One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime. Think about that for a second. Out of you and your four girlfriends, one of you will end up with skin cancer. Do I have your attention? Today is Melanoma Monday, which is a day dedicated to skin cancer awareness, so as a beauty writer, it would be a sin if I didn't preach and if you've been following BeautySweetSpot for a while, you know I also practice what I preach.
According to a Poshly survey, only 27% of women say they wear sunscreen every day, 30% say they try to apply daily, but forget. You guys, SPF is your holy grail – year round! You wouldn't forget to brush your teeth right? When choosing a SPF you need to look for three things:
- Make sure it's a 15 or 30 - Anything higher than a SPF 30 is just marketing and anything lower isn't giving you the proper protection you need.
- Look for the words "Water Resistant" - And remember, "water resistant" is great, but it doesn't mean waterproof. As a rule of thumb, reapply your SPF every two hour when in the sun and every 40 minutes when in the water.
- UVA & UVB protection are essential - Most SPF's are fully equipped with both types of protection.
Of course with all of the skin cancer awareness materials out there, you have the knowledge to be able to practice safe sun. You can also support the Melanoma Research Alliance through L'Oreal's "That Worth It Thunderclap" campaign. Check it out. On May 20th, they want the whole world sending the message of safe sun and it's really easy to do. For every message sent, L'Oréal Paris will make a donation to MRA of $1 and $1 for each L’Oréal Paris Advanced Suncare product sold in the U.S. I already signed up!
