Those who regularly read my blog know that my great passion is, not only skincare products but, in fact everything to do with keeping our skin healthy. And high up on the list is, of course, sun protection. Even though we haven’t seen much of the sun for a while and are desperate for some, it is good to first stop and think about sun protection. Because the sun can cause a lot of damage even in cloudy weather. We think that in the Netherlands it isn’t so dangerous, but hardly anywhere else (in Europe) has as much skin cancer as here. Furthermore, the numbers are increasing dramatically and we are seeing it in more and more younger people. Even though an estimated 90% of the skin cancer cases are preventable! Therefore: ‘Smear it All Over!!’
Here I am again! A bit later than normal, but this time I’ve got a good excuse. You see, I had to go to Miami for the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. This meeting is held once a year and you really need to attend it if you want to know the latest news in the field of (Cosmetic) Dermatology.
1000 and 1 good resolutions
Have you just signed in for yoga lessons, stopped smoking, is your freezer full of healthy power food? Then read the advice of Jeremy Dean if you want those good resolutions to last longer than just the month of January.
The year of the BB cream
In the land of cosmetics, 2012 was the year of the BB cream, and I expect that we will see more of the BB cream in 2013. But what actually is a BB cream? And does it work? It is about time we delved a little more into it…
A lesson in sun protection
If you read my blog regularly, then you will know how important I find protecting your skin against the sun. Too much sun causes not only wrinkles, pigmentation and sagging skin, but also skin cancer. Now, more people in the Netherlands are dying from skin cancer than road traffic accidents. Moreover, the number of people with skin cancer has increased dramatically! Protecting yourself in the sun from its dangers is always necessary, but especially in childhood when sun damage can cause an awful lot of harm. So isn’t it strange that our children receive lessons in “road safety”, but actually learn very little about the dangers of the sun. For example, did you know that if your child is badly sunburnt once, the chances of them getting melanoma (the most dangerous form of skin cancer) is increased by 50%? Using sun beds can also do an awful lot of damage. Regular use of a sun bed under the age of 35 increases the risk of skin cancer by up to 75%! It’s not for nothing that sun beds are banned in Brazil and some states in Australia…
My daughter doesn’t like fruit. I am embarrassed to admit this and I can’t understand it at all! It just isn’t possible with our genes, because the rest of our family devours kilos of apples, oranges, cherries and strawberries weekly. Three of my children even eat whole lemons (although that’s not my personal preference).
Itchiness and bumps through exposure to the sun can test your good mood. Many people who suffer from this think that they are allergic to the sun. However, this is often not the case; actual sun allergy ( also known as PMLE) is quite rare and the symptoms usually appear after a day (or even later) and remain for days afterwards.
I regularly give interviews about sun protection. And I am incredibly happy that I get the opportunity, as the more people that know how to protect themselves in the sun the better. Not only, of course, to prevent skin ageing, but also to stop the explosive increase in the number of people with skin cancer.
We aren’t going for the easy option today, instead we’re going to do this the hard way. No stories about how important it is to protect yourself against the sun, just big long lists of ingredients that you would rather forget about. However you do need to look through this… If you want to protect yourself properly against the sun and want to keep your skin nice and healthy it is essential that you select a good product. And for this you need to familiarise yourself with the ingredients list. I have already given you some examples of suitable products in “Help with Choosing Your Sun Cream”. It makes more sense to do your own researching. Maybe you’ll find much better creams than I have! If you take my list of do’s and don’ts with you I know for sure that you won’t go wrong. And then you can share it with us…
We are so excited by the discovery of the self tanner as an alternative to the damaging sun, and now the newspapers are full of reports that spray tan is possibly cancerous. Seeing as my inbox is full of questions from nervous users, I have got some more information in this blog about the safety of the self tanner.