You may love the sun, but it doesn't love you back. As much as 90 percent of all premature aging and skin cancers are caused by sun exposure. Protect yourself by wearing SPF 15 protection everyday. Don't think just because it's a cloudy day, you don't need it.UVA and UVB rays penetrate the atmosphere each day. This exposure can add up; after a year it's equal to the sun damage equivalent of a week of sunshine in a tropical climate. Sunny days are even worse and reflective surfaces like water, sand, concrete, and snow bounce back as much as 80 percent of the sun's rays.

Make sure your SPF is broad spectrum (it'll say so on the bottle), which means that it contains ingredients that protect against both UVA and UVB rays. The key ingredients to look for are: oxybenzone, avobenzone (Parsol 1789), titanium dioxide, or zinc oxide. Ones with titanium dioxide or zinc oxide are best because they rely on creating a physical barrier against the sun rather than a chemical one. The more chemicals you put on your skin, the greater chance for irritation and possible accumulation of toxins in your body.

Now many cosmetic products contain SPF in their formulas.  Moisturizers, tinted moisturizers, foundations, and pressed powders are available. Don't mix different products together since they can be irritating and may not work well together. If you use a high SPF don't be fooled into a false sense of sun safety. To stay protected, reapply sunscreen every two hours regardless of its SPF.

Also you should stay in the shade between 10 AM and 4 PM and cover up with clothing, sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat.

But you still want a tan? The good news is today's bronzers and self-tanners are more natural looking. Now, they bestow a believable, bronzed finish instead of an ugly orange tinge, so you can have a sun-kissed look year round. To get the best result always exfoliate and shave before applying self-tanner. Smooth it on sparingly, avoiding the heels, knees, and elbows.

And remember, wash your hands thoroughly after applying self-tanners so you don't have tanned palms. Another heads-up: most self-tanners do not contain an SPF, so you still need to use a sunscreen daily.

(Avoid Tanning Beds: The tanning bed industry would like us to believe that indoor tanning is actually healthy. Not true. In fact, a recent study directly linked tanning beds and similar tanning devices to basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, the most common skin cancers.)