Sun smart sunscreens

For Dr Beatrice Wang, summer is one hell of a frustrating season.

Every day, the Montreal dermatologist watches sun worshippers shed clothes like a chrysalis in spring and slowly bake themselves to a crisp nut brown.

And every day, at McGill University’s Melanoma Clinic where she is director, she sees patients looking for help with skin cancer, sun damage, premature wrinkles and uneven pigmentation.

“You just can’t beat it into the public mind that a tan is a sign of sun damage,” she says with a sigh. “Or that it’s a sign your DNA has been affected, and that your skin is reacting to protect you by getting thicker and browner. We think of it as healthy looking, but ironically, a tan means wrinkling, brown spots, leathery skin and dilated blood vessels. The net outcome is you look a lot older than you really are.”

But fear not--the sunscreen industry has just the thing for you. Once a thick, gloppy mess that attracted sand, lint and bugs to your skin, sunscreens have evolved into multitasking super-cosmeceuticals that do more than just protect you from harmful UVA and UVB rays.

Posted in Aging on 08/21/2009 - 0 Comments

15 things you need to know about yourself

You like spicy food, Beaujolais and big dogs. You don’t like wet socks or Sunday afternoons alone. Overall, you think you know yourself pretty well. But do you? You may have hidden health and lifestyle problems you should know about.

Posted in Aging on 11/22/2008 - 0 Comments