Wont tan or burn, do I need sunscreen

The skin on my legs is very pale, I'm fair skinned anyway but my legs are paler than the skin on other areas of my body that are not exposed to sunlight. The weird thing about them is that they do not tan OR burn. I can spend the day at the beach without any sunscreen on them and they remain white. So I guess I'm just wondering, if they are not tanning or burning are they being damaged by sun exposure and should I still be using sunscreen on them? Guess I'm still hoping they might get less pale some day or something. Also any idea why they don't tan or burn?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Although you are not tanning but you still need to apply the sunscreen because the UV rays of sunlight are more carcinogenic and continuous exposure to these can result in skin cancer or melanomas. Hence it is advisable to protect yourself from the sun as far as possible.

I hope it helps. Take care and regards.