Summer solstice, the day with the longest amount of sunlight this year is Wednesday, June 20. Summer solstice is significant for scientists and religions alike, it’s a day tied to solar phenomena and community celebrations.

Is your FREE SKIN CHECK scheduled? Today, the first Monday of May, is Melanoma Monday and dermatology offices across the country are offering free skin checks as a reminder to get your annual exam. A yearly skin check promotes good health and skin cancer prevention, today and all year long.

The need to limit sun exposure is not always at top-of-mind when someone is going through cancer treatment, so both health care providers and patients need to become SunAWARE. Coolibar wishes to help oncology nurses recognize this.

Last summer the FDA published a final rule regarding labeling and effectiveness testing for over-the-counter sunscreen products, marketed without an approved application. The final rule and compliance guidelines go into effect on Monday, June 18, 2012. Consumers need to be aware that there is some lag time between the effective date of the new guidelines and what is available at your local pharmacy or sunscreen retailer.

The Minnesota Twins home opener is finally here. In a few hours, fans will gather for another year of outdoor baseball and cheer on their team in the presence of sunshine and fresh air. Before heading off to the game, keep in mind these sun safety tips for outdoor sporting from Dermatologist Dr. Jaime Davis.

“Tanning is beneficial to your health,” claims tanning salon owners and employees when the House Committee on Energy and Commerce undercover investigators called 300 tanning salons nationwide. This false claim may not fool many sun protection advocates, but the rest of the U.S. population could be easily led to believe that tanning is good for you.

When recently browsing the web for a new story idea, I came across this site called ModelKarma, a website for aspiring models, pro models and modeling industry professionals started by the famous Thomas Zeumer, supermodel launcher. While clicking through some of their pages that provide advice for models, I was hoping to find plenty about protecting skin from the sun’s damaging UV rays. While somewhat disappointed by the small amount of information on this subject, I was relieved to see one post reminding models to protect their assets, meaning their looks or skin from ultraviolet radiation.

Ladies, we all know economization is the keyword when planning for any vacation. Many of us go through exhausting efforts to spend less, carry less and worry less. Accomplishing these three objectives doesn’t have to be difficult as long as you know the pre-travel task to focus on – your packing list.

A quick Google search on “UV window protection” indicates the answer is NO. With over 31,000 results, the first page is filled with UV-blocking films for sale that provide protection. That sun faded sofa at grandma’s house is a great visual reminder that UV does indeed pass through glass.

In the upper atmosphere, about 6 to 30 miles above Earth, the stratospheric ozone protects life from the sun’s ultraviolet B radiation (UVB). Over decades, it has been damaged by cumulative pollutants. Now, every year, for over 20 years, a significantly depleted layer of ozone known as the ozone hole forms over the Antarctic. This ozone loss imposes a serious health threat for humans, in particular our skin and eyes.