As I celebrated another year around the sun with my family this year, I was expecting my usual gifts, mostly around my favorite activity. Golf. Maybe around at my favorite course, a lesson from my golf pro, or even a gift card to my local golf shop. But to my surprise, I opened a gift card for a skincare treatment at a spa… What?! Me? Skincare? What guy needs skincare? I was intrigued but wanted to do some of my own research on why I would need such a thing? So I humbly accepted, thanked my wife for the gift, and enjoyed the day with family.
Other than having the awkward feeling of me going into a spa for the first time for a facial, I wanted to research to find more meaning behind the gift (and my wife’s genius) and share what I found:
Why do I need to consider better skincare?
As the largest organ of your body, your skin gives lots of signals about your general health, diet, and hygiene through simple observations. More importantly, our skin is our daily armor against damaging elements like dirt and UV rays and controls body temperature, perspiration and more. Consistent exposure to UV rays breaks down our skin. It shows fine lines, thins our skin, and causes sunspots and freckles as we get older. I never thought twice about the beach days and boat trips spending hours in the sun with no hat or ANY sun protection as a younger person. Now, I mostly wear a long sleeve polyester (quick-dry) shirt, sunglasses and a hat. I didn’t think about sun protection, and it’s more the fact that I’m more comfortable in it.
Here are some facts I found according to SkinCancer.org:
- UV radiation is a proven human carcinogen.
- At least 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer by the age of 70.
- 90% of skin aging is caused by the sun.
- People who use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher daily show 24% less skin aging than those who do not use sunscreen daily. (What?!)
Ok, so what can I do?
Wash your face in the mornings and at night. Find a facewash to get rid of the debris and build-up that you’ve encountered over the previous 12 hours. After you wash your face in the morning, put some SPF on your face. After washing it at night, put some moisturizer on.
Simple enough, but trust me, you can go WAY down the wormhole on this topic, so be prepared if you start looking around on the Google machine.
It’s no surprise that sunshine just feels good. Vitamin D is essential for our wellbeing, and as a Florida kid, it’s essential for my sanity. In the end, I will still probably spend too much time outside in the sun without enough protection, but I will put a much better effort into protecting my skin and not snarking at the idea when my wife throws a bottle of moisturizer and sun protection at me in the morning.
Getting some regular sun a few times a week is healthy. But protect your face with sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses. Enjoy those beautiful sunny days, just be smart about it.
August 2021
