SUNSCREEN: YOUR SKINS BEST FRIEND

IT’s that time of year again when our time spent outdoors greatly increases and our SKIN, the largest organ of the body, is overexposed!! Many are already flocking to beaches, pools and tropical islands so I am writing to remind everyone to gear up and protect the skin!

There are three main rays of the Sun – UVA(AGING), UVB(BURNING), UVC(CANCER) but mostly everyone has experienced the UVB RAYS at sometime or another leading to sunburn, sunpoison and itchy skin. The Aging and Cancer rays are always in the atmosphere all year round. They penetrate thru the windows of your home and windshield of your car which is why many who develop skin cancer have no clue how it happened if they are not sun worshippers.  I have always reccomended to my clients that they use sunscreen all year under makeup. Forget about the SPF in foundations, its so minimal that its a waste and marketing tool to fool ya! If your moisturizer for daytime has a sunscreen in it, make sure its high enough and hopefully that will do the trick. If not, I suggest a non-comedigenic one like SKINCEUTICALS or NEUTROGENA. Simply apply a small amount to your face before foundation and after moisturizing. Also, don’t forget about your hands as well especially while driving.

For body coverage at the beach, I love the new mist sprays. Less mess and no rubbing required! Aveeno is great for sensitive and dry skin but you can find the best sales at CVS and Walgreens on body sunscreen. Any SPF over a 50 is a waste time. At 50 you will be protected to the max unless you swim at which time you would reapply. Of course if you want a golden glow and must get tan, put at least a 20 on. You will still get a nice coat of color but keep your “bathing” to an hour unless like me, you sit under an umbrella with a good book. And don’t forget to moisturize after and before sun exposure. Your skin will thank you!  Most importantly, any amount of exposure and glowing color cannot equal the damage and trauma of skin cancer so be sensible please!