I have to admit, I still don’t wear sunscreen like I should. I work in the yard for a couple of hours and I end up looking as red as the tomatoes I was working on. Big deal…right? Right. It is a big deal because now I have frequent flyer miles at my dermatologist from all the basel cell carcinoma spots she has taken off. It all started in the early 1970s when we all used Tanning Butter to get as dark brown as possible. It was cool back then, man! My teachers would exclaim, “What did you do over the summer!?” I worked landscaping and made great money, 10 times the normal teen my age. But I’m paying for it now. Every couple of years I go in to my dermatologist to get things cut off (so much for making all that money). So now what can I do about my past indiscretions?

Identifying Signs of Skin Cancer

First, I make sure to keep an eye on those spots that show up that could be cancer. I use the ABC’s of skin cancer as my guide. The ‘A’ stands for asymmetrical. If the spot is something other than nice and round it is strike one. The ‘B’ stands for boarders. If the spot melts in and out of the surrounding skin and the boarders are not defined, it’s strike two. The ‘C’ stands for color. If the spot is not evenly colored, or worse, changes color over time then it’s strike three!

Second, I now wear sunscreen whenever possible.  However I don’t like that sticky, oily feeling so I use a powdered sunscreen. What… a powder? Yep, I use Sunforgettable by Colorescience. It comes in a small round case with an applicator brush. I pull off the cap, brush it on the back of my neck, arms, ears and face then put it back in my pocket.  Being a powder, it doesn’t melt in my pocket and doesn’t make my skin feel gooey. This is not a makeup that will make you look like your girl. It works by having the particulates mechanically block the sun’s rays from getting to the skin. Sure, I get stares and ribbing from the buddies, but by noon on the slopes they are all asking to try it out!