Emer O'Callaghan: This summer, I found lumps on two of my clients...we have to be sun-safe

We have truly had a great summer, and I am seeing the signs of this on clients’ faces every day at Emerald Beauty Clinic.

A life well lived and a summer well spent, making life-long memories, is without a doubt priceless.

At the end of the day, none of us get out of here alive anyway, and life should be lived to the fullest.

That being said, no-one wants to be leaving too early either, and our skin health is our health also.

This summer alone, I found lumps on the upper bodies of two of my clients. Thank God, they were not cancerous, but speed is always so important in such situations.

Another lady had sun-damaged skin I didn’t like the look of, and I told her to go to her doctor, who referred her for a biopsy, and it was removed.

Many people simply don’t know what sun damage even is, so this week let’s take a closer look at how it shows up on all our skin.

WHAT IS SUN-DAMAGED SKIN?

Freckles, brown marks, red dots, white patches, wrinkles, and lines - both vertical and horizontal - appear on male and female skin of all ages,

One thing I can tell you from 25 years studying skin is that the sun doesn’t care whose skin it ages and damages, if you are not properly protected and have over-exposed your skin, you will see it.

Sadly, skin cancer is a big killer in Ireland today, and while as a nation we have got more sun-savvy and people are using SPF daily, they still are falling short in not reapplying it.

Once a day is not OK, and also many people stop using SPF by the end of August, thinking the sun is gone.

However, UV rays are the danger and SPF is needed 365 days a year for everyone, regardless of your age.

One look at someone’s skin in my clinic and I can see if they are a daily SPF user or a summer SPF user.

And what baffles me the most are the people who spend a small fortune on over-the-counter anti-wrinkle creams and still don’t use SPF all year round. It’s like going to the gym and getting a burger and chips on the way home, it’s so counter-productive.

NOTHING IS MORE AGEING THAN THE SUN

Read that again if you just love cocking your puss, as we say in Cork, up to the sun.

The people who do the worst sun damage to their skin are the people who love sitting out their back, in their private sun trap spots, where they toast the skin off themselves, and the people with second homes in the sun who take multiple trips away during the year and get an all-year round over exposure to sun.

This was unheard of a generation or two ago, but cheap flights have us all travelling more and getting more sun exposure.

There is also a lack of education on the dangers of sunbed use - NO time is safe time on a sun bed. I did one of my beauty videos on this recently and you can watch it on the Emerald Beauty Clinic Facebook, Instagram and TikTok pages now.

DECADES OF DAMAGE

You will always hear me bang my drum for education, and the reason I do so is because I truly believe that when you educate people, you empower them to know better and make better choices then.

When I see people with very bad pigmentation damage of their skin, I know they lack the education to know why it’s there. I always say pigmentation damage is like a light bulb, it goes dull in winter but it’s fully out and bright in summer.

So many people are looking in the mirror now at the end of the summer, thinking, ah, look at all the freckles I got this year, but they are mainly old freckles from decades ago that have come to the surface and then got newer ones on top of them from this summer. It’s like a constant stacking of sun damage.

This is why I always tell my young clients and my own nieces and nephews that the sun damage you get in your 20s will show in your 40s, and what you get in your 40s will show in your 60s.

Thet said, the two categories I find that are still so poor to care for their skin are males over 50 and females over 65. Both have this defeatist attitude of, erra, I’m too old to be protecting my skin now.

I wish our governments had free SPF dispensers in all public places, like they do in Australia and other countries, because this really would get people using it more. We did trial this last year in three parks in Cork, and I would love to see it take off.

FACIALS WORK

The days of thinking that a facial/ a professional skin treatment is just a lovely pamper session are gone.

You will get layers of dead skin removed, loads of hydration pumped into your skin, every muscle of your face will get massaged, toxins are removed, and most importantly, a full professional analysis.

I will study your skin and check for lumps, bumps, or uneven skin tone, changes to skin texture, and sun damage that may need to be removed.

The smart person invests in their skin. You can buy all the designer clothes, shoes, and bags you like, but you only get one face, the same face we all put out to the world every day.

If you are serious about improving your skin health and slowing down the ageing process, over-the-counter products and random buying is not going to get you there.

You need professional treatments and products to get your skin looking healthy, radiant, and glowing, regardless of your age - and you are never too late to start, my eldest client is 92 years young.

• Emer O’Callaghan is a multi award winning beauty doctor, skin specialist, and winner of Irish Beauty Therapist of the Year, and works at Emerald Organic Beauty Products Ltd, trading as Emerald Beauty Clinic, 021 4365949. A Guinot Gold Crown Elite Clinic and Dermalogica Centre of Skin Excellence, 2008-2026, www.emeraldbeautyclinic.ie - follow us on Facebook/Instagram/TikTok.
• SIX WEEK SKIN KICKSTART: This involves professional facials done every two weeks over six weeks, followed by a skin care regime to follow at home every morning and evening. No lump sum fee, you just pay for each facial and leave with amazing skin, loads of education on your skin type, and what your skin needs are. To book, simply call Emerald Beauty Clinic, 021 4365949. Appointments only, free parking for clients.