Taking care of your skin is essential for your overall health and well-being. Our skin is the largest organ in our body and serves as a protective barrier against harmful environmental factors such as UV rays and pollution. Neglecting to care for our skin can lead to a range of problems, including acne, premature aging, and skin cancer. Proper skin care involves regular cleansing, moisturising, and protection from the sun. It is also important to pay attention to any changes in your skin, as this can be a sign of a more serious health issue. By prioritising skin care, we can maintain healthy, vibrant skin and reduce our risk of skin-related health problems.

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.

Click on any of the free services below to see how you can get advice and/or support, whether it's related to skin health or your life in general.

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