simply jeanne B

Spring has sprung, folks, and that means we’ll all be spending more time outside. Ahhh, it’s a great feeling to have the sun warm your face!

When I was little I couldn’t wait to run around outside in the sun in my bare feet (and get the occasionally bee sting) and swim at the local pool. On my first visit to the pool, I’d come home with a blistering sunburn and be doomed to wearing a white t-shirt over my bathing suit the rest of the summer. If only we’d heard of sunscreen . . .

Did you know that ultraviolet rays are on the government’s known carcinogen list and that skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States? We may think of sun exposure and tanning as a luxury of our idle youth, but adults over 40 actually have the highest exposure to ultraviolet rays and Caucasian men over 50 have the highest incidence of melanoma.

If cancer doesn’t scare you, how about wrinkles? Up to 90% of the signs of aging on our skin are due to sun exposure.  The signs can be wrinkles, age spots, and tough leathery skin.  Not a pretty picture.

Luckily, the solution is pretty simple – wear sunscreen. Wearing a sunscreen with at least SPF15 will go a long way to protecting your beautiful skin.  Just make sure you wear it every day. Even cloudy days will allow about 2/3 of the sun’s rays to come through.  And if your in the sun for extended periods, sunscreen needs to be applied every two hours to be effective. Don’t be skimpy either, it takes about an ounce of sunscreen to cover your entire body and get the desired protection. For good measure – remember your hat, sunglasses, water, and coverup.

Worried that if you wear sunscreen you’ll miss out on your vitamin D?  Just 10-15 minutes of sun, twice a week, without sunscreen should give you enough sun exposure to get your vitamin D fix.

Now go out and soak up some sun – just remember your sunscreen!

Listen: Here Comes the Sun