Skin

Skin protection is of the utmost importance during summer, whether you're on the beach or by the pool. Although it's a bit cooler at the shore and you may escape the really scorching heat, you can't be too careful. There are plenty of options for sunscreen in many different SPFs, UVA and UVB protections, but if you really want to accent your vacation with a little color, try Zinka sunblock. Now I understand that being protected from the sun is not about looking cool, but you can look cool and still protect your skin by rocking Zinka, a zinc oxide sunblock that comes in 10 different colors.

This season's beachwear will be dominated by retro pinup girl silhouettes, tribal prints, nautical stripes, flashy coverups - even rompers. Step back, string bikinis. Swimwear this summer is more about modesty and style rather than skin. Top designers such as Prada, Chanel and Marc Jacobs are producing one-piece suits that are perfect for frolicking on the beach. And other designers have created stunning coverups, scarves and separates perfect to help beach-goers transition from the sun to evening fun. Taylor Schlette, marketing coordinator for South Moon Under, says a major trend this summer will be fashionable coverups that allow beachgoers to transition easily from day to night.

Two new government studies show young people are still putting themselves at risk for skin cancer by getting sunburned and going to indoor tanning beds. One study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that half of those aged 18 to 29 had at least one sunburn it the past year, though they were increasingly using sunscreen, seeking shade and wearing protective clothing. The other study by the National Cancer Institute found 32 percent of those 18 to 21 were going to indoor tanning salons and 30 percent of those 22 to 25 were.

Tattoos aren't just for outlaws anymore. Maybe they never were, but for years, popular culture suggested otherwise. Just think of the movies: Robert Mitchum's homicidal preacher in "The Night of the Hunter," with "Love" and "Hate" tattooed on his knuckles; Robert De Niro's vengeance-crazed ex-con in "Cape Fear," his torso covered in soulless ink; or Ralph Fiennes' serial killer, Dolarhyde, in "Red Dragon," his back emblazoned with an elaborate, and...

Summer is just around the corner, but its damaging rays and humidity have already arrived. We all know too much sun can damage skin and speed aging, while too much moisture can clog pores. With the right products, you can keep your skin safe from the sun and harness the season's humidity. Here are five ways to make sure your skin stays healthy this season: 1. Pick a broad-spectrum sunscreen. New sunscreen labeling laws require companies to reveal whether their products block UVA rays, UVB rays or both.

Baltimore Ravens Offensive Coordinator Cam Cameron was a young coach at the University of Michigan when his then head coach Bo Schembechler noticed a spot on his back. The spot turned out to be a malignant mole and Cameron was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma. Melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer. Cameron was treated and survived and is now speaking out about skin cancer. He will be featured in a 30-second public service announcement for the Joanna M. Nicolay Melanoma Foundation, a national nonprofit headquartered in Maryland that promoted melanoma research and prevention.

House Speaker Michael E. Busch was treated this week for what he called a non life-threatening form of skin cancer -- a condition he attributes largely to his years of work as a lifeguard at a time when sunblock was less effective and often went unused. Busch revealed the treatment, which involved cutting away an affected patch of skin on his leg,  during an interview on an unrelated topic. He said the condition is a basal cell cancer that is neither malignant nor life-threatening.

Trayvon Martin was me, Ricardo Alonzo Summers in 1988. I lived in a neighborhood in Calvert County called Scientist Cliffs. Scientist Cliffs was established in the 1930s as a private, tony beach community by a handful of employees from the Department of Agriculture with very strict covenants as to who could purchase a home with in it's gates. Even the future Comptroller of Maryland Louis Goldstein was denied entry. This incident only inspired Mr. Goldstein to buy a huge majority of the land surrounding the neighborhood, preventing any potential for further development and eventually making him one of the largest land owners in the state of Maryland.

If most plays about race tackle that touchy topic in literally black-and-white terms, Dael Orlandersmith's 2002 play "Yellowman" favors shades of black. Brace yourself as the playwright's skin-deep insights soon go deeper in a fine Rep Stage production. For all its thematic integrity, there are times when Orlandersmith's socially pointed, two-character drama seems on the verge of becoming overly didactic and static. Bear with her play's message-on-the-sleeve passages, however, because its dramatic substance comes across in the most crucial scenes.

The first words the audience hears in "Yellowman" are a vivid evocation of what it's like to toil in summer under the South Carolina sun. The sun, we are told, can make you see things that aren't there. The sun is something you hear. And that's ironic, because the performance space in the spare and poetic production running at Rep Stage in Columbia seems perpetually cast in shadow. But as theater-goers' eyes struggle to pierce the subtly modulated layers of gray, we end up seeing with more clarity than we did before.