As we kick off summer, we’ll be sharing our best advice for achieving Healthy Summer Skin—read all May long. Here’s to a summer of feeling good, living well, and keeping your skin safe under the sun.
“Do it in good light, with a full-length mirror, a hand mirror, and ideally your phone for photos. Start at the scalp and work down: face, ears, neck, chest, under breasts, arms, palms, fingernails, back, buttocks, genital area, legs, soles, between toes, and toenails” she says. “The goal isn’t to diagnose yourself. The goal is to know your own body well enough to notice when something changes.”
“People focus on moles, but it’s not just moles,” she reminds us. “Watch for a sore that doesn’t heal, a spot that bleeds or crusts, a shiny bump, a rough scaly patch, a pimple that won’t go away, an itchy or tender spot, a dark line under a nail, or a new/changing spot on the scalp, lips, palms, soles, or between toes. The most important warning sign is behavior: new, changing, bleeding, itching, or not healing.”