Dear fellow Black girls,

I personally do not like summer. I hate the sweltering hot sun and the bugs that come with it. I need it to be October already...but that's beside the point.

I know many people are going to be hitting the beach (although it's probably not a good idea to do so anytime soon if you live in or are visiting Florida), pool (also not the best idea right now), and whatever else in these boiling temperatures. And unlike myself (Re: the first sentence), a lot of you have a desire to soak up the sun. And that's cool! But please, be sure to wear sunscreen whenever you step out into the sun!

I know from my own experience of being born Black that having melanin is truly a blessing. It gives us a protective layer against the sun's damaging rays. But melanin alone is not enough to completely protect us from it.

Many of us tend to believe that we don't need to use sunscreen since we have melanin, but this is actually a very, very dangerous misconception. Concerning people with darker skin colors, melanoma has a higher rate of being diagnosed in its later stages and a depressingly low prognosis and survival rate. Saying that race does play into everything in this modern society is clearly an understatement.

Bottom line, ladies, please please please do not forget to slather on some sunscreen before you expose your skin to the sun. It's not just necessary, it's a life-saving thing that only takes a few minutes of your time. Don't wait until it's too late because taking action now to protect yourself and your skin can save you from long-term damage in the future. Plus, your skin will still look radiant! Trust me on that one.

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