ouch...first sunburn of the year (and last)

April 24, 2007 at 8:00PM by Jill Percia |

I did something really stupid this weekend. I let my pale and pasty skin see an entire day's worth of sunlight since last August...without wearing ANY sunscreen. And now, I'm paying the price...

The truth is, it was so nice in NYC this weekend, so I was really excited to spend a day outside just walking around, sitting in the park, reading magazines and listening to my iPod. I had no idea how strong the sun was that day, so when I got home I was surprised to see that my face, chest, shoulders and arms were redder than a tomato. The sun played a mean trick on me..it didn't seem strong, but it was!

I'll admit it was partly my fault, too. I should've known to slather on my sunscreen no matter what. In fact, a few months ago I swore that I'd always be really careful and start taking care of my skin because I've had a scare at the dermatologist. I had one spot on my back that needed to be removed because it was "suspicious" looking. Well, I ended up getting 6 stitches from that little sucker! So from that point on, I decided I'd rather be light and skin cancer-free than tan and, well, dead.

Now I'm not going to tell you to sit under an umbrella with a wide-brimmed hat and SPF 75 while all your friends are baking out in the sun, because I know you won't listen! I totally understand wanting to be tan because everyone thinks they look better with a little glow. But at least make me one promise for this spring and summer: head out with SPF 15 at all times so you don't burn. No tan is a healthy one, but burns are a LOT worse.

That said, I kind of feel like starting a safe sun pledge. Let's all promise to stay sunburn-free for the summer of 07. Who's with me?

Love,
Jill, your lobster-colored reader services editor

| permalink |