Sunscreen

Yes, we should all wear sunscreen, every single day. 


I have had skin cancer, basal cell. 


My mother had malignant melanoma. My father in law too, it is a deadly form of cancer, in fact, it causes more deaths than any other form of cancer.


I am usually a cheery person, but I am writing this just to tell you that you really need to check out the sunscreen you use! We all fall for the marketing or a brand that we have always used, and we need to ensure, for our own safety, that we are using a good product that will protect us.


Many (25%) of sunscreens studied contain retinyl palmitate, which research suggests increases the growth of skin tumors on sun-exposed skin, and more than half offer weak UVA protection and 56 have no UVA protection at all. Also, the Sun Protection Factor rating (SPF) relates only to the UVB sun-rays that turn your skin red, not the UVA rays that leave no mark but can also cause cancer.


The Environmental Working Group has an amazing guide detailing what to look for in a  sunscreen.


They also have an online sunscreen guide, so you can search to find the effectiveness of your sunscreen and also find out if it contains retinyl palmitate.  We all want to do what's best for our bodies, but then to think that we may be slathering ourselves with a checmial that could potentially increase of chances of cancer, well it just makes sense to check out your products. Especially f you have small children- they count on you to keep them safe, do what's best for them!


I have been using some sunscreens that received a fairly poor rating, I won't be using them any longer. I recently visited my dermatologist to have some Actinic Keratosis on my face removed cryogenically. Painful, but necessary due to the extensive amount of sun damage that occurred to my skin when I was younger. I am now using the sunscreen he gave me......


Take a few minutes to check out the sunscreen you use, it could save your life.