May is Melanoma Awareness Month

“Always wear sunscreen! Skin can absorb the same amount of harmful UVA/UVB rays on a cloudy day as it does on a sunny day.”

It's Good for Your Health to Know about the Dark Side of the Sun

Skin cancer — including melanoma as well as basal and squamous cell carcinomas — is the most common of all cancer types. So we've collected some important information from our skin care specialist to help educate everyone on the importance of sun safety.

Did you know?

Having 5 or more sun burns doubles your risk for developing melanoma
Melanoma is not the only type of skin care we are at risk of developing due to sun exposure but it is the most aggressive form and spreads quickly
Only 20-30% of melanomas are detected in existing moles, 70-80% arise on normal looking skin

Some things we bet you didn't know!

I have SPF in my moisturizer or foundation, isn’t that good enough?

Simple answer, no its not.

It comes down to how much you need for proper protection. When a sunscreen is added to a moisturizer or a make up product it is heavily diluted. For proper face protection you need about two fingers worth of sunscreen and that is with an undiluted product. A) you would never apply that much moisturizer and definitely not that much foundation. B) you would need more than two fingers worth of product for a diluted SPF and now its just a waste of product. It is best practice for actual skin protection to find an SPF that wears nicely on your skin and apply it separately to all other products.

Where does SPF go in my routine?

SPF/sunscreen is what I like to call the page break of your routine. It goes on after your moisturizer and before makeup. To reapply throughout the day a powder SPF applies wonderfully over makeup and means you don’t have to put your hands on your face.

Why should I even wear SPF?

When used properly, an SPF 15 can lower your risk of developing melanoma by 50%. Not only does regular proper use of SPF lower your melanoma risk, it also help to prevent extrinsic aging signs such as brown spots, wrinkles and sagging.

What does the number on SPF even mean?

SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. This means that if you properly wear an SPF 30 it would take 30 times longer to burn than if you were not wearing sunscreen at all. The number is not indicative of strength of the product.

May is Melanoma Awareness Month

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