More Than Skin Deep: Here Comes Summer
Staying sun-safe and watching your skin closely for any changes are important factors in maintaining healthy skin.
Limit Sun Exposure
Sun exposure contributes to both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer, and sun protection over the course of a lifetime is the most important aspect of skin cancer prevention. Because much of our sun exposure occurs during childhood, it is important for parents and grandparents to help children develop good sun protection habits.
Sun protection involves more than just sunscreen. Optimal sun protection involves avoidance of the sun during peak hours, use of protective clothing such as hats, and then sunscreen. And stay away from indoor tanning—those harmful rays are just as dangerous inside as they are in the great outdoors.
Not sure which sunscreen to choose or how much to apply? Here are some ground rules from the American Academy of Dermatology (www.aad.org/public/sun/smart.html):
- Apply sunscreen at least a half-hour before you go outside.
- Sunscreen should be water resistant, with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15, and should offer broad-spectrum protection, meaning it protects skin from both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays.
- Reapply sunscreen every two hours—even if it’s cloudy—and after swimming or sweating.
- When you use sunscreen, be sure that you are applying enough to get the full benefit and that you reapply frequently.
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