Future Entrepreneurs: Protect the Skin You're In

We rise by lifting others. ~Robert Igersoll

 



Hope you enjoyed your Independence Day holiday if celebrating in the U.S.!

As we’re on this journey as current and future entrepreneurs, it’s important to work together as a community. The Wishwall Foundation is an outstanding example of reaching out to the community to help on several levels.

Simonetta, the Celebrity Wishmaker, invited me to share some ideas for entrepreneurs after she saw my community work in Chicago and LA. I align with entrepreneurs and business owners who help promote each other’s projects on social media.

One of my first community partners was Teen Cancer America in Chicago and Los Angeles.



 



Who are they?



 



Teen Cancer America partners with hospitals throughout the United States to develop specialized facilities and services for teens and young adults with cancer. They build teen friendly environments, enhancing the hospital experience. Roger Daltry and Pete Townshend of The Who are the founders and I have been involved in campaigns and concerts with Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam (Wrigley Field) and Joan Jett.



 



http://www.akashagarnier.com/partners



 



Protect the Skin You’re In



 



Now that summer is in full swing we’ll shift to a timely topic. This week we look to Teen Cancer America for wisdom on sun safety (article from https://www.teencanceramerica.org).



 



In a recent Northwestern study, 93% of people who had purchased a bottle of sunscreen in the last year showed important gaps in their sunscreen smarts.



 



STAY SAFE IN THE SUN CAMPAIGN



 



Sun Safety is one of the easiest things to forget during the sunny months of summer, but Skin Cancer is also one of the easiest to prevent. Below are our tips for staying safe and enjoying yourself in the sun.

1. Slap on the cream.

2. Wear a hat.

3. Fake it.

4. Cover your skin.

5. Style it with shades.

6. Chill out in the shade.

7. Check your skin regularly.



 



DYK only 43% of people know the definition of SPF?



 



How proficient are you in sunscreen-ese? According to a new survey in JAMA Dermatology, most people don’t understand much of what’s written on a lotion label.

SPF = sun protection factor (indicating the effectiveness of protective skin preparations).



 



Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine wanted to test people’s knowledge of sunscreen, so they surveyed 114 people who came to the dermatology clinic during the summer of 2014. Even though 93% of them had purchased a bottle in the last year, most people showed important gaps in their sunscreen smarts.

UVB rays

“People think that SPF equals everything,” says Dr. Roopal Kundu, one of the study’s authors and a dermatologist at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. And it does count for a lot: the sun protection factor measures a sunscreen’s ability to filter UVB rays, which are related to sunburn and skin cancer. But SPF only measures UVB rays; it doesn’t tell you anything about protection from UVA rays, Kundu says.



 



UVA rays

The most misunderstood part of sunscreen is UVA, Kundu says. “UVA is around every day; it can penetrate through window glass,” she says. Like UVB, it’s also related to an increased risk of skin cancer, but unlike UVB, it’s not filtered by the ozone at all, Kundu says. UVA doesn’t cause sunburn, but “it really leads to darkening and aging, because it penetrates deeper into the skin and has more influence in the collagen.”



 



There’s only one way to tell whether your sunscreen offers UVA coverage: the words “broad spectrum.” Only 34% of people in the study named “broad spectrum” labeling as an influence in their choice to buy a sunscreen, but they’re the two most crucial words to look for on a sunscreen label, Kundu says, because there’s no other metric on the bottle for UV-A coverage. Without the words “broad spectrum” your sunscreen likely doesn’t offer coverage from UVA, Kundu says.

Most active ingredients in sunscreen shield against UVB, but far fewer have UVA coverage, and only a handful offer both.

Personally, Kundu uses an SPF 30 sunscreen with the active ingredient zinc oxide, a natural sunscreen ingredient that physically—instead of chemically—blocks rays. Zinc oxide protects against both UVA and UVB rays.

SPF numbers



 



So, why does a dermatologist only use SPF 30?

People in the study rated a high SPF number as the number-one reason they bought one sunscreen over another, but only 43% of people in the study knew what SPF actually meant. Here’s the real definition: an SPF of 30 means that technically, you could be out in the sun 30 times longer before you get sunburned than you would be able to if you went out without sunscreen, as long as you keep reapplying it appropriately, Kundu says.



 



And an SPF of 15 is not half as effective as an SPF 30, contrary to what 39% of the people in the study thought. According to Kundu, SPF 15 filters about 93% of UV-B rays; SPF 30 filters about 97% of UV-B rays; and SPF 50 filters about 98% of UV-B rays. The difference between SPF 30 and SPF 50 is only a 1% filtering improvement, she says, and since SPF 30 is readily available at many different price points, that’s the one many dermatologists recommend.

How much do you need?

For a sunscreen to work as advertised, you have to use a shot glass worth for unexposed areas, Kundu says. (About half of people in the study got this wrong.)



 



Bottom line

Typical adults should buy a water-resistant, broad-spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen, reapply every two hours and use the right amount, Kundu says. “If we can help reduce or spot skin cancer sooner, or be more aware of it, these are the mechanisms by which we can do it

Add these ideas as you are building your foundation of smart habits and staying active.



 



I’m continuing to partner with Teen Cancer America. I help promote their mission and donate 10% of proceeds from my book sales of Secrets to Shine Through the Noise; Nando Milano Trattoria also donates 10% to guests who buy my book and then dine at Nando Milano in Chicago or Champaign, Illinois. More news coming soon on a new community partner promotion…



 



We wish you a bright week!

We’ll be back next week to continue the journey as Future Entrepreneurs.

Thank you for reading and we welcome your comments below.



 



Cheers & fair winds,



 



Akasha Garnier

Author, Branding Expert, Producer

http://www.akashagarnier.com for The Wishwall Foundation



 



JAMA survey: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/fullarticle/2319715