Well since we are here in yet another sweltering summer, it wouldn’t hurt to bring up some basic facts to remind people to not forget the sunscreen! Plus, for those of you who care more about appearance than health, remember that the most important indicator for the health and appearance of your skin is the use of sunscreen.
It’s very important to stay in the shade when the sun is at it’s peak hours, till around 2pm, and always wear sunscreen whether it’s sunny or not. Try to make putting on sunscreen a daily habit, like taking a shower and brushing your teeth. Think about how much younger you will stay later in life when others will be wrinkled and spotted like a dried up apple that has fallen from a tree and baked in the sun.
Appearance is very important to most people, but preventing skin cancer is much more serious. So what exactly causes skin cancer? Well, it is caused by the ultraviolet A and B rays from the sun and, sorry tanning bed lovers, tanning beds. If you like a quick and even tan without going in the sun, try the new spray tans! Most tanning salons who have the tanning beds, offer this quick and safe type of spray tanning. UVA rays can permeate deep into the skin and even through window glass. They can eventually overpower the immune system, making the body unable to guard against developing skin cancer. Again, for those trying to stay young, UVA rays also cause premature wrinkling.
The rays that cause us to get sunburn are UVB rays. An easy way to remember which rays cause which is UVA for aging and UVB for burning. This said, both UVA and UVB are cancer-causing agents.
The more you are in the sun during your lifetime, the more likely you could develop skin cancer. Since this is a collective risk over time, it is so important to protect your skin from the sun’s effects every day, even when you will be outside for short periods of time. This is especially true in the spring, because even though the temperature is low, the sun is very strong.
So don’t be caught out in the sun at an event without having put on sunscreen. Put your sunscreen on first thing in the morning, even before your moisturizer and make-up. If you are strapped for time, you can make things simple and just use your sunscreen as your moisturizer. The majority of people don’t put on enough sunscreen. Try to remember to use about the size of a shot glass full of sunscreen to cover all your exposed areas. Don’t forget your ears and lips. To avoid a mess in your hair, you can use a spray sunscreen for your scalp. It is important to protect this area too, because that is the closest area to the sun. Also use a lip balm with an SPF of 30. Try to reapply your sunscreen every 2 hours or less, even when it is waterproof.
With all the different sunscreens out there, it is so hard to understand what SPF to choose. Some have said that sunscreens with an SPF more than 15 do not protect any better than those with just an SPF of 15. Not true. Sunscreens that have a higher SPF than 15 absolutely protect better against the sun’s damaging rays! Whether you pick a lotion, spray, gel or wax, make sure you choose a sunscreen that has a broad spectrum coverage with both UVA and UVB protection, is waterproof and has an SPF of 30 or higher. Have fun in the sun, but don’t get burned.