Everything you need to know about sun protection and sunscreen

Studies show most of us still don't use high factor suncream

Here’s a thought that might have you running for the nearest tube of sunscreen. For the first time in the UK, more than 10,000 people over 55 were diagnosed with melanoma – the most dangerous form of skin cancer – last year, according to Cancer Research UK. Indeed, rates of skin cancers in the over-55s have risen by a staggering 155 per cent in the past 20 years – they're rising among younger people, too, but at a rate of 63 per cent. This is, after all, the generation that pioneered the package holiday, who in the Sixties and Seventies let nothing but a little olive oil get between their limbs and a tan. We’ve come a long way since then and now we all know we need high-factor sunscreen. Yet studies show most of us still don’t use it. What’s more, the rules have changed again, with some sunscreens not as effective as we think and new warnings about unfamiliar types of sun rays. Here, we talk to the experts about the new rules of skin and sun.
 
Don’t bother with once-a-day sunscreen
 


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Only about 14 per cent of men and 30 per cent of women report wearing sunscreen. Even when they do, they use around half what they need. You need two milligrams of sun cream per centimetre squared of skin, says Dr Noor Almaani, consultant dermatologist at the King Edward VII NHS Hospital in Windsor and The Private Clinic of Harley Street, London. “Use about a teaspoon for the face and neck, six teaspoons for the whole body and about three to four teaspoons for a child,” she says.

While the most common area of melanoma skin cancer in men is the back, in women it’s the lower leg, often neglected when it comes to sunscreen, especially by women who exercise outdoors in summer, says Dr Mahto.
 
 

Protecting children is paramount – five severe sunburns before the age of 18 can double your risk of developing melanoma skin cancer in later life – but be careful with babies. “Babies under six months should not have sunscreen applied to them because their skin is too thin and sensitive to the chemicals,” says Dr Mahto. “They should be kept out of the sun altogether.”

When it comes to sun protective clothing for adults and children, Dr Lowe recommends Sun Precautions, Coolibar  and Sunsibility. This is particularly important if you or your child have skin diseases such as eczema in which skin flakes. “Flaking means sunscreens won’t stick to the skin,” says Dr Lowe. “You should be using sun-protective clothing as well.”
 

7 facts about relationships everybody should know before getting married

Contrary to what fairy tales may tell you, relationships take work. 
So we collected some of the best social science findings about what makes them last. 

It's time to change the way you think about self-help

If you feel sick, you go to the doctor (or Google the symptoms and immediately believe you have the plague). If you feel unfit, you drag yourself to the gym (or try a few half-hearted lunges). If you feel bloated, you lay off the jacket potatoes for a few days. Yet if you feel sad, low, anxious, stressed or insecure, you just live with it. 

Why?

These emotions can affect your whole life, making everything seem harder, gloomier and less achievable, but there's still a stupid stigma attached to self-help. While it's totally normal to care about your physical health, it's still perceived as weird to care about your mental health. Which is rubbish. It couldn't be less weird.

We spend all day in our heads. We never stop thinking, plotting, day-dreaming or worrying. So doesn't it make sense to want to understand the way your mind works? To want to know when your thoughts are playing tricks on you? When you're worrying about absolutely nothing? Or when your mind is rocketing down a well-worn path to Thumping-Heart-Sweaty-Palm City?

Learning to recognise negative patterns in your thinking and then learning ways to change these patterns is the best thing you can do to live a happy and healthy life – bar nothing.

But self-help can seem intimidating, worthy or preachy. Which is why I've launched a new Instagram video project called BiteSizedPsych: one-minute-long videos that cut through all the guff to deliver simple tricks for combating insecurity, anxiety, stress, unhappiness, procrastination and low self-esteem.

Stuff like, "never press snooze on your alarm". You don't ever snooze, you just lie there and start freaking out about the day ahead, or you just count down the minutes until you really do have to get up. And the longer you lie there the harder it gets to leave your soft warm duvet. Yet if you get up straight away your mood will lift naturally because you're facing the day and taking control. Snooze is evil for worriers. Ban it and you'll feel a bit better first thing in the morning. Try it for a week – just one week – and if you don't feel better I'll eat my new hat (okay, I'll just nibble the brim).

Self-help doesn't have to be boring and it doesn't only come in brick-sized books written by people who wear hemp sweaters. It can be interesting, relatable, positive and even pretty entertaining. And it actually helps.

Khloe Kardashian shares her anti-ageing routine

Khloe Kardashian may have some serious $$$ in her bank account, but she doesn't feel the need to splurge on pricey skincare products. 

The reality star took to her app, to share the anti-ageing skincare products that keep her complexion looking killer, and it'll probably surprise you just how many of these bits you can pick up from your local Superdrug. 

Khloe started by explaining that good skin starts with hydration, so she always drinks a ton of water and wears a high SPF every day. 

But when it comes to skincare products she has a few favourites, "I cover my face in oil every night. I love Bio-Oil and Vitamin E , and I just use Aquaphor on my eyes. All of this stuff is super cheap and can be found in any drug store."

instagram/KhloeKardashian

She's totally right, Bio-Oil is fairly inexpensive, starting at around £8.99, whilst vitamin E capsules, £4.59, are also pretty friendly on the purse.

Mom horrified as critics SHAME her because two year old daughter pretended to breastfeed

After one mom shared cute photos of her young daughter pretending to breastfeed her baby doll, she was shocked and horrified to find that not everyone thought it was so cute — and one even hurled abuse at her for allowing the behavior in the first place.

The unknown American mom shared her anger and disappointment in a post on the Facebook group Breastfeeding Mama Talk, which has since gone viral.

She also included a screengrab of a post from another unknown woman, who called the two-year-old's play-breastfeeding 'the nastiest s*** of my life' and said the mom should be 'punched in the damn face' for not discouraging it. 

How cute! An unknown mom shared images of her two-year-old daughter Charlotte pretending to breastfeed her doll

Just like mom! She said she was shopping when she heard her toddler talk about her 'baby' crying and wanting to eat

In the original photos, a pigtailed two-year-old blonde girl named Charlotte sits in the front of a shopping cart in a clothing store. 

She seems sweet and innocent as can be, looking down at the doll in her hand as she lifts up her pink ruffled T-shirt and positions its head somewhere in the vicinity of the center of her chest.

In the second photo, Charlotte is looking up as her mom takes the picture, smiling shyly as the doll 'breastfeeds'.

The mom clearly thought the moment was cute and funny, and shared the images online with the caption: 'You know you're a breastfeeding mother when you look over in the middle of the store to your toddler saying, "Baby cry, baby just wants eat..." 

Unfortunately, not everyone saw the image as simply showing a little girl pretending to be a mommy and imitating her own mother's behavior.

One woman in particular, who seems to be from the south, took to Facebook to share a nasty rant about the pictures. 

Play time: The little girl is clearly mimicking her own mother, doing something she sees as natural and innocent

Say what? Another Facebook user, though, was disgusted by the photo and wrote some nasty things about the little girl and her mother

'I just saw some of the nastiest s*** of my life!!" she wrote. 'If you're okay with your daughter lifting up her shirt and putting her baby dolls mouth on her little "dots" pretending to breastfeed then I personally think you need [to be] punched in the damn face!!!

'It's just simply not okay!!! Arguments welcome. I'm willing to shut y'all down today. [sic]'

The original mother was, unsurprisingly, flabbergasted by the vitriol in the stranger's post, and upset about the message she was sending. 

'The breastfeeding shaming starts before they even start really breastfeeding!' the mom wrote in the Breastfeeding Mama Facebook group. 

'I am absolutely blown away,' she went on. 'Maybe it is the wording that gets to me, the parts saying "it's the nastiest s*** of their life" and "I need punched in the damn face" but I am shocked. What I first thought to myself was, did she breastfeed?!'

The mom added that she is still breastfeeding Charlotte, but she formula-fed her five-year-old son Bentley — and she doesn't understand how someone could see a toddler pretending to breastfeed a baby as a toddler pretending to bottle-feed one.

Former porn star reveals what it's REALLY like to star in adult films

 
Lifting the lid: A former porn star going by the name S.K. reveals what is really like to   work in the industry during a candid interview on the latest episode of the Cosmo Happy Hour podcast  (file photo used)

A former porn star has lifted the lid on what it was really like to go from from a college student to adult entertainer as she reveals that the only X-rated films she likes to watch with her partners are the ones she's starred in. 

The retired adult entertainer from Massachusetts, who goes by the pseudonym S.K., joined Cosmopolitan editors Elisa Benson and Ali Drucker for a candid discussion about women and porn on the latest episode of the Cosmo Happy Hour podcast, in which she dished about everything watching her adult films with her partners and the camaraderie on set. 

'It wasn't like I was desperate for money, so there was no need for me to do anything I didn't feel like doing,' S.K. explains of her time in the industry. 'I was really there to have a good time. [Porn] was more of a passion project for me, so I really only did as much of it as I thought would be fun.'

S.K. says she has 'always had a little sex vixen waiting to be unleashed', but before she got into porn, she was working as a webcam girl inside the the dorm room of her New England liberal arts college. 

'You could truly choose your own adventure, and I had a lot of props and costumes,' she says of her time as a webcamming. 

S.K. eventually developed a regular fan base and started looking into another avenues of doing porn in on the East Coast before she headed to Los Angeles, where she started doing improv comedy. 

When one of the women from her improvisation class revealed that a producer asked her to take her shirt off and she refused, S.K. says she was reminded of her interest in getting into the adult film industry. 

After Googling the top porn agencies in Los Angeles, S.K. took a series of nude photos of herself and sent them off. 

S.K. says she was soon contacted by former porn star Shy Love, who founded Adult Talent Managers. 

 I even found a literal niche for myself in Amish porn

During their first meeting, she says Shy Love told her to get naked and noted that she has 'five different shades of skin tone'. 

'My tan was quite uneven at the time. I was like, "I'm sorry I'm from Boston,"' she recalls. 

'You need to get a tan. I want you three shades darker,' Shy Love told her before giving her the name of a tanning place and hair stylist to start her adult film makeover. 

S.K. explains that the of the first things Shy Love told her was that she is 'very raw'.   

'That was actually part of my appeal,' she says looking back. 'I think that I was all natural — I even found a literal niche for myself in Amish porn. They really liked the whole natural look.'

S.K. says she was so excited about the opportunity that she was almost open to anything, however, she admits that when Shy Love asked her why she wanted to get involved in the industry, she didn't have a really good reason. 

She and Shy Love went through the porn scenarios she would be willing to do, and the owner of the agency helped mentor S.K., explaining that she should start off in 'masturbation' and 'girl on girl' and stay there as long as she could.    

'It is all about novelty so that's why they get so excited when new girls show up, but you really want to maximize your potential,' she explains. 'So you sort of make your rounds in each genre, but its like if you do anal first it is like, "Oh, she has already done that."'

S.K. says she had no problem getting naked during her go-sees with production companies because it was something she genuinely wanted to do.  

'[If] you are signing up to do porn, you have to expect that you are getting naked and people are going to be looking at you in a sexual way,' she explains. 'I think as long as you know what you are signing up for... but I don't know if everyone sort of has the luxury I had, where it's not like my rent was due.' 

'I got a labiaplasty so I wanted to show that off,' she adds. 

When it comes to shooting, S.K. says you know you are going to be getting 'extremely intimate' with your co-stars, so 'you just really start hitting it off right away'. 

S.K. says the guy starts 'courting you immediately' and is 'treating you like this goddess', however, she admits that she has exchanged numbers with some of the men, and she has regretted it.  

'It was always like a fun atmosphere,' she recalls. 'I always felt euphoric after these shoots, and the other girls too I thought were lovely. Like most people just really loved having sex, so they were usually happy to be there I think. They seemed like it.' 

 Maybe it is a little sick and twisted, but I've had guys who want to watch my work

S.K. says one of her favorite parts of shooting was actually the interview section before the sex starts, however, she realized male fans had no idea what she was talking about.

'Most guys I would talk to would be like, "Wait what? I skipped over the at least first 10 minutes." So they are just waiting for that money shot I think. 

And similarly to the sex scenes featured in Hollywood blockbusters, S.K. says camera men knew what angles to look for and would position her in certain ways. 

However, when asked what the most popular angles were, S.K. says 'p***y'.   

'That is really what it is focusing on [in hardcore porn],' she says, 'But the softcore can't show the actual penetration, so you have to somehow hide it.' 

Eventually, S.K. told her parents about her career in the adult film industry, and she explains that their level-headed reactions made her gain even more respect for her mother and father, who really focused on understanding her decision and making sure she was being safe.   

'I think one particular woman really may have gotten a lot of pleasure from being the one to bear the news to my mother, and I would have hated that,' S.K. says of her mom finding out. 

However, when the woman in question called her mom and asked if she knew that her daughter was doing porn, her mother had an incredible reaction. 

'I don't think she really knew the full extent of what I was doing at the time, [but] she was like, "Why yes, yes I did. Goodbye now."'   

After working in the industry from the ages of 23 to 25, S.K. says she decided to not renew her contract because it started to feel like work and she knew it wasn't her 'true life calling', it was just something she wanted to try. 

'Personally, I don't watch very much porn,' she admits. 'Before trying it myself, I hadn't really watched much either.' 

However, S.K. says she does like to watch her own work from time to time.   

'Maybe it is a little sick and twisted, but I've had guys who want to watch my work while also being with me in the flesh,' she admits. 'And that's always been kind of fun for me.'

S.K. also says that when she finally tells her suitors about her past they think it is really cool. 

'They're like, "Whoa, I've never met a porn star before." It can make there life.'

Video: bree olson reveals what life is like after a career in porn

Brother's sweet tribute to his baby sister on her 20th birthday after she beat the odds to survive, despite being born 15 WEEKS early

A man is celebrating his sister's 20th birthday by sharing her incredible story of surviving being born at just 25 weeks online.

The man, an Australian Imgur user, who goes by the handle MrKarter77, took to the website on Thursday to share a photo of his sister shortly after she was born.

'With a 20 per cent chance of living and the first 3 months living in a cube. She was born at 25 weeks (15 early),' the man wrote in the caption, adding: 'Happy birthday little sister.'

Survivor: A man shared this image of his sister as a premature baby born at 25 weeks on Imgur in honor of his sister's birthday

The photo he posted shows an extremely small pink baby in a incubator, lying on soft woolen bedding and wearing a white hospital outfit.

There appears to be a person behind the glass box in hospital scrubs, putting a hand through one of the holes. 

Another hand is being extended toward the baby close to the camera appearing to try and give the tiny child a gentle stroke.

Since being posted on Thursday, the image and the birthday wish has been viewed more than 150,000 times on the site and attracted plenty of comments. 

In response to plenty of requests, the user eventually included another photo showing his sister as she is today, a healthy 20-year-old. 

Fast forward: The user later shared this photo showing the baby in the original photo today, as a 20-year-old woman

That image shows a pretty young woman with blonde hair posing for a picture in front of a slightly messy bedroom. 

The brother also replied to commenters inquiring as to whether or not the now-20-year-old was single, saying: 'Yes actually, but ill warn ya, proper bushie from AUS. Can hold her own. Pursue at your own risk.'

The chances of survival for premature babies has vastly improved over the last few decades, with more and more micropreemies - babies born before 26 weeks - surviving.

The most premature baby to ever survive is James Elgin Gill, a Canadian boy who was born at just 21 weeks and 5 days.

From silky hair to weight loss and teeth whitening: Why coconut is the one-stop product you need this summer

 
A-listers can't get enough of coconut oil; Miranda Kerr, left, takes four tablespoons a day to boost her health regime and Kourtney Kardashian, right, slathers her body with it to leave her skin silky smooth

Miranda Kerr takes four tablespoons a day, Kourtney Kardashian slathers her body with it and Blake Lively conditions her hair using it.

Indeed, barely a day goes by without a celebrity waxing lyrical about the miraculous beauty benefits of coconut oil, and as we head into the summer, the power of the humble coconut shows no sign of abating. 

From giving your hair the silkiest soft touch to leaving your teeth sparkling white, we round up the countless ways you can use coconuts to your advantage this summer.

 

Coconut oil can whiten teeth, speed up metabolism and give you glossy hair so it's definitely time to start incorporating it into your beauty and wellbeing regime as we head into summer

Hair conditioner

Blake Lively has one of the most enviable heads of hair in Hollywood and despite earning the big bucks, she has a very thrifty secret.

The actress, who is married to actor Ryan Reynolds, admitted she snubs hot tools - preferring to air-dry her hair, running some coconut oil through the ends before shampooing, then putting it up in a ballerina bun. 

And it seems that Miss Lively's method has plenty of benefits because coconut oil is rich in fatty acids, which have a super nourishing effect on the scalp and hair.

Thanks to its smoothing and moisturising effect, the oil has been used as a natural remedy to combat frizz and because it's anti-bacterial and anti-fungal, it can help banish dandruff, which is often caused by an internal fungal condition that reaches the scalp.

 

Blake Lively, left, has one of the most enviable heads of hair in Hollywood and despite earning the big bucks, she has a very thrifty secret. The actress, admitted she snubs hot tools - preferring to air-dry her hair, running some coconut oil through the ends before shampooing, then putting it up in a ballerina bun

 

Everyone's talking about ab cracks and just no

From thigh gap to collarbones, there's nothing more disheartening than hearing about another new body 'trend' that is unachievable for many. And sadly, another one has surfaced in recent times, and now the whole internet is talking about 'ab cracks'.

An 'ab crack' is the vertical crease which appears on women who 1. have super-flat stomachs and 2. are just built that way. I mean, crack? This even sounds painful (and we imagine it is too, judging by the amount of sit-ups you'd have to do to get it).

Elle were the first to catch on to the trend, and noted it with a sarcastic "You've been in the gym. We get it. We're very impressed." They pointed out the likes of Emily Ratajkowski and Bella Hadid as having the cracks - stars who regularly flaunt their toned stomachs.

 

 Weekend ready wearing my new fav

While some women naturally have ab cracks, or thigh gaps, or any of these so-called 'trends', for others they are completely unachievable and can leave women feeling extremely downhearted, and in extreme cases, depressed. 

How about, instead of aiming for what we don't have, we just appreciate what we do? We should be aiming for healthy, happy bodies in whatever shape comes naturally to us, not chasing some crazy body standard that's legit unachievable. We call BS on this trend.

Waitress reveals what it's REALLY like working at Hooters

A Hooters waitress has lifted the lid on working at one of the world's most famous restaurant chains in a candid Reddit thread.

The anonymous woman, going by the alias hootiecutie, says she lives in Canada and applied for a job at the chain six months ago to 'get experience' - although she has ambitions of becoming a teacher or book editor one day.

She invited fellow Redditors to 'AMA' - ask me anything - in the thread, and didn't hold back as she was quizzed on everything from her working hours to flirting with customers at the restaurants whose staff are primarily attractive women in low-cut tops.

 

An anonymous Hooters waitress has lifted the lid on working at one of the world's most famous restaurant chains in a candid Reddit thread (pictured: her official waitress uniform, as shared on Reddit)

And, in a bid to prove that she really was a genuine Hooters waitress, the English and History graduate even shared photographs of what she claims is her work uniform and most recent pay slip.

'I've been working at Hooters for half a year,' she explained. 'I've seen a couple other AMA's from hooters girls, but felt they weren't being 100% honest. 

'I'm shy, quiet, and nerdy. Completely the opposite of what you would think a hooters girl to be like, but somehow I got hired anyways. Obvious throwaway is obvious. Ask me anything!'

Larossmann was keen to find out whether she finds it hard to 'respect' customers who may be more interested in the waitresses' physical attributes than the food itself.

'The regular customers I have a hard time respecting,' she admitted. 'But just general customers, I don't think I see them any differently than I would customers at a different restaurant.'

One Reddit user asked what their make-up policy was, remarking it appeared 'caked on'.

'Officially, we need to be wearing at least blusher/ broznzer, lipgloss and mascara but any time a girl has worn the bare minimum, she's gotten in trouble,' she replied. 

'When I applied, I opted for a more natural look and was told that I needed to wear more makeup.'

Swackhammer quizzed her on the hiring process, asking: 'Do you know how the company gets around being biased off of looks?'

She said that having 'looks requirements' was dependent on staff being hired as 'entertainers' rather than waitresses.

She also said that she was asking to sign a form 'saying that I understood that I would be sexually harassed and that I was okay with it' - a claim that has not yet been verified.

Hootiecutie said: 'Officially, we need to be wearing at least blusher/ broznzer, lipgloss and mascara but any time a girl has worn the bare minimum, she's gotten in trouble' (file photo)

When asked whether she had seen the Hooters edition of the Undercover Boss programme, and how accurately it portrayed the restaurant, she went into great detail on their dress code policy.

'They still do the uniform line up and inspections, and girls get sent up for not looking up to standards,' she said.

'We're not allowed to wear nail polish, french nails only. We're not allowed to wear jewellery. We're not allowed to show tattoos. Any highlights in our hair can only be a two shade different. No ombre, no roots.'

Others were keen to know whether the waitresses' charming demeanor was genuine or not, to which she replied: '98% chance it's not real,' later going on to say how after receiving a tip her smile will 'drop' and she'll 'roll her eyes' as she turns away from a table.

In one particularly cringeworthy anecdote, the Hooters waitress told how a female customer 'wouldn't let the guy she was with speak to me even to order' (file photo)