skintranslation

Chances are that one of your upcoming medical appointments will be with a nurse practitioner (NP) like me, rather than the doctor you’re used to. And chances are you know very little about who NPs are or what they do, and you may not even know how to address an NP like me–should you call […]

Getting “inked” is a decision that one should not take lightly. Tattoos can have potential – and very real – health consequences. Know the Risks We have long acknowledged and mitigated some problems (like infectious blood borne diseases like hepatitis and HIV through the use of unsterilized needles). Other risks include: Allergies – ink pigments or dyes in […]

As a continuation of the conversation, Jimmy Carter: The Public Face of Melanoma… Melanoma is scary. Really scary. But, as cliché as it may sound, knowledge is power. Knowing a little bit more about melanoma – its red flags, or how its appearance differs from that of an ordinary mole, for instance – may actually alleviate some […]

On Thursday, August 20, at a press conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta, former president Jimmy Carter announced that he has advanced, or metastatic, melanoma. Melanoma’s ability to spread, or metastasize, to other parts of the body is what makes it potentially fatal. The term metastatic melanoma, also known as Stage IV melanoma, means that melanoma […]

Forgo Bakin’ It Public awareness of the damaging effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the sun and tanning beds has grown substantially over the past two decades. Programs like The Skin Cancer Foundation’s Go With Your Own Glow campaign stress the beauty of one’s natural skin color, and many celebrities promote untanned skin. But there needs […]

A continuation of Part 1. Yes to Cucumbers Lotion   Woo Hoo Factors Contains organic and sustainably grown ingredients UVA/UVB broad-spectrum protection Titanium dioxide 6.2% and zinc oxide 11% Cucumbers, green Tea and aloe (“soothing,” “cooling,” anti-oxidant) Non-invasive formula, hypoallergenic Non-comedogenic (non-acne forming), thus meant for body AND face Non-staining, washes out of clothing Free […]

I thought it apropos to test a product called June during the month of June. The June UV bracelet is something that tech types refer to as a “wearable.” Like a smartwatch or a fitness tracker, June provides tracking information to its wearer. Unlike its predecessors, June broke from the wearable tech’s clunky stigma. It […]

In Part 1 of this series on natural and chemical sunscreens, I covered the basics.  Here, we see that relatively minor shifts in priority between efficacy and potential health risks yield starkly different results in evaluating sunscreens.  To show this, I compared product recommendations from Consumer Reports and Environmental Working Group.  These two organizations consider […]

What is a “natural” sunscreen?  What is a “chemical” sunscreen?  Does it matter? Is sunscreen safe? Is it effective? I got these questions a lot when practicing, and I continue to get them from friends and family. Over the next few weeks, I will be putting up a series of posts providing some insights that […]