my every-20-year visit to the dermatologist

I decided to visit a dermatologist here in Sao Paulo after a 20+-year hiatus since my last dermatological visit. I have had a lot of sun exposure in the last 2 decades and thought that it might be good to have a checkup, given my fair skin and propensity to burn.

I was supposed to go in November, but cancelled that appointment because it fell during the chaos of the unexpected apartment move. I called yesterday to reschedule and the doctor could see me today, so off I went.

Aside from my seriously dry skin (which I didn't think was that dry but which is apparently near-lizard-like in the doctor's eyes) and aside from the lecture I got about wearing sunscreen (I was prepared for that), she made an interesting observation. She said that comparing my lily-white stomach and my not-so-lily-white chest is a textbook example of sun damage. She said everybody says it's just ageing, but as she pointed out, my stomach is as old as my chest, so if it were just ageing, my stomach would also be dry and wrinkled and rough. Instead it's smooth as a baby's skin. Too bad I can't reverse that damage.

Next week, I'm having this cream/laser-burning treatment on my face to remove some bad spots. I think it's the same procedure that Jimmy had a few weeks ago and he looked awful and said it hurt like crazy, so I'm not terribly excited about this. But the doctor said I will be amazed at the difference in my skin afterwards and so I'm hopeful it'll be worth it.

As of today, I resolve to use lotion on my face daily that actually has sunscreen in it and to use sunscreen on my body that's higher than 15 SPF when we're at the beach or pool. That I currently use 15 SPF at the beach or pool provoked a guffaw of shock from the doctor. She said it had to be 50, but I'm going to compromise on 30, which is still really high, right? I mean 50 is like a force field that nothing can penetrate and you need a little bit of Vitamin D.

I know a lot of you are bundled under layers of cold-weather garb, but I hope you're protecting your skin well!