A client wrote me asking if she should change her products: ”
I’m pretty happy with all of it but I was wondering if I should make a change. I turned 40 last year, and I am thinking that maybe I should get something more “age appropriate.”

It’s a great question. And here is my answer:

I don’t use age as a guideline for recommendations. Any age of skin can have any number of issues or needs. So, if your skin had CHANGED (due to age or circumstances other than that) it could be possible you might need to readjust your routine. However, it your products still feel appropriate, I’d say stick with them. I always go by the condition of the skin, never the age. This seems contradictory to what you may hear in the media, etc., but it truly makes sense if you think about it. You could be 50 and still with oily skin. If so, and you use an “anti-aging” cream with lots of oils, etc., you’d develop an oil slick on your skin! So, if your skin had changed, it may call for a change in your routine.

Just because you are racking up candles on your birthday cake, it doesn’t mean your skin is drastically changing - necessarily.

I made an appointment with a dermatologist (a PA [Physician's Assistant], actually) who was highly recommended. I mainly wanted to establish a relationship with a derm so I have someone to recommend to my clients when I find moles they should have checked out. Secondly, I had a tiny (and I mean TINY) dot on my neck I wanted looked out.

If you had seen this dot (mole) you wouldn’t think anything of it, but I did. It was new, which is one warning sign of potential skin cancer. It was also almost black, a second sign. This dot was literally as big as the period at the end of this sentence. Seriously. It was THAT small. I have a good eye though and knew it needed to be looked at.

As it turns out the PA said indeed it was potentially problematic. She recommended either keep an eye on it and take another look in 3 months or take it off now and have it analyzed. I opted for the latter. Why? Because IF it was “something” the something it would be is melanoma, not a less deadly squamous cell or basal cell cancer. So off it goes!

I’ll let you know what the pathology report says. I’m not really concerned because if it turns out to be melanoma, it was removed so early that I don’t believe it will be an issue. And if it is nothing, it could turn into something someday so better it is off my skin!

My point in sharing this story is to let you know that even the slightest change in a mole can signal cancer or a precancerous growth. In my case the “dot” was new, I probably saw it 2 months ago and knew it was new. It was also dark, almost black, which is another warning sign. Go to the following website to see and read about skin cancers and what to look for.

http://www.webmd.com/melanoma-skin-cancer/slideshow-precancerous-skin-lesions-and-skin-cancer

I recommend getting a baseline mole check if you are near or over 40 and especially if you’ve had a lot of sun exposure in your lifetime and if you have a lot of moles. Then I’d go for an annual fully body mole check. In the case of skin cancer it is so much better to be safe than sorry.

I was talking with a client the other day about using sunscreen, etc. I was explaining about the need to reapply, especially if you are exercising. I went on to say the I especially need to do this since I always wipe my face once I start sweating, which no doubt takes just about all the sunscreen away too. She said she didn’t wipe, which was a kind of revelation to me. You mean some people don’t feel the need to wipe the dripping sweat off their faces? Guess not everyone is like me!

But if you are, just know that certainly an appreciable amount of any sunscreen you have applied to your face (or wherever) is coming off during the wiping process. Today, for instance, I was running a trail and it was HOT! I wiped and wiped and keep internally commenting on the fact that basically my face was left sunscreenless. Did I reapply? NO! Do you in that situation? I just know that I will be getting sun exposure with little of no sun protection by the end of my run. It is a risk I take and a reality of life.

The moral of this story is: Reapply your sunscreen! And if you don’t, just be aware you are putting in clock time for UV radiation. Hopefully you enjoyed your outdoor activity and, well, that’s it!

:+) Carolyn.

I was hiking up a trail this morning and came across a beautiful newly woven spider web. It was new because the night before we had torrential rain storms, something a delicate spider web wouldn’t have survived. It got me thinking about life and how we weave our web, making connections with people and things and building our world all encased in our personal web.

Sometimes there are events and turns in life that cause our web, our security, to get destroyed or otherwise disrupted. Being the strong, forthright humans we are, we build. And rebuild. And so it goes. We have this wonderful capacity to continue moving forward, even if we have to rebuild our web numerous times. Just like a spider.

I want to remember that the next time a storm (major life event) comes and takes out my web (causes angst and stress and disruption in my life and home). I have the power to rebuild - every day if necessary - and create another web, to create new connections in my life. To rebuild perhaps a strong web than the one before.