Skin check

Telluride Daily Planet, Friday, April 25, 2025

“The finest clothing made is a person’s own skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this.” – Mark Twain

If those ads about crepey skin have started meaning something to you (or if you simply live here at altitude, no matter what your age), it could be time to start reassessing the largest organ in the human body. The fact is, our skin gets hammered up here. With skin’s aging actually being about 90% due to sun damage, it is imperative, every time we race out into another brilliant high-altitude day, that we remind ourselves to do all the right things.

So here it is, this fleshy suit, a stretchy, human-shaped barrier weighing in at approximately 7 or 8 pounds, holding a mass of interrelated pieces, parts and systems — liquids, solids, pathways, cells, bacteria and waste, all the other organs, as well as bionic metals, polymers and ceramics. Our three layers of skin also function as protective coating, temperature control module, detoxifying machine and sensory device. And like everything else having to do with the human body, it is an absolute miracle of nature.

The skin is home to its own microbiome (fungi, bacteria and viruses) and loses an average of 35,000 cells per minute. Its 20-square-feet offer super-heroic resilience and regeneration that we rely on — and generally take for granted — second to second and day to day.

Most of us with low melanin levels, or paler skin, remember the sunburns of our youth — the lobster-red days of first- and second-degree burns we suffered after exposure on the beach or under the scorch of the midsummer’s sun.

“It’ll fade to a tan,” our parents would say, implying that this was the real value of the sunburns we were complaining about. Just one word about that: Wrong!

The fact is, it’s never good for anyone, especially for kids, to get fried. A notorious burn on a beach in New England as a teen left me unable to bend or bathe in any temperature water for a number of days without pain. The weather had seemed mild and moderately hazy, and while my sister had applied layers of baby oil onto her olive-toned skin, my freckled and pink skin did not fare so well.

So when we consider life at 8,500 feet, it’s imperative to remember the salient facts: that UV exposure is 25-30% higher here; we have less protective filter in the atmosphere; snow doubles the risk; there is less hydration to begin with, and we are prone to the wrong thinking that, with time, we have somehow become more and more resistant to the damage the sun can cause.

Fourteen years ago, my first husband, Gary, then 53, died of complications of melanoma, which is the most serious form of skin cancer. He was blond-haired and freckled in complexion and spent his life outdoors both for work and play. Regular skin checks were not part of the regimen that might have saved him. Since then, great strides have been made in the treatment of this disease, but, as we know, friends are still succumbing to this disease’s grip.

So this is the ask for today, made with equal parts gratitude for our largest organ and concern for its well being: Please, people, just take care of your skin and give it the respect it deserves. Wear mineral-based sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses and UV protective clothing, if needed. Drink lots of water and hydrate your skin. Reapply the sunscreen because one time isn’t enough — and then share it with others. Respect the incredible power and heat of the sun and get out of it when you need to. It’s all basic stuff, but it needs to be said and heard over and over again.

In addition: Get yourself checked once a year by a professional who will scan your whole body including your back, scalp and between your toes. If you don’t want to pay, put the August 9 Montrose Health Fair on your calendar and get a free skin check there, which one of the local dermatologists generally does (they won’t know who for a couple of months).

In the meantime, keep your eyes on your own skin for things that don’t heal, moles that change color or shape, or anything new that is scaly, bleeding, itching or tender, and don’t wait to have those examined. Consider downloading one of the skin checking apps (which do not replace a visit to a medical professional) to get a first read if you like tech.

One of my favorite parts of the day is the warm washcloth I apply to my face at night. Besides feeling like a micro facial every time I do it, it gives me a moment to remove what has accumulated during the day, to appreciate my face and my skin no matter how wrinkled, and then to apply nighttime hydration.

It’s our skin and we live in it; there’s no better time than right now to start taking better care of it.