Sunscreen indredients and important facts on skin cancer

In my last article, I told you I'd let you know more about sunscreens and facts I have found useful.

My Melanoma specialist mentioned ingredients that need to be in your sunscreens.

In your facial sunscreens he told me his number one ingredient would be Avobenzone aka..Parsol 1789.  Then he mentioned Zinc oxide then Titanium dioxide.  I am a Mary Kay consultant and he said the recommed our sunscreens all the time.  It's oil free and won't sting your eyes and it's fragrance free, so you can wear it in tropical locales and spritz your favorite fragraces over it and not smell like a coconut.  An SPF rating is only for the UVA rays.  The key to remembering which one is which, is

UVA= aging rays and UVB= burning rays.

I asked him why there was an epidemic of shin cancer now as opposesd to our ancestors who were farmers.  He said if you look at our great-grandparents  in pictures, there were wearing long sleeves and pants and wearing hats.  True!  He also said that we are covered up (at least here in Michigan)9 months out of the year and then we go out in skimpy clothes and try to tan our pale, pale skin.  True.  I asked him aobut the African Americans in the Melanoma clinic and he said that  anyone can get skin cancer.  He said that if you notice their palms, lips and bottom of their feet, there is not color.  If they can get skin cancer, andy one darker than me (blonde hair blue eyes, ivory skin tone)can get skin cancer!

With your moles, if they change at all, in size, shape, and color, go to your doctor.  If they itch or bleed, YOU MUST SEE YOUR DOCTOR!!!  I read once that if everyone had every spot that looked suspicious checked  out, there would be no skin cancer epidemic. 

Now that I have head Melanom, I found out thta my boys are at a 75% risk of getting Melanoma before age 18.  That is scary to me and should be to all parents out there.  I recently read that skin cancer is the number one cancer death in women in their 20's and 30's, because of the tanning beds.  Then I read, that tanning beds are so popular because people are addicted.  I thought, Addicted?  It went on to say that tanning releases endorphins and that since you feel good after tanning, you want to go more often, and can become addicted.  Scary!

I think I have covered most of what I know and have presented at least a half dozen times for Mary Kay directors and consultants.  They have told me afterwards that this is helpful, I hope you find it helpful as well.