Moles? Freckles? Learn Self-Examination

I am so obsessed with Beauty Care that I collect every piece of information I get my hands on... pages from magazines, newspapers, leaflets, tips, pages from the internet and so on and so forth. All these cuttings are organized in a display book and I flip through them whenever I need an inspiration for make up or nail designs or simply tips and tricks.

Among these cuttings, I have a leaflet about self-examination of moles and freckles especially during the summer months when people spend more time in the sun and therefore increasing the chances of premature ageing and as bad as they sound, melanomas or skin cancers. I know the topic is boring but it is useful to know how you can prevent a melanoma. In this case, beauty is really skin deep!!

It is not enough to apply sunscreen when at the beach (it is best if you apply sunscreen before you leave the house since the average product needs at least 30 minutes to set in and start working...so don't wait until you are at the beach). It is important that you get to know your body so that you can detect changes easily.

Most of us have freckles and moles scattered all over our bodies and these are benign

providing they obey the following criteria:

- They are Symmetrical

- Have a Regular border

- Have Homogenous pigmentation

If any one mole deviates from any of these criteria, it should be checked by a doctor. If it happens to be cancerous, the earlier the diagnosis, the better your chances of survival.

Anyone can be at risk of contracting a melanoma, however the chances increase with these factors:

- Fair skin, hair, eyes, gets sun burnt easily

- Severe sun burn at a young age, during childhood or teenage years

- Numerous freckles

- Frequent sun bed tanning treatments in beauty salons

- More than 50 moles

- Personal or genetic history of melanoma

- Nevi(moles) with different shapes, sizes or colours

Here is a picture of how you can conduct self-examination:

How did you find this article? Was it helpful? Feel free to post your comments and queries below.

Stay beautiful & safe ;)

Lara xoxo