For most of my life, I treated my skin like a surface.

Ingredients, actives, hydration, layering.

Now I treat it like a signaling organ. Your skin is not just a barrier.

It is a light-sensing, hormone-influencing, electrically active interface with your environment.

When I started thinking about skin as a solar panel — something that receives, interprets, and adapts to light — my decisions changed.

Not because of a new cream, but because of a new input.

Light.

This shift was heavily influenced by:

• Dr. Jack Kruse (circadian biology + seasonal light)
  
• John Ott (pioneer in light research and health)
  
• Robert Becker (bioelectricity and tissue repair research)
  

You don’t have to adopt their entire worldview to recognize one thing:

Light is not optional.

FURTHER READING

What does “quantum biology” have to do with skincare and light? (more than we ever imagined)

What I do:

• I crack a window or get outside within 30 minutes of waking.
  
• No sunglasses. No glasses. No contacts. No cream on my face yet.
  
• I let natural light hit my eyes and skin.
  
• Even in winter. Especially in Calgary winter.
  

Why:

Morning UVA exposure helps set circadian rhythm. As Dr. Kruse has said, "fix your mornings to fix your nights".

Circadian rhythm controls:

• Melatonin timing
  
• Cortisol rhythm
  
• Overnight repair processes
  

Skin repair happens at night.

Night repair depends on proper morning light signaling.

There is research on:

• UVA-triggered nitric oxide release
  
• Light exposure and circadian entrainment
  
• Melatonin’s role in cellular repair
  

Most skincare routines ignore this entirely.

I don’t.

FURTHER READING

Why the Timing of Light Matters More Than Blue Light Itself

Yes, I'm anti-sunscreen.

Here’s what I do:

• I build sun tolerance gradually.
  
• I don’t jump from indoor winter life to full summer noon exposure.
  
• I treat adaptation as the first lever.
  
• I use shade, clothing, and timing strategically.
  

I do not treat sunscreen as the default first move.

Why?

Skin adapts.

UVB exposure:

• Drives vitamin D production.
  
• Signals protective adaptations.
  
• Engages hormetic (adaptive) responses.
  

The concept of hormesis — beneficial stress adaptation — is well documented in physiology.

That doesn’t mean reckless exposure.

It means gradual, intelligent exposure. We go on vacation for 2 weeks to Huatulco in January. It takes me and my white babies 7 days of careful sun exposure to get our base, and then we can be in the sun from morning til night for the next 7.

If I’m going to be out longer than my current capacity allows, I prioritize:

• Shade
  
• Hats
  
• Lightweight clothing
  
• Timing exposure earlier or later in the day
  

Sunscreen is a hack, it is not a foundation.

The foundation is adaptation.

FURTHER READING:

A Summer Without Sunscreen: why routine sun exposure is fundamental to the health of your skin, metabolism + mind.

How to Tan the Quantum Way: A Conscious Sunlight Strategy for Glowing, Resilient Skin

Why I’m Not Blaming the Sun for My Melasma and Sun Spots (Anymore)

This is the part no one wants to hear.

Artificial blue light at night suppresses melatonin.

Melatonin isn’t just a sleep hormone.

It plays a role in antioxidant activity and cellular repair.

What I do:

• Warmer lighting after sunset.
  
• Minimal overhead LEDs at night.
  
• No bright screens in a dark room.
  
• Protect sleep aggressively.
  

There is research on:

• Blue light–induced oxidative stress in skin
  
• Melatonin suppression from artificial lighting
  
• Wavelength-specific biological effects
  

If sleep is compromised, your skin barrier will be too.

No serum overrides a disrupted circadian rhythm.

FURTHER READING

Why Your Sleep is Broken (And How to Fix It)

I live in Calgary.

Winter means:

• No UVB, minimal UVA
• Short days
• Lower sun angle
• Colder air
• More time indoors
• More artificial light
  

So I adjust.

• I double down on morning outdoor light.
• I protect evening darkness more aggressively.
• I use very little soap.
• I focus on barrier support.
• I accept that season changes physiology.
  

Your skin is not static.

Your environment is not static.

Why would your routine be?

FURTHER READING

Why Cold Exposure Makes Sense in Northern Winters (Even If It Sounds Crazy) 

What I do

Every day, my kids spend significant time outside — not just playing, but exposing their eyes and bodies to real sunlight patterns: sunrise, midday light, dusk. Screens are part of life, but they are not their light environment.

Why

It’s not just the content on screens that matters — it’s the light that comes from them. Bright phosphors, short-wavelength blue light, high contrast in dark rooms — these all send unnatural signals to a developing nervous system.

Children’s eyes and brains are still calibrating:

• circadian rhythm is forming,
  
• melatonin sensitivity is high,
  
• vision pathways are developing,
  
• hormonal systems are sensitive to environmental cues.
  

Light isn’t an “activity.”

It’s a signal that influences neurochemistry, sleep timing, mood, alertness, and possibly developmental axes such as puberty timing.

Screens throw misleading signals because:

• They replace broad-spectrum daylight with narrow, intense blue-shifted light,
  
• They deliver that light at the wrong times (evening, night),
  
• They keep the eyes focused at a near, constant distance instead of varying through natural environments.
  

This isn’t about “screen content.”

It’s about how artificial light conditions override natural rhythms.

Better Options When Screens Can’t Be Avoided

If children (or adults) must use screens:

• Prefer E-ink / reflective display technologies (Kindle, Remarkable) for reading, where possible.
  
• If working with backlit screens, do it in well-lit, daylight-balanced environments (crack a window). Seek out OLED monitors and use an app like IrisTech.
  
• Minimize screen use in dim, evening, or night light.
  
• Break frequently to get real outdoor light every 60–90 minutes.
  
• Delay intense screen use closer to bedtime as much as possible.
  

Links for People Who Want the Deep Biology

• Dr. Jack Kruse — Nourish Vermont 2017 talk
  
• Dr. Jack Kruse — Junk Light, 5G, Optimizing Sunlight and Longevity
  
• Dr. Jack Kruse and Andrew Hubermann on Rick Rubin's Tetragrammatron (part )
  
  Jack is a prolific podcast guest, but he is also a prolific writer. He has plenty of free blogs on his website, but around 2023 moved everything to Patreon (behind a paywall). I find his articles are full of priceless information but am unable to link. Please explore yourself.

Once light is handled, product makes sense.

Not as a replacement for sunlight.

Not as a shortcut around sleep.

Not as a shield from nature.

But as support.

I look for:

• Whole ingredients
  
• Minimal refinement
  
• No unnecessary layering (FATSKN products are all formulated to stand on their own. No need to layer).
  
• Barrier support over stimulation
  

That philosophy is why FATSKN exists.

Not because skin is broken.

But because modern environments are.