crows to burnaby

As a fair-skinned, freckled, redhead who burns easily and is a textbook candidate for skin cancer, I was a bit disturbed to read about how useless or dangerous the vast majority of sunscreens apparently are. I'd heard rumours in the past that some ingredients in sunscreen cause more harm than good - this certainly seems to confirm it. Out of 952 products, the Environmental Working Group only identified 143 that were both safe and effective - and most of these are brands I've never heard of and wouldn't even know where to find.

This report comes just as it's finally become summer in Vancouver; with the exception of a few days when I wasn't HERE, it's barely broken the 20 C mark for months. Now it's prime beach season, finally safe to wear tank tops, shorts or skirts without worrying that I'll be chilly later on.

I guess I'll just keep up my habit of dodging the sun and hiding in the shade, and in addition to tracking down a safer sunscreen, will give some thought to longer sleeves and skirts if I think I'm going to be exposed to good ol' UV for any length of time. It's a bummer, but I'd rather maintain my pale Victorian complexion than end up with lobster-red alligator skin with potentially deadly repercussions.