We’ve grown up with a lot of misconceptions about what does and doesn’t keep our skin safe from sun damage. Even though science has debunked many long-held beliefs about sun safety, we find it hard to shake our belief in certain myths.
If your knowledge of correct sun safety is a little hazy, here are the facts from the Skin Cancer Foundation:
- Just five sunburns double your risk of melanoma; and we’re not talking about 5 sunburns over the course of a summer, but 5 sunburns in your entire lifetime! Sun damage affects skin at the cellular level, permanently interfering with the cells’ DNA. As damage increases with time and repeated exposure, genetic mutations may become cancerous.
- Laying in a base tan at the tanning salon or on the beach is the equivalent of wearing SPF 2 or 3 sunscreen. In other words, a base tan doesn’t provide any real protection against the sun’s damaging ultraviolet rays. If you want to add a little “I just got back from the Bahamas” color to your face, brush on one of this year’s new shimmery bronzers. Infused with light-reflecting particles, they diffuse color, giving skin a healthy glow. Also look for products that provide SPF 15 protection.
- Don’t skip sunscreen in the morning or winter. It’s true that UVB rays are strongest between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. from April through October; but UVA rays, the ones that penetrate deep into the skin and are responsible for aging, wrinkles and skin cancer, are present any time it’s light outside, even on cloudy days and during the winter.
Take care of your skin with a physician-prescribed skin health program and cosmetics that are the right fit for your skin-type. Check with your Cleveland Cosmetic Surgeon for recommended products to target your individual skin-care needs.
More myths debunked next time...
It’s easy to get stuck in the same old makeup rut year after year, season after season. Once we find a “look” we like and products that seem to work for us, most of us are perfectly happy to maintain the status quo. We might try a new lipstick color or experiment with a new shade of nail polish as the seasons change, but we’re unlikely to toss out a drawer full of expensive cosmetics and start fresh.
It’s that kind of attitude that makes women look out of step with the times. It’s hard to look elegant and sophisticated when your eye makeup hasn’t changed since college!
You don’t have to succumb to makeup exhaustion. Makeup-of-the-month clubs -- a relatively new internet phenomenon -- let you try sample sizes of the hottest new makeup brands, products and colors without busting your budget or feeling guilty about tossing money down the drain if you don’t like a product.
Before investing in a makeup product that might cost hundreds of dollars an ounce, women want to feel it on their skin. They want to know how it goes on, how it holds up under wear, whether it cakes or turns oily, and dozens of other questions that can only be answered by wearing the product for a few days. Choosing makeup is such a tactile and personal experience. You may hate a makeup product that gets rave reviews from your friend. That’s one of the reasons women balk at making makeup changes. You can’t tell whether you’ll like something new until you try it. When the price of experimentation moves into triple digits, it’s hard to rationalize indulging your curiosity in the hot new French lip rouge you read about in Vogue.
Check with your Cleveland Cosmetic Surgeon to explore recommended cosmetics, like the Jane Iredale product line, that won't break the bank. It's the perfect time of the year to try out some fresh new colors for Spring!