I don't know about about you, but today it reached 90 degrees here in Baltimore and I am welcoming it. As a lover of hot weather it couldn't come soon enough. With the hot weather it seems we all want to spend as much time outside as possible. I'm first in line to take Paddington the poodle to the dog park, run along the harbor, and walk to the local restaurant or coffee shop. At the risk of sounding like what has to be a broken record, we do need to always remember our sunscreen.
Like many Midwestern girls I spent my summers drinking in the few months of sun we are blessed with laying out at the pool, or in the backyard with little to no sunscreen. Let's face it SPF 4 while it's better than nothing, isn't doing us any favors. I also went to gasp..... a tanning bed for years. Now, at just 31 years old I'm already paying the price.
A few years ago I started noticing hyperpigmentation in the form of what you may of heard of referred to melasma. Melasma is known as the Pregnancy Mask, due to it's presence in many pregnant woman and in post pregnancy, thanks to our raging hormones. I've never been pregnant but yes, this can occur with the use of birth control pills and is exacerbated by sun exposure. What's worse is these spots of darker skin, are now permanent and won't ever completely go away. Fortunately, I started wearing a great sunscreen on my face each day, we're talking 30 spf here people, which helps to prevent it from worsening.
This was a great wake up call for me and I feel so lucky to have learned my lesson before skin cancer and tons of wrinkles descended upon me. I am able to cover it completely with great mineral foundation (which also contains sunscreen) and all I have to endure is my husband calling me "patches".
So, I am trying to embrace my naturally fair skin and be kind to my body this summer. I hope you'll protect your skin and do the same!
No comments:
Post a Comment