Here Comes the Sun

When my husband is not following me around the house waiting for his next gluten-dairy free meal, he spends his time as a surgeon working with the skin around the eyes. Surprisingly, he spends a fair amount of time removing skin cancers from people’s faces. I guess the sun bathing in Wesson oil is finally catching up to our generation. Since every other word out of his mouth is ‘sunscreen,’ it’s hard to believe he used to be a sunbather, too.

When we first started dating, he was doing a fellowship in oculoplastic surgery. On his days off, I would find him bronzing his olive skin into a dark honey brown. That is until he did surgery on a woman who had been a lifelong sun worshipper. Her skin was so leathery, he had to use an entire box of knife blades, instead of the usual one or two, to perform the surgery. He came home pale-faced and disturbed by the power of the sun to destroy our skin and health.

Soon, he started slathering me, a pale face, with sunscreen. He removed more cancers and started wearing sunscreen on his own Mediterranean complexion. When our kids were born, we put hats and baby sunscreen on them whenever possible. As our girls grew older, the freckle conversation began. “Freckles are not cute,” he said, “they are radiation damage.” And so the anti-freckle campaign began, especially on our youngest daughter who has my Scottish complexion.

Even still, she got freckles. My husband searched the Internet and stores for a total zinc block. But as you can imagine, our daughters were not happy wearing white and green stripes across their noses for school. So, phase two began as our household was converted into a major sunscreen-testing lab. Our testing methods were not exactly scientific but we have found ones that work for us.

Of course, the following is not meant to be medical advice. Also, our family has no financial interest in any of these products. They are merely what have worked well for us:

1.    Replenix SP 45: A tinted sunscreen that I wear under my make-up and on my neck and chest.
2.    SkinCeuticals Sport UV Defense SPF 45: A thick moisturizing cream that is good for outdoor activities and exercise.
3.    Glycolix Elite SPF 30: This pump cream is 17% zinc oxide, giving your skin a white cover, perfect for water sports such as swimming or surfing. And it doesn’t burn your eyes.

I know there are new products coming out that use purely plant and mineral ingredients, but those have yet to enter our testing lab. Whichever one you use, keep in mind our family guidelines:

1.    Wear sunscreen every day, even when it is cloudy.
2.    Apply a thick coat to the forehead, bridge of the nose, and lower eyelids.
3.    Don’t forget to heavily cover the front and back of the neck and décolletage (upper chest). (I support whatever can be done to prevent ye’ old turkey neck.)
4.    After applying your sunscreen, rub it over the back of your hands. (Nothing like those spots to give a gal’s age away!)

Some families say ‘I love you’ to each other when they head out the door for the day. While it drives me nuts sometimes, my husband says, “Do you have on sunscreen?”