--- title: Justin Bieber Hair Could Prevent Skin Cancer Doctors Say description: Justin Bieber hair shields the skin from freckles, a skin cancer risk factor, Johns Hopkins dermatologists say canonical: https://time.com/2972943/doctors-say-justin-bieber-could-save-lives/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-10T15:56:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:11:33.265Z og:title: Doctors Say Justin Bieber Could Save Lives og:description: Dermatologists argue boys who sport these bangs to look like the pop star tend to have fewer freckles on their foreheads – a risk factor for skin cancer og:url: https://time.com/2972943/doctors-say-justin-bieber-could-save-lives/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd069ff126174708/69869b3035ba6f38d5c02f5e/justin-bieber.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: justin-bieber og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Doctors Say Justin Bieber Could Save Lives twitter:description: Dermatologists argue boys who sport these bangs to look like the pop star tend to have fewer freckles on their foreheads – a risk factor for skin cancer twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd069ff126174708/69869b3035ba6f38d5c02f5e/justin-bieber.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Doctors Say Justin Bieber Could Save Lives > Sponsored content. 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The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jul 10, 2014 3:56 PM UTC  Justin Bieber performs at his 'My World Tour' at Nokia Live on July 20, 2010, in Los Angeles, California. Justin Bieber performs at his 'My World Tour' at Nokia Live on July 20, 2010, in Los Angeles, California.(Photo by Noel Vasquez/Getty Images  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Jul 10, 2014 3:56 PM UTC While some shake their heads at Justin Bieber’s recent [antics](http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/06/03/twitter-fights-reckless-driving-and-9-more-best-moments-of-bad-justin-bieber/), dermatologists say his biggest lapse in judgment was [nixing the bangs](http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/09/showbiz/justin-bieber-vandalism/). An editorial in the July 2014 issue of [JAMA Pediatrics](http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1870233) (the Journal of the American Medical Association) touts the photoprotective effect of the bowl cut and bangs that sweep across the forehead, arguing young boys sporting this hairstyle to look more like Bieber seem to develop fewer freckles on the forehead — signs of skin damage and a risk factor for skin cancer. “For the past few years, we have embraced this hairstyle in our teenage patient population to encourage discussion of sun protective measures,” write Crystal Agi and Bernard Cohen, doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital.”It is believed that the majority of an individual’s lifetime sun exposure occurs during childhood and adolescence, making diligent sun protection during these years critical.” The best part: The doctors are billing this outlook as the new “Big Bang Theory.” (h/t [_New York Daily News_](http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/justin-bieber-saving-lives-article-1.1859175)) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2972943/doctors-say-justin-bieber-could-save-lives/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2972943/doctors-say-justin-bieber-could-save-lives/"},"headline":"Doctors Say Justin Bieber Could Save Lives","datePublished":"2014-07-10T15:56:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:11:33.265Z","description":"Dermatologists argue boys who sport these bangs to look like the pop star tend to have fewer freckles on their foreheads – a risk factor for skin cancer","url":"https://time.com/2972943/doctors-say-justin-bieber-could-save-lives/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Science topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfd069ff126174708/69869b3035ba6f38d5c02f5e/justin-bieber.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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