Hi, I'm Elle!
This is a tough one! I'm going to go with: inquisitive, imaginative and nature-lover.
As a teenager and young adult, I would slip/slop/slide (I have fond memories of those adverts from my childhood!) if I was doing a specific activity outside (like going to the beach or swimming), but I was rather oblivious to all of the incidental exposure to ultraviolet rays I was receiving whilst going about my day.
In my mid-twenties, I saw my darling grandmother lose large parts of her nose to skin cancer, which made me think more carefully about how much sun exposure I was receiving. I decided to start getting regular skin checks and encouraged my family to do so too.
At my first skin check, I sensibly purchased a hat which I dutifully wore while gardening and bushwalking, but I was too embarrassed (and vain!) to wear it out in public. As a consequence, I continued to get mildly sunburnt a few times each summer as I was going about my daily activities.
Late last year, I decided enough was enough and started researching how to better protect my skin. In addition to learning how to apply sunscreen properly (I wasn't applying anywhere near enough!), I started searching for SPF50 clothing.
A close friend recommended Solbari and I was thrilled to find a protective sun hat that I'd feel comfortable wearing in public (not that it should matter, really!). I rarely leave home without my hat these days and look forward to adding a few more to my collection.
Thank you Elle for helping raise awareness for skin cancer, melanoma and skin conditions, and sharing your story with us and our Solbari Community.
The Solbari Team
Many of us see the ultraviolet (UV) index on weather reports and read about UV alerts at particular times of the day. But do you know what it actually means and how it affects you?