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Don’t wait for your skin to sunburn to save it!

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Does your skin like the sun? Do you burn easily?

We’ve finally had some warm sunny days in Wisconsin and that means getting our very pale-skinned, ghostly white bodies out to catch some rays.

Unfortunately, we usually catch some sunburn, too. There’s nothing sexier than looking like a lobster!

Burning your skin is a good way to make your skin age faster and subject yourself to dangerous skin cancers. It’s well known that what you put INTO your body can affect your risks of getting many forms of cancer.

But not everyone knows that what you put ON your skin can also impact your cancer risks – especially skin cancer.  With summer in full swing, we’ll take a look at premature aging from too much exposure to the sun.  Taking care of your skin is critical to looking younger and helping prevent skin cancer.

Best Ways to Protect Your Skin from the Sun

What’s your first line of defense in protecting your skin from over exposure to the sun?

If you’re like most people you’ll grab the sun screen. An entire generation of people have been told that sunscreen is the best way to prevent skin cancer and we’ve been using it religiously on ourselves and our children for decades.

But according to the National Cancer Institue, more than a million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed every year in the US alone. Wow – pretty staggering statistic! So with all the emphasis on using sun screen and staying out of the sun, you’d think skin cancer would be on the decline! What’s wrong here?

Is the sun screen giving us skin cancer?

Do you know what’s really in the sunscreen you use?

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) came out with their 2011 Sunscreen  Report and what it says may get under your skin!  Here are a few alarming facts from the report:

  • The FDA said it didn’t have any real data that using sunscreen alone helped prevent skin cancer. (REALLY?! So what’s the point?)
  • For some people, sunscreens may in fact, contribute to some deadly forms of skin cancer.
  • Too little sun could cause problems – we need Vitamin D.  (We’ll examine how much sun is safe in another blog later this June.)
  • European sunscreen products are better than products here in the US.
  • And here’s the one that may really burn you…..There are brands that carry the Skin Cancer Foundation seal which should make the product good, right? Not so fast! Did you know, companies who want to have the seal of approval foundation logo on their product are required to first make a $10,000 “donation” to join their “corporate council?”

Sounds more like a bribe! No wonder they made the EWG Hall of Shame!!  This isn’t very reassuring as you lather your skin with these not so healthy lotions and creams, is it?

Fortunately, there are anti-aging things you can do to protect yourself from the harmful effects of the sun and Natural Healthy Concepts has a healthy bounty of products to protect the outside of you as well as the inside!

The easiest and cheapest way to protect yourself from the sun is to wear a wide-brimmed hat and adequately cover your skin with clothing. Not exactly the coolest way to enjoy the outdoors – but it works!

Your next step in protecting yourself,  is a non-toxic, healthy, sunscreen.  According to the EWG article, mineral-based products are best, and one common ingredient you should avoid in your sunscreen is oxybenzone. It’s a potential hormone disrupter, can cause allergic reactions, it really penetrates the skin, and shouldn’t be used on children.

Enough said!

If you haven’t found a good sunscreen yet, you’ve come to the right place! You can choose the  EWG highly rated Miessence Outdoor Balm for yourself and Alba Botanica’s Very Emollient Sunblock for Kids.

And don’t forget to protect your skin every day from premature aging, not just while you’re at the beach. Your skin benefits from minerals, just like your body does, and wearing moisturizers and make-up that protects your skin from UV rays like the Miessence Mineral Foundation serve not only as a healthy defense against skin cancer, they’ll keep you looking younger, too!

You’re busy taking care of everyone else – isn’t it time you took care of YOU?  Don’t wait for your skin to sunburn to save it!