Seven Essential Things You Should Be Doing to Protect Your Skin

What should everyone know about skin, skin care, and dermatology? originally appeared on Quora - the knowledge sharing network where compelling questions are answered by people with unique insights. Answer by Emily Altman, board-certified dermatologist and dermatopathologist, specializing in general dermatology, cosmetic dermatology and dermatologic surgery, on Quora: There are a few things that everyone should know about skin. Skin Cancer Risk Sun damage is cumulative from the very beginning. Sun exposure and sunburns, particularly before age twenty, are a risk factor for skin cancer and especially melanoma. Teaching children about sun safety and skin cancer prevention is of utmost importance. The Enright Sun Safety Certification Course offers a fun educational online activity designed for children and young adults to raise sun safety awareness and to help prevent melanoma through education and early detection. Sun avoidance should be practiced during the peak hours between 10 am and 4 pm. Sunblock should be used regularly and reapplied often, particularly if swimming or sweating. Any new or changing lesion on the skin needs to be examined by a dermatologist People with fair skin, light colored eyes and hair are most susceptible to skin cancer but it can and does happen in every skin type. 80% of everything we consider aging changes on the skin (sallowness, wrinkles, loss of elasticity, etc) is due to sun damage. Learn how to do a skin self-examination and ...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news