As teenagers living in Chicago, my girlfriends and I took advantage of every spring break and headed off to Morse Beach wearing newly purchased bikinis and toting towels, battery-operated radios and baby oil to slather on each other’s backs.

This was our way of getting ready for summer with a base tan. We went for the “burn” that would become our Rite of Spring. Back in school and awaiting summer break, we admired our red backs and noses and peeled off the dead skin, revealing uneven tan and white blotches. Little did we know that in years to come we would pay for damaging our skin.

Skin damage, especially at our high altitude, shows itself as brown spots, premature wrinkling, freckles, rosacea, skin texture changes, broken capillaries and skin cancers. All of this damage from our buddy the sun.

Don’t get me wrong; we need the sun for our health and well-being in some aspects, but we must be careful about its effect on our skin, considering where we live.

There has been much progress since Jodie Foster was the little girl romping with a puppy on the Coppertone packaging. We now know about sunscreen and its effectiveness in keeping our skin from burning.

Harmful UV rays are more intense in the summer, at higher altitudes and closer to the equator. The sun's harmful effects are also increased by wind and reflections from water, sand and snow. Even on cloudy days UV radiation reaches the earth and can cause skin damage.

A tan is often mistaken as a sign of good health. We revere the look and go to great lengths to get it, either naturally by sunning outdoors, or indoors using tanning beds, mist machines and over-the-counter creams, gels and sprays. There’s even a liquid that goes on with a microfiber towel that washes on the tanning liquid, providing color for about three to five days.

Obviously, using the indoor over-the-counter tanning technology of creams and sprays and the misting machines (have you ever tried to breathe in those tanks?) is definitely less harmful to your skin. Reports come in on both sides regarding the use of tanning beds, and yet more and more storefront tanning salons are opening up, and more members are signing up daily, seeking that “healthy” tan look.

Here in Colorado, we spend a good deal of time outdoors, whether walking in Wash Park or skiing in Vail. Because of the altitude, the sun is closer to us and therefore poses more danger to our skin. A skier at 8,000-11,000 feet on an average day receives 60 to 80 percent more ultraviolet intensities than at sea level.

But don’t think we Denverites at 5,280 feet are out of danger. We’re still at risk of harmful UVA and UVB rays. “The reapplication of sunscreen SPF 15 and higher every two hours can provide more protection than one application for the day”, says Carrie Ireland-Miller, RN, cosmetic nurse specialist at Denver Plastic Surgery Associates. Ireland keeps a tube of sunscreen in her purse for those sunny outdoor dining days and driving in her convertible. “SPF 15 should be used as a daily regimen, and SPF 30 (also reapplied every 2 hours) is a must for outdoor activities, including skiing,” she says.

Sheila McGilvrey, a skin care specialist at Canterbury Wellness Center, says, “Newer, better ingredients in sunscreen, such as Parsol, zinc and titanium dioxide, are excellent for sun protection, but many people don’t use the beneficial zinc and titanium dioxide products because of a ‘whitish’ residual film left on the skin. Parsol for UVA protection doesn’t leave any residual film, so look for this ingredient in your sunscreen.”

Besides sunscreen and sunblock, don’t forget wide-brimmed hats, eye gear and protective clothing, especially between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

If the damage is done
There are treatment options if you are noticing the cumulative damage on your skin from years of unprotected basking, gardening, skiing and cloudy-day strolls through the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, when somehow the sun got to you anyway. Some of these treatments, says McGilvrey, are light chemical peels such as Vitalize ($120 per treatment), which decrease the dead skin cells and improves brown discoloration and blemishes, acne, fine wrinkles, weathered skin and pre-cancerous sun damage; fillers such as Restylane and Botox; Sculptra, touted as being the mini-facelift without surgery; microdermabrasion ($125 per treatment), that exfoliates upper layers of skin cells and stimulates collagen production; photo rejuvenation (approximately $300-$400 per treatment, but you’ll need fewer treatments), which is an intense pulsed light system designed to target the evident damage to the skin.

You have to make a commitment to have less exposure to the sun, says Ireland-Miller, adding, “You can’t come in for treatment if you are still tanning. After a treatment, I send the client home with a retinol, or Retin-A product, vitamin C and an alpha hydroxy product. These products are important in helping reverse the skin damage evidenced by brown spots and red broken capillaries.”

McGilvrey notes that AHA treatments at a higher strength exfoliate the dead skin cells that give the skin its rough texture. Copper treatments will strengthen the skin and give it more elasticity, and Hydroquinone, a bleaching cream, can even out the skin tone and help with age spots. Skin can be treated topically with Retin-A ($60-$80 per tube) or its less expensive generic form, Trentionon; glycolic acid (one of the AHAs); and Vitamin C, a topical antioxidant that is several times more potent when purchased at a physician’s office.

An interesting comment from both Ireland-Miller and McGilvrey is that the strengths of these take-home products are up to four times more potent than when purchased elsewhere. “When a product is sold through a physician, it is pharmaceutical strength, as compared to cosmeceutical-strength products sold over the counter from a store, the Internet or a spa and at approximately the same price as store-bought” says McGilvrey.

Several of the better treatment brands package their products in various strengths, depending on where they are being sold. So, the at-home skin treatments we purchase in the stores are going to take longer to show a difference and not give the same beneficial results that we are looking for and believe through advertising that we are going to receive. McGilvrey mentions that peptides sold over the counter, touted to be like Botox in a bottle, cannot achieve the same results as Botox, which is injected to get the solution into the muscle.

Ireland-Miller notes, “Over-the-counter stuff is buffered for the public — there is a reason for dispensing it from a physician. Coming in for a consultation, a client gets a product that is appropriate for her skin and instructions on how to use it.

“The little microdermabrasion kits that the stores sell are good, but exfoliating too much with store-bought kits and alpha hydroxy products without supervision can eventually strip the skin down, which is why you need instruction along with the products. I see the woman five years later, and her skin has thinned from too much trauma.”

She continues, “You need moisturizer living in Colorado, but the more active treatment products will actually change the skin’s texture. You can cleanse and moisturize normally for your skin type with any decent product.”

The makeup products that tout SPF ingredients are not enough to be worn all day, and layering them with a sunscreen is not going to give you double protection unless you are applying it every two hours or so.

The basics
Skin care isn’t just a topical issue. You are what you eat, as they say, so clean up your nutrition and diet, drink enough water to hydrate your system, take vitamin supplements if you aren’t getting what you need from what you eat. Too much of a good thing can be damaging, so watch the wine and alcohol intake.

Get enough sleep and take care not to smash your face into your pillow. Don’t forget skin damage reaches beyond your face, so take care of the rest of your body. (I’m looking at brown patches on my chest and arms from not enough protection.)

Use common sense. Protect your children with sun care prevention. We Coloradoans love to be outdoors, and armed with a strong sunscreen or sunblock, proper clothing, head covering and eye gear, we can continue to spend time outdoors, safely enjoying all that the Rockies have to offer.