I get it. The amount of products under my bathroom sink ( and lets be real, on the counter, in my room, even in my fridge) is a little overkill. I am a beauty product junkie! Anything that promises to brighten, tighten, and tone, I have to at least try. I could honestly get rid 98% of the products I have laying around my house and be totally fine.
The two products that I can’t (and shouldn’t) live without though, are my No Mo-Stache Wax Kits, and my variety of sunscreen formulated just for my face.
I live in LA. The sun is strong and bright all year long. It is almost impossible to completely avoid, so I make sure to get a skin cancer screening with my dermatologist every year.
Last year I got really busy with life (like we all do) and I ignored a red spot on my face just above my eyebrow, that surfaced shortly after my last dermatologist visit. I covered the spot with makeup, and just kept ignoring the gut feeling telling me I needed to get it checked out.
Fast forward a year and a half and I am nervously sitting in a paper gown at the doctors office, showing her the spot above my eyebrow. When she asks how long it has been there, I answer, ashamed that I had waited as long as I had.
Next comes the scary stuff. She confirmed that it was a formation of skin cancer cells, and we needed to get rid of it ASAP. She decided to first try a freezing approach. Once she started to list what could possibly happen from there, I felt the hot sting of tears welling up in my eyes, and couldn’t help but think that I ruined my face. The area of my body that I devote hundreds of dollars to, that I take care of probably better than any other area of my body, is going to be scarred because I was too busy. The scary list of side effects: Not Cute!
Now, all of a sudden I had a realization, and I blurted out to my doctor, like a blubbering baby, “but I wear sunscreen…” and she said, “every day?” No. Not everyday. I work in an office. I spend most of my weekday afternoon hours indoors. On the weekends, I religiously apply sunscreen to my face, but I just didn’t think it was that important unless I was outside.
Apparently, I have been doing it all wrong. My dermatologist explained to me that even sitting in my car on my way to work, is slowly damaging the skin on my face. Not only that, we should be reapplying our sunscreen every 2 hours!!
Lucky for me, the freezing worked. It didn’t leave behind any of the crazy side effects that were possible, and I didn’t have to have to go back to have any cancer cut out.
After this experience, I devoted some time to make sure I am taking care of my skin at all times. Sunscreen has come a long way, and there are so many formulas specifically for your face, that it is easy to find the best kind to suit your needs. (Check out some of my favorites for the face below).
Lesson learned! I hope you all can learn from my experience as well, and if you want to read more about it, check out this article from Insider.
https://www.thisisinsider.com/reasons-need-to-wear-sunscreen-sunblock-2018-6
La Roche-Posay Anthelios Clear Skin, Origins GinZing SPF 40 Tinted Moisturizer, SkinCeuticals Ultimate UV Defense SPF 30