Summertime skin

Here in Orange County while it's count down to your child's last day of school, you may be already packing the house and car with all sorts of out door fun! Whether it be squirt guns, beach balls, picnic blankets, swim gear, buckets to sand toys! But one thing that should be well stocked, year round in fact, is the spf! Here is something to take a serious second look at, even if you're the faint of heart, because no matter who you are, protecting your skin from the suns damaging rays is this important. Having the basic knowledge about what skin cancer is, and what it looks like, can be one of the best insurance you won't forget your spf again.
It's as simple as A, B, C, and D. A is for asymmetry, growths with irregular shapes, and different-looking halves should be seen by a dermatologist right away. B is for border, moles with irregular, notched, or scalloped borders are a cause for concern. C is for color, notice if growths have uneven coloring or a variation of colors. And D is for diameter, if a growth even "beauty marks" have exceeded 5 millimeters, this is a sign to visit your dermatologist for a closer examination.
As an adult this becomes a great concern especially if you are one who rarely applied sunscreen as a child. But today there is little to no excuse why we can't prevent skin damage in the futures of our children, along with regular visits to the doctor ask for mole checks yearly, continue appropriate use of spf, avoid the heightened damaging rays of the sun between the times of 10 and 2, cover up when possible, reapply sunscreen after swimming and excessive sweating, are all positive ways to avoiding skin damage in your families future.

Summer time doesn't mean dry time

As Summer is knocking on the door, we are ready to shed the apparel, which means more skin to maintain. The heat turns up and we may find ourselves whether it's at the beach or the poolside, soaking up the rays, but drying out the skin doesn't have to be a concern. In fact while our natural perspiration cools and hydrates our skin, we produce more oil (sebum) as well. This is our bodies wonderful reaction to protecting and controlling our skins functions as we heat up. So, with that in mind, we can now ease up on moisturizers, switch to light weight spf lotions, and more sheer foundations. For the already oily prone skin types, this goes for you too, but keep blotting papers or translucent powder handy. There are some oil inhibiting serums out there as well to prep the skin in the mornings so no more fussing throughout the day with shine. (Check out Arbonne makeup primer, or Smashbox Anti shine). Surface Beauty skin pros highly recommend a sheer spf tinted moisturizer to get you through an eventful day in the sun. (Remede).
For the rest of the body, exfoliating (Farm House Fresh Bourbon Bubbler) while still in the shower and hydrating while the skin is still moist will keep the skin supple and soft. If your'e planning on being in a bathing suit to a tank and shorts, spf the entire body so not to miss any inch of possibly exposed precious skin. Never forget to stock up on a tube or bottle of spf for the car. Be prepared for last minute trips to the park or pool, or even when your'e stuck sitting in the car and the sun beats down on your chest, arms, and hands.

Don't forget the SPF!

It may be raining, cold, and windy, but living in Southern California chances the sun's rays meeting your skin are still very great. Never neglect the importance of protecting your delicate skin from the sun's harmful uva(actinic) and uvb(burning) rays. Personally I rely on my tinted moisturizer by Remede to provide complete coverage over my face and the moment I set foot into the car, I apply a light weight body SPF lotion to neck, chest, and hands.(Supergoop). Many of our darker complected beauties seem to feel they are exempt to the suns harmful effects and ignore the SPF "hype". True, their skin is better protected by melanin than a fair skinned gal such as myself, but by not protecting even the darkest of skin, one can experience hyper pigmenation, age spotting, wrinkling, uneven skin coloration, and no one is exempt from the possibilities of skin cancer. When choosing an SPF, just grabbing a 50 doesn't mean your'e more protected than say a 15. The only difference between the two is the the time you're in the sun. A 15 SPF will protect up to 3 and a half hours of sun exposure. A 30 SPF will protect you up to about 7 and a half hours, so a 50 SPF protects for 12 and a half hours?! That's some coverage. ALTHOUGH!...We sweat, swim, and wipe at our skin and then we must remember to reaply no matter what the level of SPF. Look for the key word "Full spectrum" protection on your next bottle or tube of SPF, this will save your skin from the damage the sun can cause such as capillary damage, hyperpigmentation, collagen and elastin deterioration and most importantly, skin cancer. Let's all enjoy this Southern California weather, and keep our skin younger and healthier, longer with SPF!