According to the CDC, approximately 5 million people are treated yearly for skin cancer. This number could be much lower if people took the time to wear sunscreen daily, throughout the year.
Most people tend to think it is only necessary to wear sunscreen during the summer, sunny months. Many people also do not reapply throughout the day and believe that applying sunscreen once in the morning is enough to protect them all day. These are common misconceptions. You should be wearing sunscreen all year long! Even when you think it is not very sunny, the sun’s UV rays are still strong enough to have negative effects on your skin. When used correctly, sunscreen can drastically lower the chances of developing skin cancer or even prevent it completely.
Some helpful tips:
- Apply sunscreen as a part of your daily, morning routine
- Keep sunscreen in your purse or beach bag for easy access to reapply throughout the day
- Reapply every hour if you are swimming or sweating a lot
- Wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays
- Look for face makeup that contains SPF – Many normal face creams and makeup products now contain SPF, which will make remember to apply much easier!
- Limit spending time in the sun between 10 AM and 2 PM. The sun’s rays are the strongest at this point. If you are out during this time, try to spend some time under an umbrella or covered up.
- Lastly, stay away from tanning beds!
Follow these tips to make sure that you do not ever have to deal with the dark side of the sun!
Written by Bridget Horgan with contributions from www.cdc.gov
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