Do you see yourself with a healthy tan? Have you noticed those words out there lately? You do know there is no way to get a healthy tan, don’t you? You can get a slight tan, a little tan, but if your skin is exposed to the sun long enough to change the color, you are doing damage. How do we get this through to our young people? All famous people seem to be doing just what they want to about tanning. How can it be that bad for you?
Where Is Your Reality
Is January a good time to discuss this obsession we have with the rich and famous? With their lifestyles and what effect it has on you? As an adult, an older adult, what I see over and over again does affect what I think. Ads with apparently rich and famous people on cruises and advertising all kinds of attractive spas and places to spend time where the summertime seems to live. Yes, those are attractive to me too. Even with a lifetime of results of ignoring the protection of my skin.
When I watch Wheel Of Fortune, yes I’ll admit to watching this “old people show.” Those prizes of trips to the islands, sure I can see myself sitting there in an old lady swimsuit, not the skimpy ones the models have on. But for some reason, I don’t see me under an umbrella! I am in the direct sun! Check out your true feelings and see if you don’t agree that the mental pictures are there. We see little protection from the sun in those pictures.
I assume that’s why I was becoming a fan of the pictures from the online sources selling sun blocking clothing. What was this “sun blocking clothing” I was seeing? In all honesty, I was curious and wondered about what made the clothing protect us from the sun. There were so many questions.
Then when I found that I had been wearing sun blocking clothing forever. Let’s do a quick backwards glance here. Check out this post for the full information about sun blocking clothing. What Is Sun Blocking Clothing?
Sun Blocking Clothing
The more modest way we dressed in earlier times had an effect on protecting our skin. Anytime you have clothing that blocks the sun from your skin, that is sun blocking clothing. Remember how your Grandparents had long sleeves and usually long pants? They usually wore some kind of head covering. This was protecting their skin.
Then we had the thicker Ozone layer. When I was young, the Ozone was unknown to me. However, it was there protecting me. I was oblivious to what was happening. We could be out in the sun more, tan less and not burn so quickly. (Note here, we would burn, it just took longer. )
Now with girls not wearing t-shirts over their swimsuits. Boys not wearing shirts either, we all are exposing our skin to the sun more often and for longer time periods.
With the public schools cutting funding for sports in the school programs, parents are trying to offer their kids sports oppurtunities. For the younger kids, the practice sessions and game times often are scheduled during the more direct sun times of the day. The hours between 10 AM and 4 PM. They are out playing, and you are sitting watching. All in the direct sun times of the day.
My Healthy Tan dream
As the knowledge of how deeply I was allowing the world to manage my inner mind talk. Making me compare myself and the way I looked to how the professional models with their air-brushed tans and filters that were used to get the perfect picture. Yes, I know that is not real in my conscious brain. I am not so sure in my unconscious brain!
So, how do we reach those who have not realized what is affecting their ideas about how they want to look? Before further damage is done to their skin, or before they began a life of trying to repair that damage?
Because I can’t go backwards and reach most readers early in their life, I am choosing the the first weeks of a new year. Months before summertime. Months before we need to worry about sunburn.
My awakening
Then- as we were in the car to run an errand, I realized that my hands on the steering wheel were uncomfortably hot! The sun was shining through the window. No matter how I held the wheel, I couldn’t get out of the direct sun. As our destination was 35 miles away, my hands were overexposed to the sun for 35 minutes! There was snow on the ground, yet I was getting too much sun on my hands!
I had taken the driving gloves out of the car for some reason, and not put them back! Lesson learned, But at a price that will produce many “age spots” on my old lady hands.
We become so habitual without realizing it. How can we help ourselves to change our habits? How can we prepare for skin protection and have it automatic? That is what I need. Automatic so I don’t have to think about it at all.
For some of you, looking for the answer to how to get a healthy tan, I think you understand by now that there is not a healthy tan. We have grown to accept sun-damaged skin as something we desire!
In my journey to learn about healthy tan, I realize that I have been sold a bill of goods. A bill of goods by companies trying to make a dollar! I have been lazy about protecting my skin from sunburn. Have you? Are you in the habit of ignoring the need for sunscreen when you are outside in the sun, even if it is in the car between 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM?
Are you allowing the habits you developed during the days when we still had an Ozone layer to help filter the sun to cause you to sunburn now?