About 60,000 people each year are diagnosed with some form of skin cancer, and we want to help you learn how to treat your red and itchy skin to avoid this! Well, that and show you some really easy ways to look cute despite being a different color than most members of the human race:

Keep skin hydrated: If your first shower after the beach left you with tears in your eyes because the water stung so bad, you need to keep your skin hydrated with lotion. The most soothing gels and lotions have aloe vera in them, and this will help soothe your skin and prevent itchiness (and therefore scratching and scarring). You can also use hydrocortisone if your burns are really bad.

Drink liquids with vitamins: Water helps to keep your skin hydrated, but is also really important to keep you hydrated after a long day in the sun. To get the most bang for your buck, be sure to drink things with vitamins C and E in them, as they are crucial in repairing damaged skin cells and ensuring that your body is healthy once your sunburn clears up.

Exfoliate: GENTLY buff away the dead skin. Don’t do this too roughly, as it will irritate your body, but just enough to make sure that the skin cells underneath are not trapped. And you’re not flaking off on your couch/bed/friends for the next two weeks.

See a doctor: This is only if you experience blisters, fever, faintness, dizziness, difficulty breathing, or nausea. This could be indicative of sun poisoning. Also, be sure to see a dermatologist regularly to get scanned for potentially harmful freckles and moles. The more often you do this (yearly?) the better your chances of catching anything serious early on.

Ugly tan lines: The next time you’re out in the sun, wear a wife beater over your top. You will not burn this way, and it still allows your arms to get some color while the lines on your shoulders even out. If you’re going out at night and want to disguise that burn line, think halter tops; they cover the same lines that will have burned in most bikini tops, and, let’s face it, they’re sexy as hell.

Make-up: Rub some foundation into your normal moisturizer (my choice is CoverGirl TruBlend). When you mix the two and apply moisturizer as you normally would, it hides any uneven skin tones and makes you look tan despite your UV mishaps. Spread it down your neck and across the tops of your shoulders so that you won’t look uneven, and carry a compact with you to pat down your skin if your make-up starts to run during the night.

WEAR SUNSCREEN EVERY DAY: This is the one that everyone complains about, but it’s the easiest thing to do. Pick up some moisturizer with SPF in it (I love Oil of Olay SPF 15 – It’s about $8.00 at any drugstore and works better than most of the high-end stuff). You can get burned even on a cloudy day, so make sure to apply this every morning so that you don’t have to think about your sun protection for the rest of the day. Furthermore, keep a sunscreen face stick (SPF 30 or 45) in your bag so that if you have to make an impromptu beach or pool run, you have something with you. These things weigh less than a cell phone and you can throw it in a pocket easily.

Remember, ladies: even wearing your sunglasses at night won’t cover up a bright red and peely face. So SPF it up, wear cover-ups, carry around shades, and remember that you can always get sunburned, so always be prepared!

Back in the day when Speedo one-pieces were cool, I had no interest in tanning. Although I fought through “sunscreen smear down” sessions with my mom, my skin was still, for the most part, shielded from the sun all summer long. It wasn’t until my friends started wearing bikinis and lots of Hawaiian tropic, that my Irish complexion got it’s first taste of sunburn. I quickly realized that getting the perfect tan wasn’t really in the cards for me…well unless I wanted to look like a leather handbag years later.

It’s scary how many times my skin has peeled, even blistered. I’ve accumulated many freckles, and one of them could easily be cancerous. At least that’s what I hear. Freckles appearing after a sunburn have been associated with an increased risk of melanoma skin cancer – the fatal kind. And even worse, it’s been estimated that nearly half of all Americans who live to age 65 will develop skin cancer at least once, according to MedicineNet.com.

Clearly we are all guilty of neglecting our skin for vanity’s sake. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy that bronzed glow? But ten, fifteen years from now, we’ll be kicking ourselves when the wrinkles, blotchy sun spots or melanoma develop.

So what can we do now to prevent further sun damage?

1. Always wear sunscreen, SPF 15 or higher, and reapply every 2 hours. Those of us who are fair-skinned, freckled, red-headed and blue-eyed really need to pay attention to this one since we are at more risk that our dark-skinned counterparts.
2. No more tanning beds. You know why!
3. Examine yourself regularly for abnormal skin growths or changes in existing moles and freckles. Self-examination can ensure an early detection of skin cancer.
4. Visit your dermatologist. It is recommended that everyone get a clinical skin exam annually, especially if you spot a new lump or mole.

I hate being a Debbie-downer before summer, but we need save our skin. So wear a higher SPF, go the self-tanning route — anything to keep that precious epidermis young and healthy.

For more information on skin cancer symptoms, please visit www.skincancer.org.

I actually feel quite sorry for you; sunburns are the worst! They hurt, they peel, and as if the pain isn?t enough, well you also look like someone put you in a frying pan for 5 hours.  (I bet you wish you had listened to your mother and put on some SPF!)

But since that sunscreen will not help you now, here are some tips to take care of your toasted skin and cover it up (as much as possible, anyway!).

Basic Care Tips:

-Take cool showers and apply cool face cloths to your burned areas. This won’t help the healing much, but it will make you feel so. much. better.

-Don’t wear perfumes, or oily makeup/products. These will only irritate your skin more, making you even more uncomfortable.

-Keep yourself covered – loose clothing is best.

-If your burn is more serious or your skin is bubbling, you need to see a doctor to treat the burn!

The best thing for your skin now is aloe vera, a plant with sunburn healing powers.  You can find aloe in gels, toners and lotion.  Here are some aloe products that can help soothe, repair and reduce the redness of your burn.

Shower Gels

Korres Shower Gel, $13

Olehenrisken Aloe Vera Deep Cleanser, $30

Laura Mercier Gel Mask, $32

Toner

DDF  Aloe Toning Complex, $32

Lotion

Clinique After Sun Lotion, $20

You can also find a bunch of great aloe products at The Magic of  Aloe, a website with gels, lotions and spritzers.

Now that you are on your way to healing, here’s some advice for covering up the burn!

-Use natural powder products that won’t irritate the burn and make it worse.

-Use products that contain yellow and green undertones which will help

reduce redness. Try: Tarte’s Mellow Yellow Powder & Cream. This product soothes, heels, and eliminates redness from your face. (No more Rudolph nose/raccoon eyes!)

-Use moisturizing balm on your lips to reduce redness and keep them from cracking. Try Avon’s Basics lip balm with  aloe.

-Keep the rest of your makeup simple; bold and bright blue eye shadow will only attract attention to your burned face!