You know that summer is here by the amount of people coming in to have examinations for moles. Obviously we have another good look at our skin when we put on our swimming shorts or bikini and it is then that we notice them.
Skin cancer is becoming increasingly common. It is the fastest growing cancer and each year there are tens of thousands of new cases. Sunlight is the biggest factor. I will explain below how a failure in cell growth can initiate early skin cancer: suspicious areas on the skin.
Last week my husband went on an annual trip with his “old” student friends. On his return (because, of course, we missed him so much…) the kids were waiting by the door to greet him with their banners, drawings, practiced dance routines, etc. When he eventually arrived home the children didn’t gave all their usual screams of joy. It was only our eldest, after a few minutes of silence, who dared to make the remark: “Papa you’re so red”. It turned out he’d spent a day on a sailing boat and hadn’t noticed anything due to the cold wind. Seriously burnt! After some harsh remarks (I write about the dangers of the sun daily, and this happens…) I did give him a few tips.
The report “self confidence from sun” was in the ‘Spits kopt’ last Monday. This emerged from market research on behalf of the tanning studio chain, Sunday’s. The comments made here were that, provided that you become tanned sensibly, there won’t be any health risks involved.
The illustrations show you how it is not only wrinkles that age the skin. Pigmentation also plays a role. The answer?
As Dr. Peter Velthuis wrote earlier in my blog, a suntan is “in”. For many people, during the winter months, that brown tan definitely comes from a sunbed. Unfortunately people don’t realise the risks they are taking by regularly using a sunbed.
The American plastic surgeon Dr. Antell photographed hundreds of twins in order to see what effects external factors (sun, stress, smoking) have on skin.
Everyone knows that burning is not good for your skin. There is clear evidence of a link between burning and the most dangerous form of skin cancer melanoma.
Because I know what the sun can do to skin I always smear lots of sun cream in. I don’t mind not having a ‘beautiful healthy brown colour’. This is actually your skin’s defence mechanism reacting to an excess amount of rays and is therefore not good at all! Really: most skin ageing is due to the sun. Apart from the fact that the sun accelerates the ageing process of your skin in the form of wrinkles and pigment spots, it also becomes less resilient (think about a golfer’s neck who is always out in the sun and gets to look leathery). This is, of course, a slow process. But unfortunately the benefits and advice given about sun creams and staying out of the sun are still taken, by many, with a pinch of salt.
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