Skin Care for Humans

Today’s news includes an admission that yes, Laura Bush has had a small skin cancer removed. I’d like to take a minute to quickly discuss the proper care of something I know you have, skin.

My sincere apologies if you are in fact a burn victim with no skin. Moving on.

The nice people at the Skin Cancer Foundation have this to say about the type of cancer Mrs. Bush had removed: it is the second most common form of skin cancer, and ” Like all skin cancers, chronic overexposure to the sun is the primary cause of nearly all cases of squamous cell carcinoma.” It is worth noting that your face is a prime area for such cancers because unlike most other body parts, it is almost never covered by clothing.

Taking care of your skin is not difficult, but it does take a few minutes every day and a little thinking ahead. To me that seems a small price to pay for both preventing cancer and looking good. In fact, I’m going to give you both versions of Skin Care for Humans, the lazy version and the deluxe version.

The lazy version is for you if I can only get you to spend an extra 60 seconds on your skin each day: when you clean your face daily (you are doing that, right? I mean otherwise… ew), use a good quality facial cleanser instead of soap; use a moisturizing sunscreen or sunscreen with moisturizer designed for use on your face each and every day.

When selecting your products, remember that you only have one face. Don’t accept anything inferior to Avon or Neutrogena, even if you are trying to be budget conscious. I like SkinMedica products, personally. Did I mention that I’m a thirty-something woman who gets carded regularly? As for your sunscreen, it should specifically say it blocks both UVA and UVB rays and have an SPF of at least 15. I specify a moisturizing sunscreen because it reduces the number of products used by combining two things everybody needs. And yes, you need sunscreen every day, even in Seattle, even if you are “just going to and from the car.” If you spend 5 minutes outdoors 12 times a day, that’s still an hour; you wouldn’t spend an hour in the sun without sunscreen, would you? And the nice folks at Cancer Research UK tell us that “Untreated glass, water and clouds are not good shields against UV radiation,” and “Even on overcast skies, 30-40% of UV will still penetrate through cloud cover.”

Now then, if I can get you to spend 5 minutes a day on your face, here’s the Deluxe 4 Step Skin Care for Humans Plan. Follow these steps twice daily:

Clean. Good quality facial cleanser. Use your hands instead of a washcloth, because the lines in your hands are just exactly abrasive enough to get stuff like dirt and loose skin off your face without ripping healthy skin cells off your face. Pat dry with towel when you are done instead of rubbing, for the same reason. Folks with facial peircings have already figured this one out the hard way.

Tone. Ideally, your toner should be made by the same company that made your cleanser. The purpose of toner is to bring your face back to a normal pH after cleaning or other treatments, and prep it for the next step.

Serums and/or eye cream. A serum is nothing more complicated than a skin treatment. There are more serums out there than you can shake a stick at. You have anti-oxidant serums such as vitamin C, and you have retinol based serums, and hydroquinone serums for getting rid of dark spots, and acne serums with ingredients like benzoyl peroxide or salicytic acid. Basically anything you would apply to your face to address a problem goes here. Make sure you let this product dry before doing anything else.

Sunscreen/moisturizer. Suncreen during the day; moisturizer at night. You don’t need sunscreen at night — the mass of the earth does a good job of blocking all the sun’s direct light — so why put it on?

I hope this is helpful. Take care of your skin; it’s attached to you.

China Follow Up: Chinese middle class fights back, making it clear that even people with an oppressive government can (and do!) fight back when necessary; the Chicago Tribune onthe ecologic effect of cheap Chinese goods such as cashmere; the AFP in a news item that doesn’t even mention China but illustrates the economic effect of cheap Chinese goods; a Chinese spin on the soup kitchen, or a publicity stunt?; and finally the Chinese experiment with a city run on cheap migrant labor is a failure, but the migrants are too poor to leave the sinking ship. A choice quote:

Among Chinese economic planners, Shenzhen’s recipe is increasingly seen as all but irrelevant: too harsh, too wasteful, too polluted, too dependent on the churning, ceaseless turnover of migrant labor.

“This path is now a dead end,” said Zhao Xiao, an economist and former adviser to the Chinese State Council, or cabinet. After cataloging the city’s problems, he said, “Governments can’t count on the beauty of investment covering up 100 other kinds of ugliness.”

Gee, sounds like they have figured out what Americans have not.

In closing: Wil Wheaton’s Security Theatre Experience; a news item not to be underestimated, Japan rolls back pacifist pillars; CNN brings you 6 strategies to survive the coming real estate bust, particularly if you are in one of the 10 housing markets they think is poised to fall in 2007; and finally don’t blame Taco Bell for the problems of big corporate agri-business.