– – – – – – – – – – – – – S P O N S O R E D P O S T – – – – – – – – – – – – –
BY NSW GOVERNMENT
Growing up in Australia, sun safety is just a huge part of summer. We’ve grown up with phrases like ‘Slip, Slop, Slap’ and ’no hat no play’ ringing in our ears. But it seems like the message still hasn’t sunk in with skin cancer still the most common cancer in young Australians and likely to affect 2 in 3 of us in our lifetimes.
This summer, the Pretty Shady campaign is offering a completely new approach to the message of sun safety and inspiring young Aussie’s to be part of the generation that stops skin cancer, one summer at a time.
This year Pretty Shady has recruited four new ambassadors to front the campaign: Isabelle Cornish (an actress and model), Mitch Revs (skate and surf graphic artist), Robbie Maddison (pro-FMX rider, X games medalist, X fighters trophy winner and world record holder), and Veronica Manock (melanoma survivor and sun protection advocate).
The ambassadors will be promoting ways to be safe in the sun this summer and showing young Australians that by taking a few simple steps to protect their skin from harmful UVA/UVB light they can make a difference to the skin cancer statistics.
How has skin cancer affected me
Luckily, I haven’t known anyone to be diagnosed with life threatening skin cancer, but the fact is that I have had friends who have gone under the knife and had potentially cancerous moles and sun spots cut out of their skin, and the surgery isn’t pretty.
A good friend of mine had a sunspot on her lip and had to have it cut off recently, resulting in a lot of post-surgery pain and difficulty eating until the area healed. Another friend has to get his skin checked regularly and has moles cut out of his skin every few years. While all of this sounds like a pain, it is worth it to both of my friends to get the minor surgery than have skin cancer.
The key thing to remember though is that you don’t need to wait for a check up to prevent skin cancer. The goal of sun protection is to protect yourself from developing it in the first place and it’s known that between 95%-99% of skin cancers can be prevented by using sun protection in the right way. Knowing that astounding fact and also wanting to keep my skin looking great will be enough to get me covering up this summer.
How to be ‘Pretty Shady’
For me, being sun-safe isn’t about all the clichés often associated with Asians and the sun (does UV blocking umbrellas on a bright summers day come to mind?), but it does involve being aware of how much time you spend in the sun and what protection you use. Use a combination of these measures when out and about this summer, even if you are just walking to the shops or the local café.
- Chill in the shade during the highest UV times (10-3pm in summer) whether this is hanging out at a café or under a stylish sun umbrella like the Pretty Shady one, your skin will thank you.
- Cover up – some of the most distinctive summer styles are also the most protective. If you’re out in the sun throw on a kaftan or loose boyfriend-style linen shirt for girls while the guys can go for a great logo t-shirt or worn in oxford shirt
- Apply SPF 30+ broad spectrum water resistant sunscreen and reapply every two hours.
- Wear a broad brimmed hat that protects the face, neck and ears bucket hats, straw fedoras or boaters and floppy J-Lo style hats are great options
- Wear a great pair of shades with UV protection as your eyes are at risk too
This summer Pretty Shady will be giving away five limited edition sun protection products on the Pretty Shady website. This includes sunscreen, hats, tees, sunglasses and sun umbrellas. Perfect for having a Pretty Shady time this summer.
Of course, you can still be shady, without winning Pretty Shady gear – try these chic and must-have items for summer.
L – R: Equipment Brett Blouse, Splendid Ribbed Maxi Dress, Lack of Color The Spencer Wide Brimmed Boater
To join the Pretty Shady movement visit www.prettyshady.com
This post was sponsored by NSW Government. All thoughts and comments are our own.
Love that hat! Definitely will be pretty shady in it this summer 😉