How Not to Get Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is one of the leading causes of death since the look of getting a tanned skin is attractive. It is shown in magazines and online resources that the look is “in” despite getting too much sun exposure could increase the risk of getting skin cancer. Unfortunately, it is one of those silent deaths that happen no matter how old you are. At one time, a magazine called “Cosmopolitan” did an expose about a young woman who died of it at the age of 26. She was addicted to using the tanning booth which causes an early death.

Kids learn from their parents so it is important to teach them the proper way to protect themselves; such as using a sunscreen, wear a hat that covers the face and neck, and sunglasses. The sunglasses should have lens that are UV protected in order to decrease the chances of getting an eye cancer or other eye problems later on down the road.

When it comes to sunscreen, it should be at least SPF 15 or higher because anything lower than that is not effective against the UV rays. Look out for the ingredients such as zinc oxide and titanium oxide since they protect you from the UVB rays. But for the UVA rays, look for benzoophenones, oxybenzone, dioxybenzone and avobenzone since they absorb them. Look for the ones that would protect you from UVA and UVB rays which can cause skin damage for long term exposure without any of the two protections. There are sunscreens that you can get without any parabens which costs more than the cheaper version. And studies show that parabens do cause skin cancer due to the chemicals when you apply them to the skin.

Burt’s Bees, Vivesana and Coolibar are a couple of the companies that offer paraben free sunscreens. You can get them either by ordering online or at your local beauty and drug stores. However, it is also a good idea to find the ones that are waterproof since you would be sweating as well. It should be easily washable too.