We don’t need another Britney sitch.

Justin Timberlake thinks he’s the next Tiger Woods.

America hearts beastiality?

So that’s why Michael Jackson wore the glove?

And you thought your sunburn was bad?

Don’t wanna shower? Try a dry shampoo.

Now that a lot of us hold weekly office jobs, it makes perfect sense that we want to soak up as much sun as possible on the weekends. However, too many girls make the mistake of not wearing sunscreen while sitting in the sun to compensate for their pale bodies…and end up looking like a lobster instead. Not only is a red face less attractive than a pale one (and much easier to fix with a little bit of bronzer), but burning your skin opens you up to the dangers of melanoma and skin cancer.

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. Read More »

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? Read More »

So yesterday I got my first sunburn of the year. (At least, I think it’s a sunburn – it may also be a result of my drunken face-plant…) Honestly, though, I’m not gonna complain ’cause Syracuse hasn’t seen the sun in months. I am, however, going to dust off the sun products that have been under my bed for the past 8 months.

If you want to prevent painful burns, wrinkles, sunspots and , most importantly, cancer, you really need to remember to preserve your skin. And preserving your skin means more than slopping on some SPF 4 when you lay at the beach. The sun can harm your skin at any time, so learn from my burned mistake (I was drinkin’ a beer outside) and protect yourself.

Below are some makeup products that include SPF built right in! I’m not suggesting this is a substitute for using sunscreen, but if you’re just going outside quickly, or want to add some extra protection you gotta try these great finds. Unless, of course, you want to look like this when you’re 30. Read More »

If you just got back from spring break and resemble a lobster, don’t  worry, while I was bitter about your tropical vacation I will not mock you.

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. Read More »

Spring Break is right around the corner, and I’m hoping to escape from the freezing winter temperatures on a warm, sunny beach somewhere. If you’re headed to the beach like me, make sure you bring all the essentials with you:

1. Sunglasses - With the sun reflecting off the ocean and the sand, you need dark shades to protect your eyes. Plus, you can check out the hotties playing football down by the water without looking like a total creep.

2. A magazine or trashy novel – It’ll keep you entertained when you’re lounging in the sun, and it’s also a good way to look like you’re doing something else when you’re really staring at afore-mentioned hotties.

3. Sunblock – Again, seems totally obvious, but the LAST thing you want is to come back from your vacay looking like a lobster. Not to mention that you’re putting yourself in danger for skin cancer without it!

4. Beach-friendly makeup -If you can’t go out without makeup, even at the beach, know that your regular makeup routine isn’t going to hold up to the heat, sand, and water, so just keep it simple with some basics: tinted moisturizer (don’t forget the SPF!) and tinted lip balm or an all-over color stick to keep you looking fresh and naturally pretty all day (like this one from E.L.F.).

5. A cute cover-up – A tunic or minidress is perfect, because it’s small enough to fit into your bag, and you can throw on over your bathing suit if you and your friends decide to browse the beachside shops or grab some much needed margaritas. Read More »

If you’re at a bad party, you can call it a night, call Saferides, and make it back to your dorm in one piece. Then again, if you’re at a good party, you can live it up, sleep until noon the next day, and then relax your hangover away to get back to the daily grind.

On spring break, however, once you get off the plane at your final destination, you’re in it for the long haul. Though you anticipate your vacay being the highlight of the semester, it can be grueling to go all day, every day, and, being far from home, there’s a lot that can go wrong. Nothing is suckier than getting sick in a foreign place, fighting with your tripmates, or getting into a sticky situation in an unfamiliar place. Make sure you make it back to school in one piece this spring, by taking a few simple precautions.

1. Do your research.

Get some maps before you leave. Ask people you trust if they can recommend a good hotel. Try to brush up on the local rules or laws of the place you’re headed. The last thing you want to do is get lost, check into a lodging that is reminiscent of hostel, or get in trouble for something you didn’t even think was wrong.

2. Pack wisely.

Flip flops might be a necessity, but what about when you take a day trip that requires walking around all day to take in the sights? Pack a comfortable pair of shoes just in case that long night of clubbing wore out your feet. And even if you think you’re going somewhere tropical, it can’t hurt to throw a sweater in your suitcase for when the temperature drops after dark. Read More »

So you are not going on spring break… I share your pain. I will be returning home, where it is also cold, to substitute teach bratty kids instead of drinking pina coladas in the sun. FML.

It sucks listening to everyone talk about their plans, but it will suck more when they all come back with sweet beach tans, and I, well, still glow in the dark. Seriously, the other day my best friend called me pasty (harsh, but true).

And this, my friends, is why I am looking for a bottled glow.

Tanning beds scare me with their cancerous connotations. Spray tans scare me too; I don’t want to look like I have a bad case of Lindsey Lohan. So I am going to suggest to you some of the best self tanners out there. I know – self-tanners sound pretty intimidating as well. I will admit I had a horror story experience with one in the 8th grade. Here’s me, so excited to wear my new green halter top, turned totally orange, passed my crush walking down the street. Ultimate humiliation. But, don’t let that turn you off of self tanners! That situation was caused by a serious lack of knowledge about what I was doing or what kind of product to use.

The great thing about the products below is that while they are not an instant bronze color, they will gradually give you a natural looking, healthy tanned glow. Hopefully this will help you keep up with your Spring Breakin’ roommates without coming back to campus looking like the orange eighth grade version of me. Read More »

Summer. What a delicious season. From the fruit to the fruity cocktails, everything seems so much fresher in the warm summer sun (well, everything besides our under-arms). Everything seems so much easier (besides the monthly bikini waxes). Everything is just so much…better (except the condition of our intensive-care inducing sunburns).We love the summer; really, we do. But, just like the killer hangover that comes after an awesome night of Sake Bombing, summer does have some downsides. Our writers weigh in on their least favorite parts of the season:

Sarah – NYU: Being drenched with sweat before I even leave my apartment in the morning. Gross.

Stacy Kidd: The weather; it just loves to pour buckets on me when the forecaster predicts sun, and conversely make me sweat buckets when rain is expected. Fantastic.

Diana Vilibert: Cute summer dresses that end in discomfort, thanks to inner-thigh chafing. (What, just me?)

Kate Bean: Sweating in my knee pit…or wait… is it “leg pit”? Read More »

My mother is 100% Italian. My father, a 100% Irish. My brother got my mother’s olive skin tone: the two of them could sit outside for hours, lathering up in baby oil and bake to a beautiful golden brown. I was the fortunate one (insert sarcastic undertone here) who got my father’s Irish skin. The two of us can’t go to a windy afternoon baseball game without using SPF 45, unless of course, we want to find ourselves covered in sunburn and blisters.

Last summer, I thought I was invincible when it came to the sun. My friends can get tan with SPF 4 or 8, so why couldn’t I? On two various occasions, I felt the effects of not listening to the realistic side of my brain in terms of summer sunshine. I spent a week in June in San Antonio, Texas, where it was roughly 95 degrees every day. As this was a more family-oriented – go out to dinner, do family related things – sunbathing took a back seat, until the last dreaded day, when I thought it was appropriate to lay at the pool, for three solid hours, with nothing – and I mean, not a drop of sunscreen – on my body. Read More »