Maintaining good skin care and healthy lifestyle choices can help prevent various skin problems, such as skin cancer, as well as your body's overall health.

As the largest organ in the body, the skin has many functions. Its most important role is being the first line of defence between our bodies and the outside world, protecting us from bacteria, viruses, and pollution and chemical substances that we encounter in the workplace and at home. 
Many factors impact your skin. Genetics, aging, hormones, and conditions such as diabetes are internal factors that affect the skin. Some of these you cannot influence, but there are many external factors that you can.

Some tips to help you look after your skin:

Protect yourself from the sun: Using a broad-spectrum sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15 and reapplying every two hours can help prevent skin cancer as well as trying to seek shade and wear protective clothing when possible.
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Maintain a healthy diet: What you eat is as important as the products that you put on your skin. Your diet can improve your skin health from the inside out and drinking plenty of water helps keep your skin hydrated.

Quit/reduce any smoking habits: Smoking decreases blood flow, depleting the skin of oxygen and nutrients that are important to skin health.

Manage Stress: To encourage healthy skin — and a healthy state of mind — take steps to manage your stress such as setting reasonable limits, scaling back your to-do list and making time to do the things you enjoy.

Get a good night's sleep: People classed as poor sleepers had increased signs of premature skin aging and a decreased ability for their skin to repair itself overnight from environmental stressors such as sun exposure.

Skin Cancer

There are two main types of skin cancer: Non-melanoma and melanoma.
Non-melanoma skin cancers usually develop on skin that is exposed to the sun, such as the head and neck. On the other hand, Melanoma develops when cells called melanocytes grow more quickly than usual. While it is less common than non-melanoma, it does have the ability to spread deeper into the skin, and to other organs, if it is not treated at an early stage.

Since the early 1990s, both melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have more than doubled, so it's extremely important to keep an eye out for the signs of each.

Signs of non-melanoma:
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• ​A scab or sore that doesn’t heal
• A crusty or scaly patch of skin that appears red or inflamed
• A pearly, flesh-coloured lump that doesn’t go away and is growing in size 
• A scabby lump on the skin that keeps getting bigger 
• A growth with a pearly rim that surrounds a central crater 

Signs of melanoma:
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• ​In most cases, melanomas have an irregular shape and have more than one colour
• The mole may also be larger than normal and can sometimes bleed or get itchy
• Look out for a mole that gradually changes shape, size or colour

If you have noticed any of these symptoms or are concerned that something may be wrong with your skin, make an appointment with your GP as soon as you can.

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