Fairface Podcast Episode 10: Sunscreen Diaries Part 1
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Fairface Podcast transcript / show notes
Sunscreen Diaries Part 1
Hello my friends! I hope you are all doing well. Here in WA state we haven't been able to completely open up all areas, activities and businesses yet, but we are slowly rolling out changes and I hope it's the same where you live.
Special Message in support of Black Lives Matter
At this time in the world, I'm recording this on June 8, 2020, and as for most of us, this has been a really emotional couple of weeks, with senseless deaths and brutality that have sparked both peaceful protesters and destruction in our cities.
I think we are all just trying to make sense of it. I pray every day for peace to return to our communities and that people will be more loving and more understanding of each other and treat each other with mutual respect and equality. It's easy to feel the things in my heart that I believe, but sometimes it's much harder to know how to say them, in a way that will be received in the way that I mean them. Sometimes it's easier to say nothing, in order not to say it wrong, or in hopes of not offending anyone, but then our voices of support aren't heard either.
I have learned a lot this past week as I have taken time to listen, learn and self-reflect. And just so I'm clear, I do believe that black lives matter. I believe that all lives of all people of color matter. I have grown up with a knowledge and belief that we are all children of God and are equal no matter our differences no matter our color, race, religion or background and that is what I believe and how I try to live. I'm not perfect, and I know that I've made mistakes, but I will try to do better. I am more aware now. I will keep listening and learning and trying to be as supportive and inclusive as I can so that my behavior will reflect how I feel, it will reflect my support and love for all human beings.
I sincerely hope that positive changes will be permanent and we will all learn the lessons we're supposed to learn through all of this. And that the people who do feel discriminated against or less-than will find freedom from all of that as we come together as brothers and sisters who are equal in the eyes of God and through each others eyes as well.
So that is my hope, my prayer and what I believe and I just wanted to share that with you.
INTERLUDE
My Dysfunctional Relationship with Sunscreen
Today I want to talk to you about the most important thing you can do for your skin. There are so many important things you can do, but if you're not doing this thing, you may as well not be doing all the other good things, in my opinion.
I'm talking about Sunscreen. It's one of my favorite things to talk about, besides soft washcloths, because it is SO important for the health and appearance of your skin!
Now, I'm not going to say that I've had a perfect relationship with sunscreen, because I haven't.
When I was about 7 or 8 years old, my family went to Disneyland for the first time. It was a magical, amazing place, but also the place of my first blistering sunburn on my sweet little unprotected shoulders. I know. The exact opposite of what you want.
Now keep in mind, this was the 70's and sunscreen wasn't really talked about or encouraged like it is today. Back at that time and even growing up, advertisements for a Coppertone Tan were really popular - it was all about getting the best tan - and these advertisements even went so far as to say getting a tan was healthy for your skin. I know, scary. I don't remember ever seeing commercials for sunscreen back then. It was all about how to get tan without getting burned (which for me and my fair skin just wasn't possible).
I remember one summer when I was around 12 or 13, my friend and I went to a pool at a hotel they were staying in while their house was being renovated and we swam all afternoon. It was so much fun, until we got out of the pool for the last time, and realized we were both burned to a crisp. I remember vividly how hot I felt and that we both laid on the beds in the hotel room with cold, wet washcloths draped all over our bodies, hoping somehow to find relief.
Flash forward to age 16 and a family trip to Honolulu. If I could give the trip a title, it would be "Baking on the Beach". I know. I'm not kidding. Now, don't get me wrong, it was an awesome vacation and one that I have many happy memories of.
But the thing is, the other members of my family love being out in the sun. They all tan. I joke that I'm the only one who got my grandpa's fair skin and that is true. I also don't like being hot. I really just have a different relationship with the sun than the rest of my family does, but still, this was Hawaii, and it was absolutely beautiful. I remember how good it smelled, how good the air felt, it just had kind of a magical feel about it. And when you're in Hawaii, generally you spend time at the beach or at least outside.
I remember the day that we went to Waikiki beach and we're walking out on the hot sand and I'm thinking, hmmm, there is no shade anywhere...and there are no umbrellas...but, there we go, walking with our towels out to find a spot among all the people on the beach.
Now by this time, we're in the late 80's, or mid-80's I guess, and the promotions of coconut oils at this time were huge - I do love the smell of those coconut oils though, they smell so good, but there was still not a lot of promotion of sunscreen. And of course, you can't go to Hawaii and come back pale (that's what I told myself), as I layed unprotected under the blazing hot sun, baking like a pan of white sheet cake. Yah, that was me.
It didn't take long for me to get really hot and really burned. But where could I go? I was literally on a long sandy beach, with hoards of people, no shade in sight, under the hot Hawaiian sun. We have pictures of me, of all of us sitting there on the beach, but there I was, covered in beach towels, to avoid getting more burned. I didn't look comfortable. That's real. It was hot under those towels, but at least I was covering my skin in those places, at that time.
Unfortunately for me, I did get very sunburned. So burned, in fact, that my arm swelled up and I couldn't straighten it. Literally, every move I made was uncomfortable. Even walking next to a car's exhaust felt like fire shooting out on my legs. I don't remember whether we even had sunscreen I could have put on. So the rest of the trip you could see me in pictures, bight red skin, cradling my arm in the perma-bent position...which sadly, if I was still in the sun, I was technically still burning my skin. Burn on top of burn.
Oh, and I can't forget going in to the convenience store in Honolulu and I was walking down the aisle, and I remember asking my mom, "What does it mean when you see black spots in front of your eyes?" Yikes! She quickly sat me down at the pharmacy and asked if they had any ice water. I think I had heat exhaustion, or was at least close to it. Or maybe I was just really, really dehydrated. My poor little body was burned up. What on earth?
Well, I read up on that, and it turns out, when you get a bad sunburn, the heat can increase the flow of blood to your skin and rush to your legs, which can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure. So I don't know if that's what was happening to me. It can lead to feeling light-headed and faint. As we know, heat exhaustion is a serious condition that can also lead into heatstroke if it's not treated. That was a doozie.
Through the rest of my high school years, yes, I too, tried tanning beds thinking if I got burned in a tanning bed that it wasn't like being in the sun because it was a machine. I know, hello. Honestly, that whole sunscreen, getting burned, getting tan, covering up, where you can get sun, what's ok, it was all very confusing - and companies and the media just didn't education us like they do now - so there were a lot of mixed messages.
The Sunscreen Song that brought me to my senses
You might remember the song by Baz Luhrmann I think his last name was, it came out in around '97 or '98 that was called Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen, the lyrics were taken from that famous essay — that gave great advice for life, I just remember it starts out saying, "Ladies and gentlemen of the class of '97, wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. Long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proven by scientists..."
Check it out on Youtube. It's kind of fun to listen to. That's the first time that wearing sunscreen stuck out to me. It felt like the first time I'd really been hit over the head about how important it was to wear sunscreen, from this little song.
I eventually did try self tanners, which some of you probably have done, but honestly, they smelled so bad and some of them even made my skin itch and get rashy, so that wasn't fun. And it was kind of orange, it's never going to be the real tan color, which for my pale skin, I don't really know what that would look like. I remember my cousins used to put shoe polish on their legs instead of self-tanner, which made me laugh, but who knows, maybe I should have tried it!
For the rest of my young adult years, until I was probably around 27 years old, I don't remember wearing much sunscreen. I know, I cringe. I'm not happy about that. I used to even get heat rash on my skin, sometimes, where my skin would get red itchy bumps that itched like crazy and it was really embarrassing to have that all over my skin and I would try to hide my hands, arms and it even showed up on my feet.
Really, it's so sad to think back at how much I could have helped myself, how much sun damage I could have prevented, if I had just worn sunscreen.
Forget the past, just start wearing sunscreen now
It wasn't until I went to graduate school where I met a girl (who eventually became one of my roommates) who had lovely porcelain skin. And I found out she wore sunscreen on her face every day. I remember being surprised by that since I hadn't ever really thought about doing that, and I think I even asked her why she did it? I don't remember what her explanation was, but something about that struck me and I started to wear sunscreen on my face. I can't remember if that's when I started using Eucerin daily spf 30 or if it was something else, but I think that's what she wore and so that's what I started wearing on my skin. And I have used that sunscreen on my face every day since then.As far as all those years I didn't wear sunscreen, I know I did damage. The Skin Cancer website says most skin damage is done before the age of 18 and I know I did myself a doozie, many times. I have lots of freckles on my arms and hands. I have weird spots that have appeared on my skin. I have damaged pores that no longer know how to function properly because of sun damage. I know people in their 40's that are suddenly aware of strange things happening to their skin and don't know where it came from. I long to be back at a time where I could prevent all of this, where I could turn back the clock and start wearing sunscreen every day since I was young, but I can't, so I just try to do what I can now.
That's one thing I think that sets people back sometimes, it's worrying about not having protected their skin all this time so they think, I give up, there's no reason to start now.
But that is simply not true. You just need to let the past go. There are things we can't change, we can't go back. There are treatments that can be done to help ease the wear and tear we've put our skin through. Every day you wear sunscreen you are preventing future skin damage from showing up on your skin years from now. It matters.
If there's one thing you learn from this podcast episode, it is to start wearing sunscreen today. And wear it every day. Don't worry about what you have or haven't done in the past, just start today and never look back.
I remember hearing an interview with Paula, from Paula's Choice Skincare and she was asked, "What is the best sunscreen?" and her answer was: "The one that you'll wear." She has often stated it is the number one thing you need to be putting on your skin.
I was also listening to a skin care podcast, I think it was Pure Skin Talk, which I've mentioned before, that said something like, there is no reason to try to fix existing damage if you are not, first, protecting future damage from existing.
Ok, so now you know my horrible history with sunscreen, now lets talk about how to protect your skin with some great sunscreens.
How to protect your sensitive skin from sun damage
I see wearing sunscreen like this:
Applying Sunscreen essentially creates a barrier or a block between the sun's damaging rays and your skin. So, if you were dressed head-to-toe in clothing that blocked all UVB/UVA rays, you would be 100% protected from sun damage. You'd also be really hot and not living a normal life.
So the next best thing, to being all covered up, is to block the sun's damaging rays with something that can be smoothed on the skin - think of it like a really thin cloth. The thicker the ointment or cloth, and higher spf, the higher level of protection we get.
I've tried some pretty chalky, thick sunscreens in my time. I can't remember the SPF number that I've gone up to, it's been high, maybe 85? I don't know, and the sunscreen was THICK, maybe I even did 100, I don't know. I wear the thick stuff when I'm going to spend a day at the beach, because who want's to have "Baking on the Beach" in Waikiki part 2? No thank you, I certainly don't.
My Beach Day Sunburn Prevention Routine
So I slather myself with thick sunscreen, I wear a wide brimmed hat, I wear polarized sunglasses to prevent glare, I bring bring lots of water and ice packs, and even extra spray sunscreen that I can spray on top of my existing sunscreen if I've been out for a while. We even have a chair that has an attached...it's a covering, not really an umbrella, but it has a nice kind of umbrella thing that shoots up over the chair to block the sun, which is really nice when it's really hot out, and pretty much I have all the comforts of not burning myself even a little bit when I'm sitting out in the sun.
Unless you find that spot, which I always have a spot, that the sunscreen accidentally rubbed off like, sometimes it happens on my feet. Like I've slathered my feet with sunscreen and then I slip my sandals on while my feet were still wet so that somehow I get this burned spot on my foot...yah, that happens, I don't know why. I keep trying to prevent that. But in my slathered state, I feel a cross between sticky and happy because I know that I'm protecting my skin but I see myself a bit like a senior citizen at an assisted living pool party. But I'm embracing it but I know I kind of stand out sometimes. You see people that are basking in the sun and then there's me sitting in the sun but all covered up with all sorts of protection that I can find. But it works, and I don't get burned anymore and I haven't let myself get burned for a long time and that feels good.
When I worked at the elementary school, one of the kids arrived and immediately sniffed out my sunscreen and loudly questioned, "Ok, who's got on sunscreen?" It totally made me laugh, and I answered, "It will always be me." ha, it really will be.
Okay, sorry I jumped back into sunscreen diaries, lets get back to the nitty gritty of sunscreen.
What is SPF?
A basic question that always comes up is, What is SPF?I found a great article explaining SPF, which I will link in the show notes, from The Skin Cancer Foundation.
I feel really inadequate trying to summarize this great article because it is written by a dermatologist and photobiologist, but basically, the SPF number on sunscreen refers foremost to the level of UVB protection it gives. Since UVA rays also cause skin damage, you want a sunscreen that provides full spectrum protection.
The SPF number basically tells you this: If you were in the sun wearing SPF 30, it would take you 30 times longer to get a sunburn than if you weren't wearing any sunscreen at all. If you were wearing only an SPF of 15, it would take you 15 times longer to get a sunburn than if you weren't wearing any sunscreen at all; whereas, if you were wearing SPF 50, it would take you 50 times longer to get a sunburn, and so on.
Did I confuse you yet? Please read the article if you want to hear their words explaining it. Like I said, I will link it. It was really good, it's a short article and they explain it well enough that you can kind of wrap your head around. They do say that it's more complicated than just saying SPF 30, so if what I said didn't help, head to the article.
The author also mentioned in that article, that even when you wear SPF exactly as indicated, you still get a small percentage of UV rays hitting your skin. That's why he also said that it's important to incorporate a variety of ways to protect yourself from the sun, not just relying on sunscreen...so flashback to me, all covered up like a senior citizen on the beach. These things are good! Using things like clothing, shade, wide-brimmed hats, UV-blocking sunglasses (which I'll talk more about in a second) should also be part of protecting yourself from sun damage.
So basically, if you don't really understand what SPF is, the bigger number, the more protection you receive and make sure you have full spectrum protection to protect you from both types of damaging rays - plus other protective measures.
Protecting your eyes from the sun
Ok a quick plug about protecting your eyes from the sun. One thing I just found out, while reading up on sun protection, is that the sunglasses I've been wearing religiously for years, which are polarized sunglasses - which I got specifically to help reduce glare because my eyes are really sensitive, I'm assuming that they do, but I don't know if these polarized sunglasses are also UV blocking. I'm going to have to check the brands...and they do say that most sunglasses now have UVB protection embedded in the lenses so I really hope that's the case, but make sure your sunglasses actually are UV blocking lenses and they aren't just cute dark sunglasses.
I loved this quote from the University of Utah Health, that said, "Sunglasses are to the eyes what sunscreen is to the skin."
Very good. Very important.
POSTLUDE
Since this episode turned out to be so long (see, I told you I like talking about sunscreen), I decided to break it up into 2 episodes so I wouldn't totally put you to sleep...
So tune in to Episode 11, part 2 of the Sunscreen Diaries, where I answer common questions around wearing sunscreen - how to apply it, whether we need to reapply it when wearing make-up and how to do that and what types of sunscreens are best for sensitive skin types - I even share brand recommendations.
So when you're ready and you've taken a stretch, jump on over to Part 2 of the Sunscreen Diaries, Fairface Podcast Episode 11 for the rest of our discussion around the most important thing you should be putting on your skin, right now.
Products or sources mentioned in this episode:
Eucerin Daily SPF 30 - @eucerinus
Paula's Choice @paulaschoice
Pure Skin Talk podcast - @pureskinoc
Skin Cancer Foundation - @skincancerorg
University of Utah - Health - @uofuhealth
Baz Luhrmann Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - @bazluhrmann
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