Sunblock, really? That doesn't sound too interesting, I make sure my kids wear it, blah, blah, blah.
It may not be the most interesting topic, but I am going to go on a two minute rant of why I make sure to wear it and how IT IS POSSIBLE TO GET A SUMMER TAN WHILE WEARING SPF 50, and why you should too.
I am not a medical professional, I am just going from my experience here. All skin types are different.
So, now on to my rant. Hear me out for two minutes, I promise you won't regret it.
Why do I care about if you use sunblock or not? Because I have not always been so religious with it. I ignored the health warnings, I baked in tanning beds, then I had two experiences that completely turned that around.
First, over the past ten years, my 60 year old mother has had 5 skin cancer scares. Only 1 of them, the most recent, was actually skin cancer that had to be removed, but her attitude of,
"That's actually not that many scares for how little sunscreen and how much oil I used tanning as a young adult. That's not even counting tanning beds!"
Um, sorry mom, but no. That was all avoidable and I am going to spread the word.
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| The story of my tan |
My whole life I was taught that sunscreen was important, but as a teenager, getting "that perfect summer tan" was more important. So I'd put on SPF 4-15, tons of oil, and think I was good all day.
I obviously wouldn't be. I am a mutt of European descent, mainly Irish, Scottish, French, and German. Needless to say, my skin burns VERY easily and this was a really dumb way of going about it.
I also used tanning beds on and off as a teenager. No need to go into the dangers there. I wasn't tan, I was orange.
Then, ten years ago, I was lucky enough to work at an apartment complex pool as a lifeguard. It was a rule there that ALL EMPLOYEES, RAIN OR SHINE, APPLY SUNBLOCK (spf 30 or higher) EVERY THREE HOURS. There was even a form from the health department we had to sign! I don't know what their level of enforcement was, but my employer took it very seriously.
The first week of employment, I signed the Health Department store, and largely ignored ACTUALLY putting any sunblock, I mean, come on, I NEEDED THAT TAN. I burned, bad. Then before it healed, I burned again.
"OK OK I GET IT! MAYBE THE HEALTH DEPT KNOWS SOMETHING"
From that point on, I used spf 30 every two hours, AND GUESS WHAT?!
I GOT AN AMAZING TAN BY THE END OF SUMMER! I had never, ever, been so tan in my life. It may not be super tan, but given I am usually ghost white,
Wait, so you're telling me, you wore sunblock so your skin was relatively safe, but you still got color?
Yes. AMAZING COLOR. You wouldn't have even guessed I was a ghost before Summer.
I have not burned a day in my life since then.
I have even stepped up my sunblock game. Now, I don't step outside without being dipped in a bath of SPF 50. Just kidding, kind of. I make sure I'm covered Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. I still use tanning oil, which isn't great for your skin, but I'm not burning anymore, so it's an improvement.
After helping my mom recover from a surgery that left her with a two inch long, 1 inch tall scar on her shoulder, from having skin cancer removed, I decided my skin deserved better. So does yours.
Don't punish it, love it.
And say it with me, SPF 30, every three hours, plus a bit of oil.
Then moisturize, moisturize, moisturize to keep skin from getting dry.
Also, one thing I learned is that if your skin feels hot, you're already burned and need to GTFO of the sun like ten minutes ago.
Moms, I am looking at you. Don't remember to reapply sunscreen on your kids, and then forget to do the same for yourself.
