May is shaping up to be one heck of a busy month for awareness campaigns! Not only is May National Speech & Hearing Awareness Month, the 30 X 30 Nature Challenge and Mental Health week, it is also International Skin Cancer/Melanoma Awareness Month!
The skin is your body’s largest organ, protecting you from heat and and injury while controlling your body temperature and getting rid of waste materials through your sweat glands. Â In addition to storing water and fat, your skin also makes Vitamin D.
Skin cancer is often divided into two categories: 1) Non Melanoma and 2) Melanoma. Melanoma is the more serious of the two and less common; however, there are numerous risk factors that may increase your chances of being diagnosed with skin cancer such as:
- Sun and ultraviolet radiation (tanning beds)
- Numerous moles and atypical moles
- Fair complexion
- Personal/Family history of skin cancer
- Weakened immune system
- History of severe blistering sunburns and more
A huge misconception out there is that folks with darker skin like myself don’t need to worry about sunscreen or other preventative measures. Well I’m here to tell you folks, cancer doesn’t discriminate!
Personally, I suffer from hyperpigmentation, discolouration and acne scars so it’s important to me to follow a pretty simple skincare regimen to keep my skin summer-ready! Weekly exfoliation and of course moisturizing are key to keeping me looking chocolaty smooth!
Here are some skin care tips for everyone to follow, minimize the risk for skin cancer and be #SunSafe:
- Use sunscreen. Do your research though, they are not all the same. Using SPF 1000 doesn’t make you invincible! Buy it because it does the job not because its the cheapest and smells pretty, it’s still a chemical on your skin.
- Minimize your time in the sun. I know this is a tough one, especially for those of us that have winter for most of the year! The hottest part of the day is the most damaging, so do what you can earlier or later in the day during the cooler hours.
- Wear a hat and/or sunglasses. Protect those beautiful eyes and that hair!
- Give your skin a break from time to time. Ladies, go fresh faced, no makeup once in a while!
- Drink water. Lots of it! This is a given and one of the most important tips! It’ll hydrate you and get rid of toxins.
- Eat healthy foods. Colourful fruits and veggies are the best, in addition to whole grains, proteins and essential fats.
- Examine your skin on a regular basis. “Check yourself before you wreck yourself” as they say! Look for irregularities and get them checked out by a medical professional as required.
People forget that you still need to be sun safe in Winter. Great advice.
i burn no matter what i use i’m so used to wearing short sleeved tops and long pants all summer long just so i don’t get burned!
i recently learned that sunscreen starts to lose its effectiveness once the bottle has been opened. replace with a new one each season
I am sunblock crazy with my son. Its hard though finding a good natural kids sunscreen!
Here is some information in nature’s sunscreens. http://instagram.com/p/oyxLFPKF3k/
If you buy it, you can always make one yourself that works great and only has a couple of ingredients, instead of 30+.
even for people with naturally darker skin, it does not mean they can go without protection. sun block for all!
we’ve all heard of spf for lotions,but here are some values for clothes:
Nylon Stockings – SPF 2
Hats – SPF 3-6
Summer-weight clothing – SPF 6.5
Sun-protective clothing – up to SPF 30
Great tips!! As a very white person with red hair, I burn in the shade. But many others think that darker skin tone makes them safer. Thanks for dispelling that myth!
Great tips! Thanks. I know cancer doesn’t discriminate and I try to be careful but it’s hard to limit sun time. All the snow we had this year meant I totally was gleeful when the sun finally appeared.
Oh I hear ya! too long of a hibernation this year BUT think of how long we’d have to stay inside if we became ill from not using preventative measures 🙂
What if you are allergic to sunscreen and get hives/bumps after applying it?
Oooh that’s a tough one! Well personally I’d suggest getting allergy testing to see exactly what’s causing the allergic reaction, as there are a variety of chemicals in most sunscreen lotions. I know that there are natural methods as well but they may not be as physically appealing, such as actual sunblock.
loose long sleeve shirts should be a must for kids at the beach
re-applying sunscreen frequently is crucial for their success in protecting your skin.
These are great tips! I do check my skin often and try to watch how much sun I get. I have pigmented issues as well, spots on my body from bad burns when I was younger they have faded since but I’m still careful. This is a great post! 🙂
Nothing worse to ruin your summer days than a burn. We use the strongest or highest we can get for our sensitive skin, for sure!
Great tips! I think sun protection is often not taken seriously enough. Even though I love being out in the sun I do try and limit it.
Great post. Most commercial brands of suncare you find like at Shoppers have carcinogenic ingredients. I had so many clients with skin cancer and they all said they used suncare. I started reading and learning about the ingredients and was appalled.
Raspberry Seed oil is supposed to be a good natural sunblock.
This is SO important!! I’m fair skin, and do my best to take care of it. A lot of people don’t think of their eyes, but it’s so important to wear sunglasses that are UVA/UVB protectant.
it’s important to get any blemish or mole checked out by a doctor!
Love the reminder to be sun safe. It is easy to forget when you are younger, but you pay for it later in life!
Great information, people need to be so careful these days outside.
great tips, some people really need to follow these, and it does seem to be getting worse
this is a very serious issue. it was just reported melanoma cases are rising in Canada
I never used to wear sunscreen because I rarely burned now I am super vigilant about making sure I have it on. So important to be sun safe as we are exposed to the sun’s rays all the time regardless of season.
I don’t think i include eyes in skin protection, what a big mistake! thanks for the tips!
Just make sure it’s mineral based around the eyes. Or you’ll get irritated and teary otherwise. Clarins made one for the eyes.
Oooh awesome thanks for the tip!