All set to serve up some up-to-the-minute summer jamz for 2013. I had visions of being on the cutting edge of summer music, trotting it out to the rest of you and getting my boogie own, digging my toes in the sand and all that.
And then I went on youtube to actually look for it.
If this is summer music, give me autumn. Quickly.
Most of the alleged music was accompanied by either still shots of bikini-clad women, or, as a change of pace, videos of women. Wearing bikinis.
Not what I was looking for to show you dudes here on the Guide.
Still, my sojourn on youtube wasn’t a complete waste.
Provided you can get through the commercial that gets served up first, I’ve got some nice sounds for you. It’s 10 minutes of natural music, the sounds of the beach.
Supposedly it’s to help you sleep, but dudes. . . This sounds so very amazing. I’d really like to go.
Anyone headed to the beach and need a towel boy? I’m ready.
How I used a really cool film that’s coming out today to sort of talk about my actual topic? Not that I’m trolling for click bait or anything like that. It’s not like I’m mentioning sex or nudity or naked or something like that in the third sentence.
heh
Anyway, let’s get the last of this sunscreen out of the bottle and onto the blog.
There is, according to the American Academy of Dermatology, a right way and a wrong way to apply sunscreen so you don’t get burned. Who knew?
I figured just slathering it on until you could slide down a grass-covered hill at full speed was the way to go. And the grass leaves would scrape off the excess. Of course, that left grease tracks in the steep hills and killed the grass, but hey. . . That’s just the way we roll. See what I did there? A punne, or play on words?
Let’s head on over to listen to the fine skin doctors at the American Academy of Dermatology before I speak another horrible punne and really deserve punishment.
We’ve already talked about how the sunscreen you should be using should have a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30 and be broad spectrum to block out ultraviolet A and B rays (UVA and UVB). The next thing you need to know is that you’ve got to start slathering yourself up well before you head outdoors.
Apply sunscreen generously before going outdoors. It takes approximately 15 minutes for your skin to absorb the sunscreen and protect you. If you wait until you are in the sun to apply sunscreen, your skin is unprotected and can burn.
Which means you also need to make darn sure you cover every bit of exposed skin if you want the benefit of sunscreen. I mean, if you do most of the body and then leave, say, an unprotected stripe down the side of your torso where your arm would be if it weren’t in constant motion playing beach volleyball — just to pull an instance out of the air — it can really, really, really hurt.
Even worse, getting a severe sunburn can be bad news for future you. Damaging your skin with major doses of UVA and UVB can lead to more of a chance of skin cancer. Cover up. Get slathered. And make sure you use enough of the right kind of sunscreen.
Now watch this cool public service video. I’m sure it’s not corny at all.
A couple days ago we started talking about how we need to get a move on to prepare for summer. How we dudes need to make sure we get through it relatively safely.
Well, it seems that managed to pop the Guide up on someone’s radar. Because of that, we’ve been hearing from the American Academy of Dermatology. They’re the skin doctors.
They’re also the ones who are most concerned that we don’t do now what we did back in the 1970s. That is, rub ourselves down with baby oil and then go lay out in the sun to turn brown, browner, crispy. That is a real story, dudes. A true story. My sister, Tia, was the one who did that. She’d get so brown she was almost a purple color by the end of the summer. How she managed to make sure her skin isn’t the consistency of fine, Corinthian leather by now I have no idea.
Anyway, the dudes and dudettes at the AAD were concerned that we hadn’t talked enough about the importance of sunscreen. Sure, we mentioned it, but what I didn’t say was that there apparently is a correct way to go about putting it on your body. And, by extension, a wrong way. Or, as I like to think of it, the way I do it.
Before we begin, though, here’s a cute little infographic about sunscreen. Because you really can’t have a good how-to without having a cute infographic. Apparently.
So, anyway, there it is.
In case you’re wondering, what they’re recommending is that you find an empty shot glass, which shouldn’t be that hard considering it’s coming up on summer. Fill the shot glass with sunscreen and then you know how much you should be applying to the exposed areas of your body.
But, I hear you asking because you’re too lazy to look to your right at the infographic, what kind of sunscreen should we buy?
If you didn’t know, and I’m assuming you didn’t, is that the AAD recommends you use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30, one that is broad spectrum (it blocks ultraviolet A and B rays) and is water resistant.
Staying out in the sun for too long is one of the easiest ways for you to get some kind of skin cancer, including melanoma, which is the most aggressive form of skin cancer. You don’t want nothing to do with that bad momma.
Unfortunately, one in five Americans will be diagnosed with one form of skin cancer or another at some point in their lifetime.
Which means there’s still a four out of fie chance you won’t. I’m sure that putting on the right sunscreen certainly won’t hurt those chances.
And I. . .
Darn.
I seem to be all out of room. I guess I’ll have to come back tomorrow to finish up the bit about sunscreen and the correct application of same.
