Sue recently highlighted an article that pointed out that gardeners have an increased risk of skin cancer because of all the time we spend outside. Skin cancer is scary stuff. My mom had a melanoma removed from her back (luckily it was stage 0 and her doctors were able to surgically remove everything). And my uncle recently had a very scary bout of melanoma on the back of his head.
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer for those of us under 40. This is a really unfortunate statistic because skin cancer is so easily prevented. Awhile back I wrote about sun hats, sun block, and sun burn remedies. I use the Kiss My Face sunblock I mentioned in that article and it works great. Doesn’t clog my pores at all. I got it at Trader Joe’s.
It is probably best to garden in the early morning or late evening. The effects of sun exposure are less severe at those times, but there is another more practical benefit. If you garden when it is cooler out, you’re more likely to be willing to wear long sleeves and pants or a long skirt, which would cover your skin and give you more sun protection.
