Misstropolis

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

How to Save Your Skin

by Robin Hauck

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“Slip. Slop. Slap.” is what they say in Australia. “Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat.” With the highest rates of skin cancer in the world, Australia has had to develop a national campaign to educate people on the importance of sun protection. “Slip. Slop. Slap.” was coined in 1981, but parents still use it and kids still know what it means.

In the U.S. we do not have any federal requirements for sunscreen ingredients or use. Luckily for our skin, we have Cheryl Clarkson.

Cheryl Clarkson didn’t see much of the sun in her twenties and thirties. She went to business school at MIT. She climbed through the ranks of major medical device companies until she became the CEO of one of them - the first woman ever to do so.

And then, just when Cheryl was at the top of her game professionally, her sister found a little lump on her torso, a hard, squishy nodule the size of a pencil eraser. Then she found another on her thigh, and then another. Cheryl left her job and flew to California to be with her sister. She watched the pencil erasers grow into softballs, then grapefruits, then stinking infected sores burst through the surface of the skin. She administered morphine for the unbearable pain and watched helplessly as the cancer took over. A year later her sister was dead.

Watching her sister suffer at the hands of such a monstrous (and preventable) disease inspired Cheryl to launch SkinHealth Centers, medical spas specializing in skin protection and rejuvenation. SkinHealth partners with top New England doctors and dermatologists. Their award winning skin care products are made in small vats with no added fragrance or preservatives, and consequently have a loyal celebrity following. Their Face and Body Sunscreen with 7% micronized zinc oxide and green tea antioxidants was recently awarded Health Magazine’s Healthy Beauty Award for Best Sunscreen.

SkinHealth has recently teamed up with getsugar, the online shopping and style resource owned by Ben Tregoe, for a fund and awareness building initiative which will benefit the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

Along with a fundraising goal of $150,000, Cheryl and Ben also have a goal to see as many people as possible start taking better care of their skin. To that end SkinHealth is offering Special Offers on three treatments: an anti-oxidant facial is $48, a light chemical peel is $70 and a facial + light chemical peel is $110. SkinHealth and getsugar will donate $25 of the purchase price of each service ($50 for the Facial + Light Chemical Peel) to skin cancer research at the MGH Cancer Center.

Arthur J. Sober, MD, the Director of the Center for Melanoma at MGH is also involved in the team effort. He writes:
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States with more than one million skin cancers diagnosed annually. In fact, one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime… More than 90% of all skin cancers are caused by sun exposure. So protect yourself and loved ones by being smart about sun protection and exposure.

“As the ozone layer shrinks, we are being radiated.” Cheryl told me. But we are not without armor – this summer Slip. Slop. Slap. and help Cheryl and Ben spread the word about how to save your skin.