When I was a child, I played outside all summer. I never worried about suntans or sunburns or sunscreen.
In my teen years the "tan" became my great goal. Again, I never worried about sunburns or sunscreen. In fact, most of us mixed iodine with baby oil and used it to promote our tans. The darker the tan, the better. Of course, I had brown hair with a lot of red highlights, which gave me the fair skin of a redhead. The only way I was ever going to get that "tan" is if all the freckles joined hands. Only once, after a vacation in Florida, did I ever come close to a real tan. But that didn't stop me from trying.
Of course, now I wish I had been more sensible. I started being more sensible in my 30s and began using sunscreen. My skin had suffered a lot of sun damage, but I figured it was better to start protecting it late in life rather than not at all.
However, after today's report, I'm not sure what to think. This report is something every student and parent should read because the sunscreens we're using may be doing more damage than good. The first paragraph of the article reads:
Almost half of the 500 most popular sunscreen products may actually increase the speed at shich malignant cells develop and spread skin cancer because they contain vitamin A or its derivatives, according to an evaluation of those products released today.
Of the products tested by researchers at Environmental Working Group, only 39 of the 500 were considered safe and effective. The best and most effective methods for preventing sun damage are still hats, clothes, and shade.
To find how your sunscreen rates, go to http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/.
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