By Mark Wishner^*

Keep Your Skin In the Game!

This year in The United States, more than two million people will be diagnosed with skin cancer. 90% of the golf professionals who attend presentations by The Sun SafeTee Program® have either had skin cancer or know someone who has. Clearly there is a need to inform the golf community about sun protection and to reinforce what people already know….or think they know.

The first line of defense in a comprehensive sun protection strategy is using a good sunscreen. Choose a sunscreen that has an SPF of at least 30 and one that says it protects against UVA and UVB rays or “Broad Spectrum Coverage”. This will protect you against both the aging rays (UVA) and the burning rays (UVB). Here are a few sunscreen tips:

• Liberally apply sunscreen 20 to 30 minutes before going out into the sunlight and be sure to cover your ears, lips, nose and neck.

• If you are also using a bug repellent, apply the sunscreen first and wait before using the bug repellent.

• Most sunscreens only last for two hours and then need to be reapplied. That is why we say, Don’t Burn…Reapply at the turn®. If golfers would heed that advice, they would go a long way toward protecting their skin.

• If you are concerned about sunscreen affecting your grip, apply the sunscreen using your glove hand.

• Sunscreen should be used year round, not just during the summer months. And not only on sunny days but on cloudy ones as well.

We are big believers in the use of UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor) rated clothing as a non-chemical physical barrier to the sun. Wearing UPF rated garments is just as important as using a good sunscreen. This is appropriate for adults and especially for children. UPF rated garments reduce the amount of sunscreen you need to use and eliminate the need to apply and reapply sunscreen to that area of your body. Recently I started wearing Sun Sleeves and love them. I use them when I am wearing a short sleeve shirt. Not only do the sleeves protect my arms from the sun (UPF 50+), they have moisture wicking properties so they keep me cooler on the course. Long sleeves that keep you cooler? Yes they do!

Wearing a wide brim hat (UPF rated) provides additional sun protection for your face and neck. Many skin cancers appear on the ears, nose and lips. Wearing that wide brim helps protect those areas. Golfers seem resistant to wearing this type of hat but there is an additional benefit that can help your game….When you are addressing the ball, you can use your peripheral vision to use the wide brim to check your alignment. It really works.

A good pair of UV blocking sunglasses is an important tool out on the course. Not only do they protect your eyes from UV rays which can cause cataracts and other problems, but they also protect the area around your eyes. Finally, do yourself a favor and see a Dermatologist once a year, more often if you have had skin cancer or precancerous lesions.

The good news is that most skin cancers are preventable. I hope that you will use this information when you are out on the course and in your every day life. You can also use these pointers in your golf shop to educate your customers and help sell sun protection products.

The Sun SafeTee ® Program is a non-profit organization that provides sun protection education and skin cancer prevention programs to the golf community. To learn more about The Sun SafeTee Program, go to http://www.sunsafetee.org

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Credits

Originally posted by MarkWishner on 21 Jul 2010.
All contributors: MarkWishner,

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