Summer is Nearly Over, But Your Skin Still Needs Protection

Despite the start of school this Thursday, there are still several weeks of summer and sun left before autumn blows into Mehlville and Oakville.

That means there is still a lot of time to do damage to your skin. When summer hits, many of us seek out a “healthy glow,” believing it to not only make us look attractive and sporty, but maybe even a little more fit.

I resist this erroneous thinking every year. I am very light-skinned, and despite my capacity to burn now, I had an almost immediate tan every year as a kid and teenager. When I was younger, I never burned and I rarely wore sunscreen.

So I fight the tendency to equate darker skin with summer fun. However, after my grandpa and my dad both had patches of skin removed and my grandpa underwent radiation for skin cancer when I was in my early twenties, I started to take skincare a little more seriously. By the time we had kids, I was ready to guard their unspoiled skin.

My husband would tell you that I’ve taken it too far. He still often resists sunscreen and laughs when I mention how ghostly I look in family pictures next to his tanned face. I wear sunscreen all year round.

I wish I could say that it will all be worth it when we’re old, when he’s all leathery and I’m smooth as porcelain, but I think a lot of damage has already been done on my skin. I hope that my more recent practices prevent additional freckles, wrinkles, and most importantly, skin cancer.

When it comes to my kids, the process of getting them all lathered with sunscreen before we hit the pool can feel daunting. I feel very thankful that our backyard is almost entirely shaded during the day.

Maybe you’re a mom who, like me, fights the urge to spend some time unprotected in the sun. Another sun sin that I’m guilty of is protecting my kids and getting lazy when it comes to using sunscreen adequately on myself. After all the long process of rubbing it on four kids, it’s almost time to reapply!

I checked out the American Cancer Society’s web site to get some info about protecting my family in the sun. There is great information about how often to reapply (every two hours), what kinds of clothing guards skin best (if you can see through it, the sun can get through it, too) and the best way to protect yourself when you’ve already been out for several hours (hit the shade).

The site also reminds us that there is no such thing as getting a healthy base tan from a tanning bed. This is a practice many people use when they expect to be in unlimited sun exposure, such as going on a beach vacation. Even small doses of damage from UV rays can add up to significant problems in the deep skin tissues.

If you want to see how well you’re protecting yourself and your kids from the sun, check out the fun quiz on the site. See if you can beat my score of 8 out of 9 questions correct. (Am I the only one who can’t seem to understand exactly how SPF numbers work when you have multiple sunscreen products?)

It’s easy to resist good skincare habits. Just like a lot of other health issues that can include a long period of time before consequences hit, like flossing your teeth and taking time to exercise, you may believe that skin cancer won’t happen to you.

Maybe skin cancer won’t happen to you, but I’m always sobered by the thought of it happening to my kids. I feel a responsibility to put sunscreen on my kids for the same reason I brushed their teeth when they were babies.

Good skincare practices are a challenge because they can seem like one more hurdle to getting our kids outside and active. All I have to do, though, is remember the smelly, greasy sunscreen we used as kids and I feel like it’s a hurdle I can clear.