foreword by Saundra S. Brown

It is that time again… time to cover sun care. What, you might ask, could possibly be said that is new and innovative on this topic? Truthfully, most of the information has all been written before. However, like a good book or a favorite movie every time you read it or watch it you pick up on something new. Maybe it’s a scene that you’ve overlooked all the times before, maybe it’s the subtleties of the emotions expressed, or maybe because of your accumulated experiences things that you read before take on a completely different meaning this time through. Whatever the case may be, considering exposure to the sun is responsible for the majority of the damage to the skin, it is a topic that is worthy of revisiting on a regular basis.

Education for you, as an aesthetician, and more importantly for your clients is a primary concern in regards to this topic. According to a study published in the Journal of Dermatologic Surgery, which Jennifer Linder, M.D. references in her article Caring for the Skin Cancer Patient on page106, 94 percent of the participants were concerned about the risks of developing skin cancer and yet 68 percent of them still believed they looked better and healthier with a tan. Based on these findings, there is clearly more work to be done in terms of education.
Skin cancer is the most obvious concern when you see a sunburned or tanned skin. However, there are many other disorders that are either a direct or indirect result of the assaults of exposure to the sun. Therefore, you will find that the articles prior to the feature focus on sun care and prevention. While those that follow the feature are centered on sunburns, skin cancer, and working with skin cancer patients to provide services that compliment the treatments they undergo with their physician.
For the feature however, we opted to explore that which gives our skin, hair, eyes, and nails their color – Melanin. In accordance with last month’s feature format, we once again asked three writers to contribute to our feature on melanin. Howard Murad, M.D.; Peter T. Pugliese, M.D.; and Michelle D’Allaird have each written complimenting portions that will enlighten you as to the in’s and out’s of melanin –its purpose, function, and reason for being; the disorders that exist when it fails to function properly due to genetics or trauma; and finally your role as an aesthetician, what options are available to you and how you can best advise your client.
The numbers found by the study are hardly surprising considering how flippantly we live our lives. We eat all the wrong foods and far too much of them. We exercise far too little and watch television or sit in front of a computer more than we should. Instead of building a “village” through knitting circles and community socials, we spend our time chatting in discussion forums with people far and wide that we will never meet. In short, we think more about the here and now than 10 years from now, never mind 30 to 50 years from now when all of these bad choices will matter…

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