Happy Don't Fry Day!
For those headed out for some fun in the sun this weekend, USA Today has published a useful rundown of the most popular sunscreens based on a survey conducted by Consumer Reports. In addition to providing a handy shopping list, the report also includes some alarming facts. The two that stuck out most to me: About a third of Americans say they never wear sunscreen and 27% of parents with kids under 12 say they never or only sometimes apply sunscreen to their children when they are outside two to four hours.
I happen to be a pretty light shade of pale. With fair skin, blue eyes and blond hair, I tend to attract sunburn. And I'm embarrassed to say that in the past, I welcomed it with a "bring it on" attitude. In fact, I've spent many Memorial Day weekends soothing that bright red first burn of the season with aloe and thinking that maybe this would be the summer I'd end up with the perfect golden tan.
Perhaps it is an indication of growing older and wiser, the fear of a family history of skin cancer, or my impending motherhood and overall interest in being more responsible, but this year, I think my summer style will be slathered in sunscreen and covered with a hat.
How's this for motivation for changing your ways? The Skin Cancer Foundation reports that a person's risk for melanoma--the most serious form of skin cancer--doubles if he or she has had five or more sunburns. One blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence more than doubles a person's chances of developing melanoma later in life. And the American Cancer Society estimated that in 2008 there were 8,420 fatalities from melanoma in the
So before you hit the beach, baseball game or barbeque this weekend, take a few minutes to apply some
(Image from Skin Cancer Foundation)
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