SKIN! It’s the largest organ on your body. its main purpose is to protect and keep together your organs, blood, skeleton. literally everything that makes you YOU. Knowing this you have to keep in mind what would be your skins enemies. pollution, alcohol, smoking, and of course our biggest frienemy the sun. We need it for vitamin D, but too much can literally kill you. did you know the sun is the number one killer of women in their 20’s? Skin cancer can be so sneaky. working and growing right under your nose. forehead, cheek, shoulder. really cancer can form anywhere. often the older gents will have the tops of their ears removed due to decades of wearing baseball caps that don’t completely cover. Caucasians who are more sensitive to the sun are more susceptible to getting cancer. 80% of aging is caused by the sun. Sagging, wrinkles, age spots, sun spots, moles, dehydration, and discoloration. Work inside? Ever heard of the greenhouse effect? Rays still penetrate glass. UVA and UVB are our main culprits. UVA is terrible to our skin. it penetrates deeper than UVB rays. Causing lines and wrinkles breaking down collagen and elastin from the inside out. the difference is it takes time to see this previous damage. as we get older these marks and breakdowns come up to the top of your skin eventually. by that point it is a lot more expensive to fix. having to pay for laser treatments, face lifts, surgeries. my best advice is to prevent such damage. wear sunscreen. As for UVB rays, those are the ones that effect our melanin. its what give us that beautiful sun kissed glow or our crispy red sunburn. Yum. long term wise UVB rays can speed up the aging process causing your skin to become dry and what I call crepey. If you have ever watched “Something About Mary” think about Magda, the quirky neighbor who spends all her time sunbathing. Her skin was done up by a professional makeup artist, but let me tell you it looked like the real thing. skin that was tough, dry, almost like beef jerky. Thats what we definitely do not want. Its isn’t sexy and its very permanent.

What can we do to protect ourselves?

• ALWAYS WEAR SUNSCREEN.
• “Take a picture, it’ll last longer”
• Keep a consistent esthetician. Tell your esthetician about any questionable spots or marks. Monthly facials or waxing can be key to ensure a professional is also keeping their eyes out for any changes that may occur. Lots of factors can change your mole. including removing hair. the more eyes on it, the more likely you are to catch it before it becomes anything life threatening. No matter what if you are worried about any moles or marks, absolutely consult a doctor to have the spot removed and tested for melanoma.

What are signs to look for? ABCDE’s of cancer of course!

A: Asymmetrical- Is it a balanced mole? perfectly rounded? when they are not perfectly rounded you may want to have it tested.

B: Border- is the border well defined? is it smoother or harsher on some sides?

C: Color- is it reddish? brown? purple? red? is the color changing? is it two shades?

D: Diameter- How dar apart is it? keep track in case it changes.

E: Evolving- Is it changing? bigger? smaller? color? shape?

Keep track. You only have one body for life. And nobody else is keeping track for you. Better to prevent than correct because last I checked you can prevent cancer, but there is absolutely no cure. Stay beautiful longer. Stay alive. WEAR SUNSCREEN.