I have a confession to make. I spent a lovely 10 days in Hawaii this July and came back with an unexpected souvenir – a tan! I spend a lot of my time trying to spread awareness of sun protection and thus was feeling pretty guilty. I followed all of my own advice and was diligent about using sun protection, reapplication, wearing hats, and staying in the shade when I could. The reality, however, was that some beaches had no shade, we did some amazing hikes in the sun, I enjoyed a morning run every day, and in general was outside as much as possible. So what could I do differently? After some self-reflection I decided I wouldn’t change a thing. But I do have a couple of takeaways I would like to share:
Takeaway #1: I tanned excessively my whole younger life and I am going to have underlying pigment. No matter how diligent I am now, past sins will pop up when I get out in the sun. I need to accept that all those years in the sun with no protection cannot completely be erased.
Takeaway #2: Hiking, running and being outdoors feels amazing! I am not willing to give up the things I love for “perfect” skin.
So I will do the best I can by following the best-known sun protection practices and using the best sunscreens available, and I will enjoy life! Thank goodness each fall I can go in and clean up with products and services designed to erase the signs of sun damage. If you’ve enjoyed your moment in the sun this summer, now is a great time to come in and receive a VISIA Complexion Analysis. You can see what is going on both on top of and underneath your skin’s surface. Based on this analysis we can come up with your best plan for flawless skin. Enjoy these last days of summer, protect your skin the best you can, and visit us for any “clean up” you may need.