What your kids need to know!

What your kids need to know about Skin Cancer
Easy talking points to eliminate the eyeball rolls

    As mothers, we try our best to provide our children with the knowledge that they need to keep them safe throughout life. Don’t talk to strangers, look both ways before crossing the street and Stop! Drop! And Roll!

  But, how much does your teen know about Skin Cancer and sun safety?

 We have decided to assemble some common myths and talking points that you can discuss with your child.  

 TEEN MYTH- Skin Cancer only happens to old people.

FACT- Among young American adults aged 25-29, melanoma is the most commonly diagnosed cancer, and the No. 1 cause of cancer death among 15-20 year olds.

 

TEEN MYTH- You don’t have to wear sunblock if you have a naturally tan or olive skin.

FACT- All skin types, regardless of race, should be using sunblock. Naturally darker skin types have a lower incidence of skin cancer, but when melanoma is discovered on darker skin, it is at a more advanced stage than on lighter skin.

 

TEEN MYTH- Tan skin looks healthy and prettier than pale skin.

FACT-
Tanned skin is actually an indicator that the skin is injured or damaged, so there is no safe tan. If you desire the appearance of a tan, there are much safer alternatives. For instance, Tan Towels self tanner is easy to use, not orange-y and not smelly. Fake-Bake away!!

TEEN MYTH- You only have to wear sunblock on sunny summer days.

FACT- UVA rays penetrate through clouds and windows, and are reflected off concrete, asphalt, snow and grass.
These rays are present from sun up to sun down, all year-round.
Sunblock should be worn every day, regardless of season or how sunny it is.

TEEN MYTH- Tanning beds are a safer alternative to sun exposure.

FACT- Tanning beds can expose an individual to four times the amount of UVA (aging rays) and two times the amount of UVB (burning rays) as a similar period of sun exposure. 
People are unable to feel the UVA rays on their skin, but they contribute the most to skin aging and skin cancer.

 

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR:

 

    

    A – Asymmetry: Most early melanomas are asymmetrical

     B – Borders:  The borders are uneven

     C – Color:  Varied shades of brown, tan or black are often the first signs

     D – Diameter:  Early melanomas tend to grow larger than common moles.

     E – Evolving:  Change in any parameter: color, size, shape or feel

Educate those kiddos! NO matter how disinterested they seem, it's our job as parents!
Be the example!
They will thank you in 20 or so years! Then you can say "Sure, no big thing. Day in the life of a mom." and roll your own eyeballs back at them :)

Sincerely,
The Breakfast Club
Michelle and Nancy
The Skin Gurus
skin-gurus.com

 

 

Do you know what MONTH it is?

That's right.

It is officially May

May is Skin Cancer Awareness Month!

Allow me to take you on a little walk and transport you to another time....

A Time of DISCO

 

 

 

Soul GLO............

 

 

 

And... generally unfortunate decisions.

 

 

Yes, Welcome to the 70's. An era when we all lived on the edge! Child Car Seats? We didn't need no stinking car seats! Hell, my folks use to let me stand up on the seat of the car, without a seat belt (hence the scar under my chin from my jaw meeting the dashboard when my mama hit the brakes too hard once), as they cruised around town in our family Ford Pinto! (Remember those cars? They were riddled with design flaws and the slightest rear impact would turn them into a fiery death trap!)

 

HOW DID WE MAKE IT OUT OF THE 70'S ALIVE?  

 

Ahhhh yes. Also the era that the (in)famous "California girl next door" look began to take a foothold across the nation. That trend extended to the 80's. Think Farrah Fawcett, Cheryl Tiegs and Christie Brinkley.

 

We all wanted to be those girls. Tan and blonde and carefree!

 

Well, let me tell you a little story. It's about a red headed, blue eyed, pasty-white girl from the rough and tumble streets from Dayton Ohio. She wanted to look like those girls on the magazine covers. 

 

She saved for months and then bought herself a lifetime supply of baby oil and a couple of bottles of Sun-In. She decided that 'THIS" would be her summer of her "Cali-Girl" transformation.  

 

That girl had moxie. The odds were stacked against her. But she had to go for it. She dumped an entire bottle of Sun-In on her head, doused herself in baby oil, grabbed a tin foil reflecting blanket and headed to the community pool.

 

Long story long, that girl ended up that summer with bright orange Ronald McDonald hair and multiple blistering sunburns that, more than once, almost landed her in the hospital from sun poisoning. She never got that tan she dreamt of. It wasn't in the cards for her no matter how hard she tried. Only months of lobster-y red skin, swollen feet, endless peeling and miserable pain. She was destined to be the girl at the local pool under a tree, in a tee shirt and a wide brimmed hat for the rest of her life. Watching as all those tan blondies in bikinis won the hearts of every 6th grade boy at my school. *sigh*

 

But that girl little girl from an Ohio steel town had a dream to dance. The deck was stacked against her and her blistered skin. How did she overcome the those odds? By believing in herself! She literally had to become a 'MANIAC'! She had to strip down to nothing but her pasty white birthday suit and sit in a chair on a stage with her back arched...and she pulled a chain to nowhere and doused herself with water!!! She believed in herself! She believed so hard SHE SPUN! And she SPUN AGAIN! And she spun herself into that exclusive Dance School and into our hearts!

 

****Disclaimer: Everything BUT that last paragraph is 100% true. The last part is from the movie Flash Dance. But.... in my head, that's how my story SHOULD have ended.

 

 

This is how it ACTUALLY ended.

 



 

OKAYYYY... So the point of this lengthy anecdote is that we have all made sun mistakes. Thankfully, we all know better by now. And as a wise person (Maya Angelou) once said, "When you know better, you do better."

 

So let's start by undoing some of the sun damage from decades past and prevent UV damage for decades to come.

 

WEAR YOUR SUNBLOCK!

I cannot emphasize this enough. You need to be wearing an SPF 30-45. Every. Single. Day.

Anything over that number won't really give you more UV protection. Only dump more chemicals in your skin. 

If you will be out for prolonged periods of time-reapply your sunblock every 1-2 hours. Go read my Blog on the TRUTH ABOUT SPF. It's not as boring as it sounds. I promise.

My favorite SPF is Elta MD. It's affordable and offers more physical protection than OTC sunblocks.

 

 

 

 

 



 

USE A GOOD TOPICAL ANTIOXIDANT EVERY MORNING.

Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals (those scavenger cells that cause accelerated photo aging) and help repair your skin's cellular DNA.  

I love SKINMEDICA'S TNS ESSENTIAL SERUM AND SKINCEUTICAL'S PHLORETIN CF.

AVOID TANNING BEDS!
Duh! Do NOT make me come over there and smack you on your head.

SEE YOUR DERMATOLOGIST ANNUALLY (more frequently if you have personal or family history of skin cancer) FOR MOLE CHECKS!

LEARN THE  'A, B, C, D AND E's' of Skin Cancer Detection.
If you have a suspicious mole or lesion, get into your Derm and get it checked out. Like, NOW.

From Sun Safety Alliance Photos

The ABCDE rule is a quick and helpful guide for detecting the usual signs of skin cancer. It is vital to monitor your skin and contact your doctor about any spots that match the following descriptions:

A- Asymmetry: Normal moles or freckles are completely symmetrical. If you were to draw a line through a normal spot, you would have two symmetrical halves. In cases of skin cancer, spots will not look the same on both sides.

B- Border: A mole or spot with blurry and/or jagged edges.

C- Color: A mole that is more than one hue is suspicious and needs to be evaluated by a doctor. Normal spots are usually one color. This can include lightening or darkening of the mole.

D- Diameter: If it is larger than a pencil eraser (about 1/4 inch or 6mm), it needs to be examined by a doctor. This is includes areas that do not have any other abnormalities (color, border, asymmetry).

E- Elevation: Elevation means the mole is raised above the surface and has an uneven surface.


These are just the very basics here, folks.
See your Doctor or Skin Care Professional for a customized treatment plan and skin care regime.
Love yourself. Love your skin! And pass this on!
Don't let Skin Cancer affect you or someone you love!


HOW OLD YOU ARE IS YOUR BUSINESS, HOW OLD YOU LOOK IS OURS!

Never settle for a good time, when a GREAT time is there to be had!

Michelle and Nancy
THE SKIN GURUS
 http://skin-gurus.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



HAIR LOSS and THINNING HAIR?

'WAIT? HAIR LOSS? Don't you call yourself a 'SKIN GURU'? Not a 'HAIR GURU?".

Yes, I know, this is a little 'off topic'.
And Yes, I am a 'SKIN GURU'. And no, I'm not a hair guru. But I have a little sumpin' sumpin' you may be interested in if hair loss is a concern for you or someone you know.

This topic comes up so frequently that I thought I would share some valuable info with you (picture me rolling up my imaginary sleeves with a sly, sideways smile..as I prepare to make your day!).

Women come in all the time to address their cosmetic concerns.
Some women will come in to talk about Melasma after childbirth and at some point in the convo say "BTW, why did my hair start falling out after I had the baby???"

Or, women will come in to address their anti aging concerns (wrinkles, age spots etc) and say something along the lines of  "AND! If all this wasn't bad enough!! Now my hair is thinning! I HATE MENOPAUSE!"

I also have male patients who, once they feel comfortable with me, will quietly ask if there is anything I can recommend for hair loss.
(I even made friends with a cabbie when I was visiting NYC. When he found out what I do for a living- the one and only question he asked me about was.... his Male Pattern Baldness!)

It can be very traumatic!
I started a medication a few years ago that is particularly notorious for inducing hair loss.

Every day I saw more and more hair in the shower drain. Finally, one day, I had a meltdown. In the corner of the running shower. Fetal position. Rocking back and forth. Like Meryl Streep in that scene from the movie Silkwood! (For you 'youngins'...YouTube it. Then, you will understand the gravity of that moment!)

I have had patients try pre-natal vitamins, Rogaine and even hair transplants to help restore lost and thinning hair.
Sometimes, a lot of the time, actually-most times, with less than stellar results.

BUT I may have a much simpler solution for you!

There is an OTC (Over The Counter) called 'VIVISCAL Extra Strength' that is sold at drug stores like CVS and Walgreens.
*The first time I went to look for it, I couldn't find it with the supplements. I asked the pharmacist and he couldn't find it either. As I was walking out, I made a U Turn at the shampoo aisle and there it was..sitting amongst the medicated shampoos. Just  FYI. You won't find this supplement with the actual supplements.

This product retails for about $50 for a month supply.

I started recommending this to patients about a year ago based on what I heard from people who had actually used it.

The ingredients are a little vague and consist of:  

AminoMar C™ Marine Complex

 Horsetail Extract

 Vitamin C

I can't seem to locate any information regarding these first two ingredients but I have seen some studies out there that indicate this product is effective.

It is made by a company called LIFES2GOOD that markets health and beauty products. They have been in business since 1997 and have a BBB rating of A+ with no complaints (last time I checked).

DOES IT WORK?
Well, I can't give you definitive proof.

However, I have told dozens of patients about this supplement and every single one has been very pleased. It, also, has really good online reviews. I rarely see such consistent reviews from consumers.

I have actually had patients come back 3 months later and show me the new growth they have. So, I have seen first hand that SOMETHING is DEFINATELY happening.

SIDE EFFECTS?

There are a few reported side effects of headaches and sleep disruption.
Always consult your physician before beginning a new supplement regime. 

I think the word is getting out about this product because I have had a few patients that could not find it locally. It was sold out and they ended up having to order online.


SO, there you have it!!!

HOW OLD YOU ARE IS YOUR BUSINESS, HOW OLD YOU LOOK IS OURS.

"That rug REALLY tied the room together!"

Michelle and Nancy
THE SKIN GURUS