May is National Skin Cancer Awareness Month and EltaMD is teaming up with TV host Andy Cohen and the Melanoma Research Foundation to spread the word about safe sun practices. Sunscreen brands and dermatologists continue to stress the importance of protecting your skin from harmful UV rays (they also accelerate skin aging), but nonetheless, there are more than 5 million cases of skin cancer detected in the U.S. each year.
Cohen took to Instagram today to share a GRWM of his daily sun-care routine, including two EltaMD products that we at NewBeauty also love. “Did you know that May is Skin Cancer Awareness month?” Cohen says in the video. “I didn’t know either, but skin cancer is very personal to me. I had a little brown dot right there [points just below his bottom lip] for a while that I thought nothing of. My pal Kelly Ripa noticed it and said, ‘You have to get that checked out immediately; it looks like skin cancer.’ And guess what? She was right. I had a malignant melanoma, which I had removed.”
“It totally changed the way that I view my skin and protect my skin,” Cohen continues. “So to remind you to think about your skin, I am partnering with EltaMD on a really cool project that involves me showing my skin. I can’t believe I’m doing this. What I’m using are these two products. The first one is this UV Clear for the face, and what I like about this one is that it’s got a little bit of a tint—I love a tint. The other one is for the body—it’s the mist [the brand-new UV AOX Mist SPF 40]. One in five Americans gets skin cancer. You’ve gotta protect your skin. I am so serious about this.”
According to EltaMD, Cohen’s partnership involves a social campaign that hopes to spark conversation surrounding skin cancer, while also informing consumers about the importance of skin checks. “More people are diagnosed with skin cancer than all other cancers combined,” says Hamden, CT dermatologist Mona Gohara, MD. “As a dermatologist, I appreciate EltaMD moving the benchmark on this mission by enlisting Andy to spread this imperative message in a viral fashion, eliciting conversation.”
To support this initiative, tag a friend in the comments of Cohen’s IG post to remind them to wear sunscreen daily and also get a skin check with their derm. For every person tagged through June 16, EltaMD will donate one bottle of sunscreen to the Melanoma Research Foundation (up to $100,000 in value). Let this be another reminder to apply your SPF every day.
“Andy Cohen has been a vocal figure on the importance of sun safety due to his personal experience with melanoma, making him a natural fit for this partnership,” says Echo Sandburg, chief brand officer of CP Skin Health Group (EltaMD’s parent company). “His iconic photo in 1994 was the creative inspiration behind the campaign. We even engaged Spencer Tunick, the photographer behind the original shot.”
