08.03.2015

I Choose Skin Health

Because healthy skin isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity…

The other day I was having dinner with a friend and she jokingly teased me about she gets a real “kick” out of all my Instagram and blog posts on how much sunscreen I wear, and how I constantly preach about it. At first I thought she was saying it was a little too much and I got kind of defensive. “Well, I mean, it’s REALLY important…and it has affected me personally,” I quipped back. “I know, I know,” she replied. “I just mean that it’s actually really cool that you care so much.”

And I really DO care that much. Last month my younger sister was diagnosed with stage one melanoma and, given that I lost both my grandmother and aunt to the disease, and the fact that my sister doesn’t spend much time outside, it was obviously pretty shocking. While it’s true that some people (like myself) clearly have some genetic pre-disposition to skin cancer, it’s also VERY preventable for everyone…even for people like me (e.g. have the genetic curse AND super fair, freckly skin).

The key to not getting skin cancer is easy: educating yourself.

Neutrogena, a brand that I honestly love, created the Neutrogena Choose Skin Health campaign for this exact reason: they want to educate people on the importance of sun safety and also create more awareness around skin cancer. It’s actually kind of amazing how many people still think that you don’t need to wear sunscreen because “vitamin D is good for you.” And how many people think that putting sunscreen on once in the morning, before a long day at the beach, is totally enough SPF—Yep, that last one just happened to me in real life.

The video below features Dr. Joshua Zeichner, NYC board-certified dermatologist, where he shares the inside scoop on how he shops for sunscreen, and provide tips on how you can navigate the seemingly confusing sunscreen aisle and, I’ll admit it, the sunscreen aisle can be a bit overwhelming. There are so many options, and you really do need to know what you’re looking for…which is why this video is helpful.  Dr. Zeichner touches upon some common questions that he gets from his patients: Is sunscreen safe?  How do I know if I’m using enough? How do I choose a sunscreen?

Watch it. Share it.

This post was sponsored by Neutrogena but all opinions are my own, as per usual!

photo of me by Sylvia G.