These are photos of Hugh Jackman taken on a beach in Hawaii on 4-29 that we never got around to publishing. I’m sorry! It’s just that Hugh is so consistently hot, and he’s always such a standup guy, that you guys don’t often comment on his posts. Maybe I don’t sell him hard enough either, because these photos are making my week. It’s Friday and I’m staring at photos of Hugh Jackman shirtless. It’s going to be a good day. (Bonus link to older shirtless photos of Jackman.)
Late last year, we heard that Hugh Jackman was treated for skin cancer for the third time in a year. It turns out that he’s had a whopping “four skin cancers in 18 months,” which he blames on his childhood on the beach in Australia. In a new interview with People, Jackman talks about his cancer scare and the importance of sunscreen. He’s promoting his new line of skincare for kids, Pure Defense, which features photos of popular superheroes and Disney characters. I’ve seen that at the store and it’s a great idea. Here’s more from handsome Hugh:
Did you wear sunscreen as a kid?
No. I spent my childhood outside on a beach in Australia, where we have a very thin layer of ozone. I played cricket outside and I’d forget my cap. My nose would get burned every weekend.How do you monitor your skin now?
I got every three months for checkups. It’s the new normal for me – my doctor says I’ll likely have more, and if that’s your cross to bear in life, you should be so lucky. No one will die from it if you get checkups. In almost every case it’s treatable.How has this changed you?
I used to think if I didn’t come back with a little bit of color, it’s not a real holiday. I know the reality now: It’s stupid. If you get color, you are going to damage your skin on some level. In the old days, sometimes they’d ask me to get tan for a role, but now I spray-tan if I need it.As a former Sexiest Man Alive, any tips on making sunscreen, well, sexy?
I don’t think I can comment from the platform of Sexiest Man Alive – that was years ago. [Laughs] We joke about it, but for some kids, they might think it’s cool: “If Wolverine is wearing sunscreen, then I’ll wear it…”Why have you been so public on social media about your skin cancer?
It’s not as scary as I first thought, as long as you take care of it. There are a lot of things that happen in life that are hard to avoid, but skin cancer is something you can avoid if you protect yourself. I’m heartened to see the idea that to be sexy and beautiful you have to be tan is gone. People like Nicole Kidman have done a great job. She was made fun of when she was a kid in Australia because she stayed in the shade. No one is making fun of her now.
[From People Magazine, print edition, May 18, 2015]
My gym is near a tanning salon and the ladies I see coming out of there… let’s just say they’re older ladies and it looks like they’ve been tanning for decades. Wolverine is right, it’s not really in fashion to get a deep tan anymore, but some people cling to it like they do to hairstyles from decades ago. I’m grateful to my mom for teaching me early to use sunscreen, not only due to skin cancer but because I’m getting older and have been able to avoid some wrinkles. The next time I put on my factor 70 I’ll think of Hugh Jackman. Shirtless and helping me apply it.
photo credit: FameFlynet WENN and PRPhotos
I think a balanced view is needed. With regard to tanning beds, definitely I think he’s right, “it’s stupid.” Not at all comparable to the actual sun. But as far as getting a bit of natural sun, it’s healthy.
Actually, no. Jackman is right; any amount of tan is evidence of skin damage.
It’s healthy in the sense that we need it to produce VItamin D, but that’s about it. And you only need roughly 10-15 minutes to get the vitamin D. If you’re tanning / skin gets darker, your skin is damaged, doesn’t matter if it’s from a tanning bed or outside.
(I feel strongly about this issue, my stepdad died of a melanoma that spread to his brain. I’ve stopped tanning altogether, though I never did use tanning beds.)
+10000! Thank you!
No, he’s actually spot on.
Common myth….the sun is no healthier. In fact, the sun can be worse! The uv levels of the tanning bed don’t vary much but the sun does. Either tan is bad for you. Did you miss the part about the sunshine causing his cancer?
Yes he’s correct, my sun damaged skin knows this truth all too well, I did the damage in my teens and early 20’s plus birth control pills don’t help!! Correction is expensive
Wait a minute! We’re supposed to get sun for vit D, but not get any to avoid skin cancer. Ugh!
Good on him for spreading awareness.
I saw him in BOY FROM OZ on Broadway years ago and he was damn mesmerizing. Great actor, singer, dancer, loving husband, all around good guy. Avengers take note, this is how a man should be!
I think, as with everything, balance is key.
Get enough sun to make vitamin D, but don’t fry your skin long enough to get cancer or other damaging things.
The worst is where people sit in the sun at it’s hottest during the day and or for long periods and or use minimal protection.
People get plenty of Vit D through casual, accidental sun exposure — in the car, putting the trash out, getting the mail. The amount of exposure needed for Vit D is only like 15 minutes. It’s by far the best plan to consistently wear at least SPF 30 on exposed skin everyday, avoid strongest sun exposure during 10am – 2pm, wear sunscreen plus sunglasses, hat, long sleeves, etc if you’re going to be out and about during the day. Doesn’t matter if the sun is out or it’s cloudy, summer or winter — you still are getting exposed to the sun.
Sunscreen all day every day. Take a pill if you aren’t getting enough. It’s not worth the risk.
I lost my husband to skin cancer (Melanoma) in June of 1989. He was 27 years old and our daughter was 3 at the time. Jackman is right. There is no in between. There just isn’t. My daughter was diagnosed with pre-cancerous cells (possible skin cancer) and had to have minor surgery. She was 26 at the time. Skin cancer is avoidable. Avoid it already. People are always saying how they need a tan. I just tell them that I am a healthy shade of pale.
Hugh is a fantastic dude. He looks yummy here! Lucky, lucky wife!!!
You’re exactly right: Avengers, take note.
I lived by the beach growing up so I was always tan. My dad always got on my case to wear sunscreen but I never really did because it was so sticky. Now that I’m older, I’ve got tons of sunspots and skin damage due to those early years even though I religiously wear sunscreen today
So true, I wish people would finally get it. I’m super pale and in the summer random people feel the need to point out how much prettier I would look with a tan almost every single day. I don’t feel the need to tell them they look like a burnt toast, I wish they would just shut up and realize how not ok this is. My best friend’s mother had a skin cancer recently and it was so serious she almost died. I won’t risk my health to look prettier in the eyes of strangers. If only sunscreen wouldn’t cost so much.
I’m ghostly ginger myself, and I HATE it when people tell me I need a tan. I WILL tell them I don’t want to look like a raggedy prune, etc. One of my good friends who is African American said it to me, and I asked her how she would feel if I told her she would look so good if she could just lighten up a little. She hadn’t thought of it that way, and never said that stupid crap again.
I get that shite all the time. Being called Whitey, Casper or Milkey still doesn’t make me want to burn my skin just to darken it a BIT.
Yep, it is ridiculous. In school, I was called moon tan, casper, whitey, mostlyghostly, but the worst, was in middle school, and they started calling me, ‘mayonnaise legs.’ I have not stopped criticizing my thighs since!
Folks have been telling me for the past 30+ years how pale I am and how much better I would look with a tan. I never mention how much smarter they would sound with an education though. I just keep applying my Neutrogena spf 70.
Me too. It angers me that people think it’s ok to make fun of pale people. I’m not going to sacrifice my health just because you find my NATURAL skin colour unattractive. Screw those a#%^*|{s!
I’ve never cared for sun tanned skin. When a person is healthy and active, pale skin with rosy lips and cheeks of good circulation… a person can look like a classic painting or a porcelain doll… just gorgeous – it can glow like alabaster.
He’s right. There is a difference between getting what you need for Vitamin D production and tanning until you are leather. Just back from FL and my oh my, lots of potential melanoma victims there. I lost a sister at 23 to melanoma, it’s a brutal death.
So sorry about your sister…that is so very young. And as a lifelong Floridian, it’s a full time job keeping very pale skin pale. Hats, glasses, and a zinc oxide based sunscreen EVERYDAY. But it’s worth it (my dermatologist calls me Snow White!)
I was told it is the repeat burning of the same skin… like his nose… is the thing to avoid doing. If you know your shoulders burn easily. Then get that Bullfrog SPF50 out and smear them down. Every time you get in the sun.
Oddly for me. I have always tanned easily in the sun. But can not tan, using a tanning bed. Seriously. I need the that late June sun to get me to tan up. And I live in Texas. Where the friggin Summer last 10 months of the year. But I do use a low 10 spf when I get out in the sun for tanning. I do about an hour or 90 minutes. And come in.
Thankfully I can only recall getting sunburn once. And it was the tops of my dang feet! It was on a boat… in an ocean… and my feet stayed wet from the water spray. And they burned.
I sunburned my bum in Australia (I fell asleep at Bondi) and a couple of summers later in Uruguay I burned the back of my knees. I walked like a duck LOL
But one summer I got a full body sunburn. I couldn’t sleep or wear clothes.
The tanning is actually damage. It’s a myth that it’s only damage if you come out like a lobster.
I’m so glad he is being public about this. The South Hemisphere has a very thin ozone layer and we get badly burned, especially those of us who are white. I have skin type 1 and I’m so glad my grandparents and parents instilled in me the habit of applying sunscreen every single day, regardless the weather.
One day I got a massive sunburn on my face for eating lunch outside in WINTER. When I was younger at a Summer Fete at school I forgot to apply sunscreen on my arms and shoulders and the damage was so extreme the skin on my shoulders got very coarse and after it fell off, I was covered in freckles. Now I get check ups every 6 months.
My aunt died from melanoma. I do not leave the house without sunblock. Not just sunscreen but sunblock.
Ditto!
I very recently lost a friend and coworker of 7 years to cancer. Her cancer started out as skin cancer and tragically spread and took over her body. Cancer in any form should always be taken seriously.
I lost a very dear friend to the same 11 years ago. She was only 27. Her cancer started out as skin cancer and then came back 3 years later and spread to her lungs (she never smoked ever) and then to the rest of her body. It was awful how it ravaged her.
My husband works for DSNY and on a route in the city recently a man walked past him and his partner and smiled and said “Good morning guys! How’s it going?” It wasn’t until he was passing that my husband realized who it was. He turned to his partner and says “It’s the Wolverine!” By contrast at the end of their shift Alec Baldwin and family walked past and could barely squeak out a hello. My husband said how nice it was of Jackman to say hello, and how most celebs just don’t want to be bothered.
As for the sun damage he’s right. It is foolish, but you just look so much better with even a bit of a tan. I worry about the bad sunburns I had as a kid. We didn’t have all these sunblocks available. It pretty much was tanning oil, some of my friends used baby oil, and zinc oxide which was a thick white cream. But the worst burn was in my teens when I had been up all night, went to the beach with my friends and fell asleep. One side of my face was as red as a lobster, as was my body, and the other side had second degree burns from my head tilting to the side. Even on a day that turned overcast at the beach, I scorched the backs of my legs forming laying on my tummy too long. I thought it’s cloudy so nothing to worry about. I was wrong.
That’s why if I need to brown up for any reason I get a spray on tan. I’m Australian like Hugh and it’s just not worth it, tanning beds are already being banned in some states because our sun is plenty dangerous enough without adding those into the mix.
I don’t agree. The sun is natural. It’s natural to be outside. Sunscreen wasn’t always around and it good for some, not all. Cancer is caused by alot of things…a bit of a balance is ok but don’t demonize the sun 🙁
Yeah, he’s not demonizing it. It’s true. 5 minutes for vitamin D and you’re good. If you think he’s being paranoid and not balanced, you’re very naïve.
Natural is no argument. Arsenic is natural. Dog poop is natural. Natural doesn’t automatically mean safe and ok.
I think Roxy means that human beings are exposed to the sun naturally. We didn’t invent the sun, and have lived with it, depending on it since we exist as species, therefore there’s maybe more to this problem than the sun itself.
I think the principle of it is right but because of sun fear vitamin D deficiency is going up. And it’s VERY different to tan in Australia where the ozone layer almost doesn’t exist then in the north hemisphere. And again, I’m not trying to diminish the importance of people taking care of themselves but there’s a sunscreen lobby that’s everything but transparent and dermatologists perpetuate ideas that are not that clear and so scientific proven. The statistics of where most people get skin cancer and years exposed doesn’t completely show a cause/effect. Yes, protect yourself but don’t see the sun as the plague and ask questions because there’s a lot about it that we don’t know.
The hole in the ozone layer is the problem. We are dangerously exposed to UV rays that used to be shielded by the ozone layer. It’s really that simple, and it makes me sad to read ignorant posts about the sun being natural.
I love how people love to harp on about what’s natural for humans. You know what’s ‘natural’ for humans? Death during child birth. Death from simple infections. A long life to the age of 40.
You just said the the ozone IS the problem, not the sun. So yes, the sun is natural and has benefits to us. That’s not the whole argument though. Don’t make it sound like saying it is ignorant when the issue is much more complex.
K did not say ozone is the problem. K correctly pointed out that holes in/thinning of the ozone layer (due to our releasing CFCs into the atmosphere) allow more UV rays to pass through. The UV rays from the sun are the problem. Nature is not a benevolent goddess and enjoyable mythologies are not empirical science.
Melanoma rates are up due to greater exposure to UV light due to lowered protection from the atmosphere, plus sun worshipping, mass migration to sunnier climates, and longer lives
To try another (imperfect) analogy, water is natural and healthy to drink, but water contaminated with certain other natural substances (bacteria, arsenic) can sicken and kill.
It feels great to be in the sun but there is no non-mood health benefit to being unprotected in the sun to the point of changing skin tone.
Yeeees, but that was before we blew a hole in the ozone layer and sent a lot of pasty white Europeans to live underneath it. So, you know…
When I grow up I want to be as pithy as you : )
I did the tanning bed thing in my late teens/early 20’s, and I live close to the beach so I was a constant sun worshiper during the summer. Now, at 40, with my sun damaged skin I seriously regret my foolishness. My son won’t be denied the beach, but he’ll be armed with sunscreen, a hat, and a long-sleeved swim shirt! And I’ll be comfortably parked under the umbrella. 😉
In Australia its drummed in to us SLIP SLOP SLAP or NO HAT NO PLAY, their is no such thing as a healthy tan, its skins cells dying. Their are adds every summer on people in their 20s dying from skin cancer.
Yeah, but I’m always blown away by how few Australians actually do this. In Adelaide, where summers are regularly 40+ degrees C, I would always be amazed that I was the only person wearing a hat, in full sun, in the middle of the day, when it was 42-43 degrees. Because, you know, hats are ‘uncool’.
No wonder we’re still the skin cancer capital of the world.
Australia isn’t even the highest …
http://www.wcrf.org/int/cancer-facts-figures/data-cancer-frequency-country
When I lived in France, at the beach in summer people would lie out in the sun aaaalllllll day.. like midday to 8pm (as the sun goes down so late). The sun isn’t as hot so it’s possible to do but it was obvious to me why France has such high cancer rates, even with no ozone hole
France, who knew? Could it be higher due to greater smoking (setting up for non-lung cancers too)?
I think that is changing. My generation (mid 30s) knew about sunscreen but didn’t necessarily apply it. Now in schools, hats and sunscreen are automatic, like @aussie said no hat, no play. That kind of training all be instilled in them for life.
I am just waiting for my few massive, accidental burns to catch up with me …
I’m actually not surprised that it’s a european country with the highest rates. I went to the south of Spain a few years ago and saw all the expat Brits on the beach and every single one of them was the colour and texture of an old boot.
He’s absolutely right, and it’s great that he’s raising awareness about it.
Serious question: Is sunscreen safe? I don’t like using too many cremes etc, because I don’t have the first clue about the chemicals I’m putting on my skin there, but I do use sunscreen or cremes with SPF almost every day. Is there something you need to avoid, ingredients-wise? Off to Google now…
I’ve been trying to buy more natural ones. Hard to find locally, but online I’ve found a few.
I work a block off the beach, and I see some people come in who have been tanning every summer for decades – yikes. Their skin looks like loose, yucky leather.
I used to get very tan as a kid and in recent years have had to have a few spots checked out (all good, thankfully) but now I’m under the umbrella at the beach for sure.
When I lived in the Phoenix, Arizona valley area, I remember going to the Mesa Public Library and seeing an older woman in a tennis outfit there. I genuinely could not tell how much older she was; middle aged, senior citizen, because she was so deeply, DEEPLY tanned that every inch of her skin looked like a wrinkly leather bag.
Pretty horrific.
Other than any random sunlight I get on my errands or out in the yard when the weather is mild this time of year, I stay out of the sun. In fact, I end up hibernating indoors once summer sets in and don’t spend much time outside until September sets in.
There are more green choices from alternative brands that not only don’t have chemicals that are suspect of messing up with your estrogen levels (that may lead to cancer) and that also don’t pollute the water. This is what I know, but yeah, there’s something to it:/
Look for titanium dioxide. Many sunblocks don’t actually block uv rays they only prevent burning UVB rays. Only a few ingredients are capable of blocking uv and titanium dioxide is the best one.
Thanks Anony*
Mineral sunscreens create a layer on your skin instead of being absorbed but the downside is they tend to whiten your skn a lot and it’s difficult to put on any kind of make up on them.
I work in solar fields in the deserts and the higher the zinc oxide level the better. Invisible Zinc works the best it’s from Australia and you get it on line. Shiseido is a close second and you can get it at Macy’s and places like that. They aren’t cheap but I don’t have the sun damage that a lot of the guys do because of them
Thanks for the replies. Can you recommend any brands? And are the ‘natural’ ones as effective?
This homeopath has a list of several products without nasty chemicals. You could start from here:)
http://www.nickylee-homoeopath.co.uk/nutritious-pantry/
I like Kiss My Face brand. Active ingredients are titanium oxide and zinc oxide which block UV rays through a physical rather than a chemical barrier. The children’s version says “contains no nanoparticles, phthalates, fragrances, artificial colors, or animal ingredients. And, it’s gluten free, biodegradable, and not tested on animals.” I think I picked it up somewhere in California where all natural is easier to find in a lot of places but it is definitely available in Sprouts or Whole Foods grocery stores. Amazon.com or Vitacost.com are also low cost options for buying online.
And yes, they are as effective or even more so (think of the white stripe on lifeguards nose which is pure titanium oxide). Some may be more whitish on your skin though and not disappear as easily as a result. Only slight concern I could think of is that without the parabens or other artificial ingredients, I wouldn’t be sure about keeping a bottle from summer to summer because of the lack of preservatives.
@ kai
Hi! I have oily, acne-prone skin and am sensitive to chemical sunscreens (actually, human skin in general is sensitive to many things, chemical or natural). I use Paula’s Choice “Resist Super Light Wrinkle Defense” SPF 30. Its only sunscreen ingredient is zinc oxide, which, like titanium dioxide (the other natural mineral sunscreen that works), can potentially clog the pores of those who are acne-prone. However, this brand was formulated so that the zinc oxide “floats over the skin instead of settling into pores” via “silicone technology” and the claim is correct, as I don’t break out using this product. It’s made for combination/oily skin and probably won’t feel comfortable for people with very dry skin.
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I agree with the other commenters who mentioned that natural does not equal safe. The sun may be natural but so are poison ivy, viruses, harmful bacteria, etc. “Natural” in the cosmetics/skin care industry is just a marketing term. Non-comedogenic is also a marketing term. They really mean nothing because these words are not regulated by the FDA. Unlike in prescription medicine, which is more strictly regulated, there are no laws that legally define what they mean. As a result, the cosmetics industry uses those words with impunity. There were many times I used an over-the-counter skincare product that was labelled non-comedogenic when it contained ingredients that were scientifically known to clog pores, cause acne, and irritate skin. I learned the hard way.
According to the FDA in 2007, “Consumers should not necessarily assume that an ‘organic’ or ‘natural’ ingredient or product would possess greater inherent safety than another chemically identical version of the same ingredient. In fact, ‘natural’ ingredients may be harder to preserve against microbial contamination and growth than synthetic raw materials.”
Anyway, back on topic: Hugh Jackman is completely correct. Any credible dermatologist will tell you that a tan is a sure sign of sun damage, regardless of whether you burned (turned red) or not beforehand. They may look nice, but your tan means that your skin was literally baked. Many (not all) people get enough vitamin D just by being outside for 10 minutes. Others can take supplements, eat certain fish, and drink fortified milk. But sunscreen everyday is a must. People have mistakenly thought I was 10-15 years younger than my actual age. I credit most of that to the fact I’ve used sunscreen (and makeup with sunscreen) since I was a teen. Tanning is not worth the price you pay – in health and in appearance – later in life.
You want to get one w non-nano zinc oxide. There are lots of good options out there. This makes me so sad bc I saw his new line of sunscreen at target and got pissed bc of all the cartoons on it and the list of questionable ingredients on the back (several chemical sunscreens that can cause hormone disruption among other things). I’m
Glad for promoting sunscreen – I slather my kids in it- but some ingredients can actually INCREASE your chances of skin cancer. Love the message, not the execution.
Definitely Google it. There can be a lot of sketchy active ingredients in sunscreen, some of which are known to potentially disrupt the endocrine system.
Physical sunscreens are Generally better for you if you have sensitive skin as opposed to chemical sunscreen but either type of sunscreen is safer for your body than getting skin-cancer. I use invisible Zinc and Moo Goo physical sunscreen as I get eczema and they’re really good and pretty natural.
Oy, he´s confusing things. He didn´t have melanoma as far as I know, which is definitely not always treatable and people can die even if it was caught fairly early ( spreads very fast). Also the type of skin cancer that he had is generally a form that comes with age and life-long exposure to the sun.
But anyway, yay him for promoting sun screen! Tanning is so stupid.
I have a serious question. I am white and I burn easy. I never step out without my high powered sunblock even in the car and I only spray tan when I want color. My son is mixed. Black/ white. He has never in his life burnt even if we’ve forgotten sunblock and he’s been out for a while. Is there any difference to a black person’s skin and a white person’s skin in the sense of sun damage and the possibility of cancer. He’s gone to camp many times and not used his sunblock because he doesn’t think he needs it. Basically I’m wondering if he can still get skin cancer. I hope I don’t sound ignorant. I’m genuinely wondering if I should be more strict with his skin care. His father left me and I feel awkward just walking up to my black friends and asking them this kind of stuff. I haven’t got a clue how to best style his hair or what to use on his skin. Thanks!
Incidence of skin cancer in black people is significantly less than incidence in white people. So yeah, your kid’s risk is likely smaller than yours. It’s still possible for black people to develop skin cancer, so sunscreen is still a good idea for everyone.
Thanks!
However, according to an article I read, once people of color get skin cancer, it can be more likely to kill them because they don’t see it as readily as pale skinned people do. Factor that in as well for your son’s sake.
That’s a good question! I suppose sometimes damage is not visible, so he might receive some damage by not wearing sunscreen/block.
Don’t feel bad for asking your black friends, especially if it’s about relating your son’s health 🙂
Thanks to you too! I will ask them. I just don’t want to offend them if my questions come off insensitive. I never mean any disrespect but things can sometimes be misunderstood.
Here is a good skin care site http://www.skincancer.org/prevention/skin-cancer-and-skin-of-color
Wow. Thank you. That is a super helpful site. He’s getting to that age where getting him to brush his teeth or wear sunblock is a major chore. I will definitely be reevaluating his skin care routine.
Yes, he should be wearing sunscreen. I’m black and I wear at least SPF 30. I sometimes burn. My husband is biracial and lighter skinned than I am. He absolutely burns. My family is from Jamaica and we certainly have had family friends who are black die of skin cancer.
It is a good question though, and good for you for asking. I’m pretty good about using it, but I could be even more vigilant. At the park last week, my little daughter was the only one wearing a hat–and the only one who wasn’t white :).
I’m pretty sure there’s a difference. I have an dark-skinned Indian friend whose doctor told her she needs to get more vitamin D, even though she has quite an active lifestyle. She doesn’t bother with sunblock even though she lives in Australia, and has to take vitamin D pills since she doesn’t get enough from the sun.
I had a co-worker die of skin cancer in her mid-thirties. They caught it, treated it. They said she was pretty much okay if it didn’t return in the next five years. Right after the five-year mark she had been throwing up, so went to the doctor for tests. Soon after she received a call her skin cancer had returned and it was terminal. It had spread everywhere, even her brain, and died within a few months. It was shocking. One day she was healthy and talking away to us and a couple of weeks later received the diagnosis.
I haven’t anything relevant to add to this discussion at all, I merely wanted to comment on a Hugh post so Celebitchy will have reason to cover him more. Not with a shirt, mind you, let’s never cover him with a shirt, but I am always happy to see Hugh.
me too!!!
I get called Snow White and Casper CONSTANTLY. I went to high school in the middle of the rise of Twilight, so there were lots of vampire jokes. We’ll see who’s laughing when I’m 50 and look young.
Definitely Google it. There can be a lot of sketchy active ingredients in sunscreen, some of which are known to potentially disrupt the endocrine system. *sorry wrong spot! *
Well…I just had an innocuous little basal cell removed from the bridge of my nose that required MOHs surgery and three passes by the surgeon to get all of it. I have a not so attractive zig-zag scar and a lump across the bridge of my nose and after insurance/high deductible, a bill to the tune of $2500 to pay so my thought on it is wear sunscreen and a sun hat. Keep an eye on “funny little spots”. I think like all cancer, part of it is lifestyle and the other part is a gentic crapshoot.
I’ve had two melanoma in the past year. I’m 28 now. 27 when they cut out the first mole. They got it out in time it hadn’t spread. But I was very lucky. Melanoma have to be caught early, if not; then there is no cure. I have to see a dermatologist every six months and still I am not at ease. I never tan, i never did and still I had melanoma…
I am a happy mom now but sometimes it scares me that my whole body is covered with freckles and moles.
I love that this post is directly opposite the one for leatherface Sean Penn right now.
Tanning is a relatively new thing that first got promoted by Coco Chanel. Before that it was considered vulgar to have a tan as that meant you were a farmer or some sort of lower class worker. Women regularly wore gloves, carried parasols, wore large hats and long dresses so they wouldn’t tan. So for all those who say “the sun is natural, we’ve always been out in the sun so it’s not bad” are wrong unless you go back hundreds & thousands of years when the average life span was rarely more than 40.
Now that we’re living longer and tanning is considered attractive and sexy, we’re suffering the results in an explosion of skin cancers. I’m 62 but have pale skin and gave up trying to tan a long time ago as I’d just burn. The result? I look 20 years younger than I am. I have friends who are power tanners and their skin looks and feels like dried up old leather, and almost all are now getting skin cancer. Like it or not, unless you use sunscreen religiously, the sun is bad for your skin beyond the necessary 10 minutes to boost your vitamin D levels.
My family is from the Caribbean, but we have a heavy European lineage so we’re very “light skinned” and are constantly confused for Italians or Greeks.
My mom, her siblings and her parents were poor and grew up on a farm so they never wore the big hats gloves coverage etc, (its hot and humid down there). This was also long before sunscreen came on the market.
Out of my mom, her aunts and uncles and siblings, the only person to ever get any type of skin cancer was my grandmother and she was well into her 90’s when she was diagnosed and had it removed from the arch of her nose. I think location and genetics is also a factor, not just sun exposure.
I am 38. When I was a teen, through most of my 20’s i fake baked and tanned at the beach excessively and have had several bad burns in my lifetime. I am Latina and for decades I was made fun of for being such a pale Latina by other Latinos that had tanned complexions and I was insecure. I am paranoid about skin cancer though, now, and every year visit my dermatologist for a check up. “knocks on wood”. People tell me I look very young for my age and that is surprising to me being that with all the tanning, I should look like Magda from “There’s Something About Mary” by now. I’d now rather be pale without all the sun spots/wrinkles and have finally accepted my natural skin color.
“So for all those who say “the sun is natural, we’ve always been out in the sun so it’s not bad” are wrong unless you go back hundreds & thousands of years when the average life span was rarely more than 40.”
I live near the equator where life span for decades has been in the 80 years old and where most people worked in the fields under strong sun. Cases of skin cancer are recent (last 20 years). I do think the sun is natural and is not inherently bad, but environmental changes like the lack or thinning of ozone layer, the chemicals we use in everything (sunscreens included) and the glamorization of being sun toasted seem to contribute to it. And people wore gloves and hats in the past not because they feared the sun but because being slightly tanned was tasteless and associated with farmers.
It’s easy to associate exposure to sun as cause/effect but from what I read (and btw was shocked by some some things I thought were considered totally proven and were not, but dramatized by sunscreen lobbies) it’s more complex than that. I’m not saying we should do our best to protect ourselves and do the best with what we know, I’m just saying we don’t know everything.
I need to go the the dermatologist for a mole check. Thanks guys. So many young death stories shared. 🙁
Since I burn at the drop of a hat, I don’t understand the tanning mentality. I am probably paler than most people on this site (so far I have yet to find someone outpale me). It takes 15 minutes to get vitamin D? It takes me about the same time to get a sunburn, so yeah I have a Vitamin D deficiency. I hate sunscreen because of the way it smells and because it is so oily (and caused me to break out majorly on my face before I went on Accutane last year). However I am forced to wear it if I know I am going out to be in the sun for several hours. Just last week I was in Albuquerque for a few days and the sun is way stronger than in NY where I live. I was vigilant with the sunscreen since it is so strong there, reapplying every two hours (which is what is recommended). And I still got some minor burns on my shoulders. Don’t skimp on the sunscreen! Your skin will thank you for it later.
I’m very fair skinned, too, Amy, so I feel you on the sun woes. I forgot to put sunscreen on yesterday, and despite the fact that I was only outside for an hour in the late afternoon (4pm) in my car, I still wound up with sunburn on my face. It’s maddening! I slap that SPF50 on my face year round, and I have SPF15 moisturizer for the rest of my body. In the summer, it’s SPF50 all day, every day for every part of my body. It only takes half an hour for UV to penetrate even the toughest sunscreens, so I figure I’m getting some vitamin D activation regardless of what I do and don’t worry about it. (In the north, we don’t get the right kind of UV for about six months of the year, anyway, so vitamin D some deficiency is inevitable for most people.)
My sister (who has a darker skintone) teases me all the time about how pedantic I am about it, especially when I visited her while she was living in Florida. We’ll see who’s laughing in twenty years when that Florida sun starts to show its force. 😉
I really recommend Neutrogena’s UltraSheer line, if you’re looking for a sunscreen you can wear daily on your face, without breaking out. I think it comes in a few different strengths: SPF 35, 44, 55, etc. It soaks into your skin quickly and leaves kind of a “matte” finish, no shine or oil left on the skin. My skin is hypersensitive – e.g. I can’t even wear mineral makeup anymore, as even looking at the container makes me break out in a rash – but my skin tolerates the Neutrogena well. It has good reviews on Makeup Alley too.
Tanning beds are so gross & icky.
Plus I’m tired of the anorexic, wrinkled forty-something moms dressed in Lulus–they still believe that old adage : “you can never be too rich or too tan.”
Um, yes you can.
As a fellow Aussie I’m glad Hugh is speaking up about this. I’m sick to death of everyone automatically associating a tan with health and light skin with illness or anemia. If you have to work hard on staying tan and it’s not your natural color from incidental sun exposure chances are you are just damaging your skin. As for the vitamin D argument – if you are a fair skinned Australian who isn’t bedridden and who has a balanced diet the chance of real vit-d deficiency is pretty much nil.
I live in Aus too – Hi!
I stopped going in the sun to tan years ago (tried for a few months when I was around 19 – even did some solarium tanning -YUCK never again) always wear sunscreen now.
A couple of years ago I was ALWAYS getting sick.. sore throats, colds etc
I went to the doctor – first thing she says when she sees my pale skin is “have you had your vitamin D levels checked recently?”
Got the results back – they were very low.. so I started to supplement with 1000iU D3 tablets, took about 5 a day for a few weeks to build it up, then reduced back to 1 a day, and have NEVER stopped taking them. Levels are fine now ,and guess what – no sickness in TWO YEARS! Not even a cold. It’s amazing. My immune system is fantastic now 🙂
Just popping in to say that I’m happy he’s promoting sun protection and skin csncer screening… and “Prisoners” was scary, he was really good in the film, and whyyy is nobody in movies ever afraid of the 1970s kitchen with brown faux wood cabinets, urine-yellilow wallpaper, and bad fluorescent lighting? Because you know nothing good ever happens in a kitchen like that…
Anywho, sunblock. I am fish belly white/baby mouse pink. For me, the physical sunblocks work the best. They are also a pain in the butt. The Japanese brands work the best for the face and are cosmetically more elegant (they play nice with foundation). I have very oily, extremely sensitive skin. Brands like Shiseido, DHC, Anessa, Anthelios (the kind from overseas, not the one sold in the US) and Avene work well with less irritation. I just found a brand at Earth Fare called Goddess Garden that is titanium dioxide & zinc oxide, non-nano, “reef safe”. Its thin & oily going on, but eventually dries mostly matte. Makeupalley is always my go-to for the latest in sunblock info.