#Live Right at Night: Sun Bathing Safely
Ladies, I hope you are having a fabulous and sunny summer involving lots of fun and as Kimora would say: “Fabulosity”!! It’s summer time and as I pen this week’s entry for Live Right at Night (which is more of a Live Right All Weekend Long) I’m actually on vacay myself I have to admit that this week I need to take my own advice…It’s confession time:
I am an addict … A sun addict that is. I admit it! I love the sun .. There I’ve said. I was born in Australia and lived down under and loved playing outside till my hair turned light brown and blonde. Even as a teenager there was nothing that brightened my spirit more than feeling the warmth of the sun’s rays on my face. One of my best friend’s mom was a doctor and used to tell us that getting some sun even at a tanning booth was good for us and released endorphins .. so duh, following the doctor’s orders we ran with that idea. I worshipped and laid out in the sun on numerous beach vacays until one year after returning from Jamaica I had burns on my face that my dermatologist referred to as “sun damage.” What? All I heard was damage… You mean like wrinkles? Scars? Permanent? Now at the time this occurred I was a medical student, and clearly knew all about skin cancer.. but I kept thinking not me, I mean “black don’t crack” My mom and my grandmother look fabulous! I also kept thinking, well “black people” don’t get skin cancer! But yes, they do.
My relationship with the sun has grown up as I’ve grown over the years and although I still love it and enjoy sitting out on a beach I’ve learned that the skin I’ve got today is the skin I’m gonna have tomorrow and forever, so I have to love and treat it right. Finally, I listen to my mom who has been screaming at me for years to “wear a hat!” Fact ladies: There are tons of cute and sexy wide-brimmed hats out there these days to match your fashionable swimwear. I also use sunscreen. Epicuren is one of my personal faves. It’s made with honey and rubs nicely into your skin without feeling greasy or heavy. I also use it on my face. The great thing about their line is that they even have a product with Zinc Oxide that rubs in clear without the white chalky ghostly look.
Now if you have a weak moment and just have-to sit out and get a little tanned up (which I’m not condoning) then the Maui Babe’s Browning lotion is my ultimate favorite lotion. And if you lay out and get just a bit too crispy then I recommend Epicuren’s Noni Elixir. It works really well to calm burns of any kind including sunburns, and also soothes bug bites (which I seem to get everywhere I go) so it’s truly multi-purpose!
We’re in this 12-step program of weaning ourselves from the sun together ladies! To begin, let’s start out strong and make sure to use a moisturizer with SPF everyday. Little changes now in our sun loving habits will make a big difference later! Your skin and mine will thank me later.
Smooches from Turks and Caicos,
Dr. V