You can dispose of the shitty idea that “there’s no such thing as a safe tan” That’s centralized garbage <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/zaidkdahhaj/status/1715777296408420692" color="blue">x.com/zaidkdahhaj/st…</a>
Now, why is ‘callus’ referenced? Because we’re referring to a natural world adaptation that has been conserved for 650+ million years We’re talking about a polymer (melanin) found throughout nature When you lift weights, your hands develop a skin callus as an adaptation to that stressor Sunlight is no different When you practice midday sunbathing, an adaptation occurs in the form of melanin production to protect the skin Melanin blocks 99% of all UV This is a pro-life adaptation
I’m still amazed by how most centralized practitioners fail to understand hormesis We’ve all heard the quote that whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger That’s the hormetic effect at work A small stressor over time = adaptation = a stronger organism
You don’t hear about the dangers of exercise, do you? You don’t hear about the dangers of sauna use, do you? You don’t hear about the dangers of cold exposure, do you? Now you’re beginning to see how ridiculous it is for these “professionals” to say a tan is harmful
If these people were consistent in their logic, you would see the demonization of all the above practices There would be an endless bombardment of fear porn campaigns on anything perceived as a stressor Eustress defines human existence
Now there’s a right and wrong way to approach sunbathing To be successful here, you must follow the framework I’m about to give you It applies to ALL skin types Lighter skinned people need to be more strict with it, but everybody is able to produce more melanin
Principle 1: Morning sunbathing is your greatest sunscreen The single most effective way to avoid burns, regardless of skin type? Sunbathe in the early AM hours, up until about 9/10 AM depending on location The light spectrum from the sun at this time primes your skin for higher UV conditions to come during midday You get the production of: Filaggrin (a skin protein which hydrates and protects the skin) Urocanic acid (a byproduct of the amino acid histidine found in the skin) This is the most important aspect of building your solar callus Without it, you leave yourself susceptible to burns and bad outcomes And let me be clear here: This works for ALL skin types It’s especially effective for lighter skinned people because they naturally have less leverage due to their type of melanin (pheomelanin)
It makes sense as well Your body evolved to see the early morning sun on the rise before midday UV-A and UV-B conditions It evolved to get that exposure with most of your bare skin in the game Evolutionary human biology at work
Principle 2: Progressive overload is the mental heuristic to memorize Early morning sunbathing isn’t where you build the solar callus It’s where you prime the skin to have that opportunity Midday sunbathing is where that solar callus is built through melanin production The fitness industry uses progressive overload as a heuristic to get stronger, while avoiding the risk of injury Now use that for sunbathing too The hours of 11 AM - 3 PM is where you’re able to produce melanin according to most latitudes This is where you take an individual approach. Darker skinned people can spend more time sunbathing while lighter skinned types need less sunlight to produce the same effect I cannot tell you how much time you need to spend sunbathing during midday
What I can tell you is that avoiding burns is important Being consistent is crucial You don’t lift a barbell once and expect to become proficient, nor should you believe the same about sunbathing For some of you, 5 minutes daily is the focus. For others, it’s 25 minutes Layering midday sunbathing with the early AM sunbathing gives you leverage to spend more time sunbathing As you gain more experience, you’ll notice your threshold for sunlight begins to increase without any negative side effects (burns) That’s the indicator you’re approaching this work correctly
Principle 3: Most of your bare skin needs to be in the game for this to work Sunbathing doesn’t include being covered in clothing, head to toe It’s an intentional practice where you allow raw sunlight to hit your bare skin for a period of time Again, skin in the game
Principle 4: Remove that which alters the sun’s full light spectrum Sunglasses, contact lenses, sunscreen, being behind a window This is where the details matter You cannot artificially manipulate the full light spectrum and expect good outcomes Any filter over the eyes or skin creates a backfiring effect by blocking beneficial light wavelengths and concentrating others (mostly blue light) In other words: You’re disrupting the process of developing the solar callus (melanin production) Prime example being sunglasses Blocking UV from getting into the eyes peripherally disrupts the production of a/b/y-MSH Melanocyte stimulating hormone in its various forms is a signal for the body to produce melanin via melanocytes Sunscreen is another one Block UV-A + UV-B and you’re in for a world of hurt, both acutely and chronically Remember that human biology doesn’t give a fuck about what you believe about these consumerist products Be results oriented Let your dogma fall to the wayside
Principle 5: When you’ve had enough midday sunlight, put it to rest until the next day More in this context is not better unless you’ve developed a strong solar callus Even then, as somebody who is very tan, I understand when it’s time to stop sunbathing when the UV index is very high This largely depends on your latitude and where you live Again, I cannot give you a general prescription here You must gain more experience to know when the body says it’s had enough midday sunlight Your body will let you know through various means when it’s time to hang it up for the day This is a great time to utilize both SHADE and CLOTHING as a means to avoid burns + other side effects from too much sunlight exposure according to your skin type
Principle 6: Once the adaptation is developed, rest assured that you’ll be stronger Now once you have an adequate amount of melanin developed, that’s where it gets exciting Not only will you gain all of melanin’s benefits, but you’ll also be able to spend more time sunbathing as a result of your effort This is a virtuous health cycle Developed solar callus = more melanin = better ability to spend more time sunbathing = enhanced health In one fell swoop, you have completely removed the need for sunglasses, sunscreen, etc While increasing the amount of Vitamin D3, nitric oxide, NIR light, and outdoor time If there’s one thing that is resoundingly true, it’s that more time outside is better for human health
Principle 7: Align yourself with the light and dark cycle for comprehensive protection Pair your sunbathing habits with the blocking of artificial light, especially past sunset Artificial light is toxic to every aspect of human biology, especially the neuroectoderm (skin, eyes, brain) Being under bright isolated blue light from various sources after the sun sets is a great way to damage the skin and make it more vulnerable to midday sunbathing Brighter days, darker nights Be comprehensive in your approach and align yourself with circadian biology
When somebody mentions the solar callus, just know they’re referring to the principles in this thread Many of the people who use that label don’t have a complete understanding of what I have shared here They throw it around because it sounds cute, but the devil is in the details