As I was relaxing in my backyard, reflecting on motherhood on the Saturday before Mother’s Day, my face under the umbrella’s shadow and my feet and legs enjoying some vitamin D; I was struck again by the fact that my mom knew best.
Skincare has been at the forefront of my mind for the past year as I begin selling a popular skin care line. I’m about to turn 33 years old; I really should have started thinking about it a long time ago.
May is Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month, and I am reminded how important protecting our skin is.
When I was a teenager and in my twenties, I never wore sunscreen. I thought I didn’t need it; I had “Dad’s skin.” My dad’s side of the family is darker. My sister has inherited my mom’s side of the family’s features. She is blonde with fair skin and green eyes.
I’m a brunette with black eyes. I turn a nice shade of brown in the summer, and I don’t get a sunburn. It happened a handful of times in my lifetime, and it’s always gone the next day. As a teenager, I thought my mom was lame to stay under the umbrella. Why didn’t she want a nice tan all over her body? I couldn’t comprehend it.
I get it now, Mom, I do.
For one, my mom looks amazing at 59-years-old. She doesn’t have many wrinkles, and she looks younger than her age. She still doesn’t wear foundation, and I know she feels great about her skin.
Secondly, when I look at the few freckles I now have on my face and that one irregular, definitely growing mole on my left cheek, I know mom knew best. She knew to protect herself from the harmful rays of the sun.
So as I realize that I’m slowly turning into my mom, I’m going to wear sunscreen, a hat, and sunglasses and stay in the shade, and I’m also going to get that mole checked out, just in case.
Protect your skin and have it checked every year. You can find free skin cancer screening mobile clinics this summer in Charleston, provided by The Hollings Cancer Center’s Mobile Health Unit.
