With the 4th of July only a few days away, your family probably has plans to spend the weekend basking under the summer sun. Cookouts, pool parties, and fireworks displays are on everyone’s holiday to-do lists. We fully support those plans, but we have a new #1 for you: skin protection.
How to Protect Your Skin from the Sun
Whether your goal is to protect your family from melanoma or keep your skin healthy and glowing, we know you’ve heard the #1 rule of skin care: use sunscreen. But it’s not enough to simply slather on last year’s leftovers. Are you doing enough to protect your skin?
After 3 years, most sunscreens begin to lose their potency. If you’re not sure when you bought the bottle, check for an expiration date.- Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before you leave the house. Not only does this give UV protection enough time to sink in before sun exposure, you’re also less likely to miss spots at home.
- Read the bottle. You may think that reapplying once is enough, but you can’t always see sun damage on your skin. It’s always better to follow the instructions on how often to reapply.
- Towel off before reapplying sunscreen. If you’re at the beach, brush off any sand prior to breaking out that bottle of SPF 30.
- Does sunscreen make your face breakout (or worse, burn)? Buy a sunscreen specially formulated for the face, which is more sensitive than other parts of your body.
- Make sure your lip balm has sunscreen.
- Layer up. Hats, cover ups, and sunglasses provide added protection against UV rays.
- Soothe your skin when you get home. Cleaning and moisturizing after sun exposure rehydrates your skin, helping it remain elastic and smooth.
- Keep an eye out for melanoma. Cancerous spots on your skin may look irregular in shape or color or may change over time.
Sun damage causes a multitude of skin problems, from premature aging to skin cancer. To treat sun damaged skin, call Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.