1. Skin Cancer

Do you really need another reason to stay out of the sun than this? The risk of death or disfigurement increase dramatically with every sunburn you get, even just the very first one in your life!

Is the hassle of slathering on sunblock, or wearing a sunhat, really worth the risk of skin cancer?

2. Wrinkles

So even if you’re not afraid of skin cancer, you, like every other woman in the world, is probably scared straight by the thought of premature wrinkles. Even if you’re willing to risk skin cancer, don’t risk wrinkles!

3. Leathery Skin!

Unless you want skin with the look and feel of an old baseball mitt, use sunblock, or use it as a reason to stay out of the sun! Take a peek at Keith Richards, and imagine how rough and nasty his skin feels. Or take a look at that woman you always see at the mall, the one with the unbelievably deep tan and the afore-mentioned “baseball mitt” look. Ick!

4. Sun Spots

When you were little, they were freckles, and they tended to fade if you stayed out of the sun or used sunblock. Now, they’re sun spots, or worse, AGE spots, and they don’t fade! That’s right. Those sun spots won’t go away on their over time, and will require the services of a laser or a series of painful, expensive peels to fade.

5. Painful Sunburn

If you’ve ever had a sunburn, you know how appropriate the name is: BURN. It’s terribly painful, and all the aloe in the world won’t help much. This is perhaps one of the sissiest of reasons to stay out of the sun, but it applies, and there’s no medal for pain endurance in this life.

6. Rash

Some people, like my bestie, get a nasty rash if they spend too much time in the sun. She can use sunblock, but it doesn’t help, so this is her reason to avoid the sun. It’s pretty nasty-looking… and though I don’t love her any less because of her sun-rash, I sure wouldn’t want to have it.

7. Sets a Bad Example

Chances are, we long to tan because our mothers and cool older cousins and marvelously chic aunties did it. So it’s time to break the cycle! Start setting a good example for the younger generation by using sunblock and by sunning smartly.

These are just a few of m own reasons for staying out of the sun, and that last one is pretty important to me, since I’m a mother with two girls of my own to influence. If you’re a sun-worshipper, do any of these sun-avoidance reasons strike you? If you’re already a pale convert, like me, which of these reasons resonates with you?

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