Fake bakin.

This time of year is definitely not my favorite. Not only because it is so cold but I am so white! But I refuse to get in the tanning bed for many reasons.. skin cancer not only runs in my family but last April I had a mole removed that was in the beginning stages of melanoma!! Scary, I know!! The crazy thing is that it looked like a freckle. But it just came up one day about 2 years ago and it caught my eye. I noticed that it would get dark and then get light and get dark and get light.... so I decided to go have it checked out.

First of all, let me back up to about 6 years ago. My mom had a mole removed that was melanoma :( Scariest thing ever. They said it had spread to her lymph nodes but the Lord healed her!! She never had to go through chemo or anything!! But since then, they keep a close eye on her and she gets her moles checked every 6 months. And since I used to get in the tanning bed all the time & because of my family history I get mine checked every 6 months too. We go to the best doctor here in Nashville, Dr. Melissa Langley. We love her!! (Btw, my mom has never been in the tanning bed. She is just fair skinned, red hair, light eyes, and it runs in her family as well)

Anyway, so I had Dr. Langley look at my freckle looking mole and she said it did not look bad but to keep a close eye on it. So I did. A whole year went by and last March it started to itch. Then it started bleeding.... Which are both signs of skin cancer so I made another appointment with Dr. Langley. She took it off and it was in the beginning stages of melanoma. It was not cancer yet, but it would have turned into cancer. I am so happy we caught it before that point! I know it was God who gave me an uneasy feeling about it in the first place and I am so thankful:)

So since then I have been really careful. When I am out in the sun I make sure I ALWAYS wear sunscreen. But this time of year just sucks!! Used to around this time of year, I would start getting in the tanning bed to get some color. But not anymore, its just not worth it! I have been wanting to get a spray tan but I just can't bring myself to pay $25 for something that may turn orange or only last a few days. But let me tell you what I have been using that I just LOVE :)

Fake Bake!! This stuff is awesome. It will not turn you orange. The lotion itself is dark so when you put it on, you can tell exactly what it is going to look like so you can rub it all in and not have any streaking going on! I use this sometimes at night. You have to be sure to let it dry all the way though before you get dressed or get in bed. Or else it will kinda rub off onto your clothes or sheets:)

They also have the one for your face. It won't clog your pores or make you break out. I put this on some mornings before my make up. Love it!This is something new I have just discovered and I am in love! It is an everyday gradual lotion. It is by Hempz and it is called Touch Of Summer. It gives you a good color and the best thing about it? It doesn't have that smell that most sunless tanners have. It actually smells really good! :)So I don't feel quite as depressed as I normally do this time of year:) Something about just having a little bit of color makes a girl feel good!