Protecting Your Skin from the Sun
- Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause is urging fans to protect their skin from the sun every day to lower their risk of getting melanoma.
- Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, and with May kicking off the official start of summer, it’s time to be extra vigilant as temperatures heat up and pull people outside.
- A lot of people assume they only have to worry about harmful sun rays in the summer — but in reality, we should be protecting our skin all year round.
- Make sure to get in for your annual skin checks at the dermatologist, who may recommend coming in every six months, depending on your skin. In the meantime, you should check your body for any unusual spots or moles on your skin at least once a month. Any new spots on your skin or changes in size or color are worth alerting your doctor.
Melanoma is the most aggressive form of skin cancer, and with May kicking off the official start of summer, it’s time to be extra vigilant as temperatures heat up and pull people outside.
Read More“Protecting your skin is so important with so many people I know being affected by skin cancer. That’s why I think it’s so important to wear your SPF everyday, with stats showing it can actually decrease your chance of skin cancer by up to 50%.”
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Stause continued by sharing her partnership announcement with Naked Sundays, a multi-tasking sunscreen makeup brand, which donates a percentage of sales to melanoma research.
“Their sunscreens are made in Australia with the strictest sunscreen rules on the planet!”
Extra cautious about her health as of late, Stause had a scare last February, when she announced the surgical removal of an ovarian cyst, which was thankfully not cancerous.
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Staying ahead of a potential diagnosis by getting to the doctor to check out any unusual symptoms is always a good idea, especially with a family history of cancer.
How to Protect Your Skin from Cancer
As Stause notes, wearing sunscreen daily is an excellent way to protect your skin from harmful UV rays, which can cause skin cancer.
In an earlier interview, dermatologist Dr. Dendy Engleman outlined the top five ways to protect your skin:
- Avoid the sun during peak hours This means from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. It doesn’t mean you should never go outside during the middle of the day, but make sure you’re protected when you do venture outdoors.
- Cover your skin and eyes A wide brim hat and sunglasses will protect your face, the top of your head, your ears, and the delicate skin around your eyes.
- Wear an SPF of 30 or higher Plenty of facial moisturizers have SPF built into them. Reapply every few hours.
- Get an annual skin check You can check your own skin for anything that looks out of the ordinary, but you should still get a yearly check to make sure you didn’t miss anything. If you do happen to notice anything out of the ordinary in between checks, schedule an appointment to talk to your doctor about it ASAP it is always worth it to make sure.
- Avoid tanning beds This one is obvious … but just a reminder, tanning beds can significantly increase your risk of developing melanoma.
A lot of people assume they only have to worry about harmful sun rays in the summer — but in reality, we should be protecting our skin all year round.
Protecting Your Skin from Skin Cancer
“It’s a common misconception that people think they only have to protect their skin when they’re in the bright, warm sunshine,” said Dr. Engelman. “But the reality is, we can get sun damage at any time throughout the year … even in the cold, wintry months. If we’re unprotected for even fifteen minutes a day. If we think about the cumulative effects that has on our skin over a lifetime, it’s very real.”
Dr. Engelman compared taking care of our skin to the way we take care of our teeth. “We protect our teeth all the time, every day, twice a day … That’s the same concept as sunscreen. The more we do it, the more we’re protected, the more our risk is limited.”
If you’re looking for an easy way to lower your skin cancer risk, try incorporating it into your morning routine. A lot of facial moisturizers come with SPF built in — check the label on your’s and consider switching to an SPF 30 moisturizer if you’re not already using one.
Spotting Skin Cancer
You should check your body for any unusual spots or moles on your skin at least once a month. Any new spots on your skin or changes in size or color demand your attention.
Changes to a mole you’ve had for a while or a new growth on your skin could be signs of melanoma, according to SurvivorNet’s experts. Though these marks are unlikely to be cancerous, you’ll want to keep an eye on them and inform your doctor about any changes you notice.
WATCH: Get Your Moles Evaluated to Rule Out Melanoma
Melanoma is most likely to develop on sun-exposed skin, such as the face, neck, arms, and legs. Surprisingly, it might also develop in places that have never been exposed to the sun, such as the palms of your hands or soles of your feet, your eyes or mouth, or under your nails.
SurvivorNet experts describe melanoma symptoms as:
- A sore that doesn’t heal
- Color that spreads from the border of a spot to the skin around it
- Redness or swelling that goes beyond the area of a mole.
- Itchiness, tenderness, or pain
- A change in the way the surface of a mole looks.
- Scaliness, oozing, or blood
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you are diagnosed with skin cancer, it’s useful to write down questions to ask your doctor:
- What type of skin cancer do I have?
- What treatment options exist for this type of cancer?
- Will insurance cover this treatment?
- Would treatment through a clinical trial make sense to me?
- What resources exist to help manage my anxiety because of this diagnosis?
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.