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Then: Sun Bathing Now: Sun Spots
Feb 2Then: Sun Bathing
Now: Sun Spots
When I was in high school, my girlfriends and I would spread out our towels by a pool or at the beach, turn on our transistor radios, slather our bodies with baby oil and lay in the sun for hours and hours. We talked and laughed, sharing our most intimate secrets. It was the perfect way to spend a summer day. And the perfect way to abuse our skin.
Not that we knew that fact then. And if we had, we may not even have listened.
We would sizzle in the sun, moving over a few inches every half hour or so, as the sun moved across the sky. As if we wouldn’t be getting enough rays if we weren’t directly facing that big ball of heat.
Sometimes we switched to Ban de Soleil ( Ah, that distinct smell – rich, greasy, luxurious.) But we never used anything to block the sun. After all, we were young, with the world at our feet. We felt immortal. Nothing could bring us down.
Today, I’m paying for that behavior. A recent trip to the dermatologist reminded me of my reckless sunbathing. It seems that the majority of the spots on my arms and face were caused by too much sun. Several were pre -cancerous, most of them were not. And I say “were”, because thanks to my doctor, they are no longer decorating my skin. Using his nifty liquid nitrogen tool, he approached my body like a little boy with a toy gun, zapping away the dangerous discolorations.
It’s a little strange now to look down at my skin and not see the brown spots which, believe it or not, I had come to accept as part of the “older me.” My hands do look a bit younger, but certainly not young enough to justify my resignation from the senior citizen club.
I left the doctor’s office loaded with knowledge about sunscreens. It appears that the one vital and necessary ingredient for a good sunscreen is zinc oxide. Which, by the way, I did to apply to my nose back then. Thank God. My nose peeled enough times to qualify for onion status. I can only imagine how it would look today if I had not used the zinc.
Now when I go out to the beach with my friends, we stretch out in the shade, turn on an iPod and slather our aging bodies with high powered sunscreens. We enjoy each others company, laughing and talking, sharing our most intimate secrets.
The best things haven’t changed at all.
12 Responses to “Then: Sun Bathing Now: Sun Spots”
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I can remember mixing iodine with water and basting myself with that. A burn was a mark of distinction in those days. Peeling skin was to be envied.
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Stacy said on February 2nd, 2013 at 12:57 pm
I loved bain de soliel gelee and lets not forget the reflector
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My family and friends used to get annoyed with me because I didn’t like the sun. It had nothing to do with protecting my alabaster skin or avoiding cancer – I just didn’t (and don’t) enjoy lying there, getting hot and usually bored. Now I’m glad, because my skin shows little sign of sun damage – so I showed them
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janie said on February 2nd, 2013 at 3:06 pm
Weren’t we crazy? I thought for sure my nose was going to peel off!
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Helene Bludman said on February 2nd, 2013 at 7:22 pm
When I think of how we worshipped the sun I cringe. How many times did I let myself get burned to a crisp? Too many to count. And now I’m paying for it, like you and most of our generation.
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janie said on February 3rd, 2013 at 8:58 am
Helene – But it was fun, wasn’t it?
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janie said on February 3rd, 2013 at 10:19 pm
Sharon – No wonder you have such beautiful skin.
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janie said on February 3rd, 2013 at 10:19 pm
Stacy – Yes, that god awful reflector. What were we thinking?
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Although I’m a natural blonde, I tanned easily and never had a sunburn until I was in my teens… I spent every childhood summer at my family’s lake cabin in Northern Minnesota (at least it wasn’t in the South), then moved to Texas and did the baby oil thing until my mid-20s. Also fried in the Caribbean a few times… Most of me doesn’t look too bad, but my hands look like they belong to an 80-year-old woman. Thanks for the reminder that I need to make a derm appointment!!
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Sherri said on February 5th, 2013 at 10:36 pm
Ha! Oh, I can SO relate to this. I baked and baked with baby oil…right alongside my mother. I had a basal cell skin cancer before I even turned 40. I learned my lesson a few decades too late.
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janie said on February 5th, 2013 at 11:06 pm
Brenda – I hope you make one and it all turns out okay.
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janie said on February 5th, 2013 at 11:06 pm
Sherri – We were totally crazy, weren’t we?
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