During the summer, my son goes to day camp . It's an awesome camp -- very structured, very active, and he always comes home with stories of the fun things he did that day. Last Thursday they went on a field trip to the beach. My son came home prickly and hot from a sunburn. (They applied sunscreen on all the kids when they got to the beach, but never reapplied throughout the day. I bet there were a lot of sunburned kids that day!)

But what exactly happens to your skin when you get burned? After exposure to the sun, your capillaries dilate, causing the skin to appear pink. Then, skin cells release a chemical that triggers inflammation. Within 12 hours, skin cells begin to die and the inflammation reddens. A tan forms when your skin cells release a pigment to help block your skin from UV rays. (And, no, you shouldn't consider a tan "protection" from the sun. Burn or tan, it all boils down to one thing -- skin damage.)

So take steps to protect your skin from the sun. If you do get burned, Bethany has some tips.

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Summer is coming to a close, and your skin may be showing the effects. Now's the time to do damage control, in this in-between time of the year when the summer sun is waning but before the winter weather sets in and you have a whole other set of issues to deal with.

Your top priority should be exfoliating, and then applying moisturizer. Now is the time to switch to something a little heavier than you were using during the summer months, and it's also a good time to attack imperfections like sun spots and other skin/sun damage issues left-over from the summer season. If you're looking for some new products (and who isn't) take a look at this list, and if you've found something that works wonders for you please share!

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I'm like anybody else -- I think tan just looks better. But I also believe the health risks associated with sun (or even worse: tanning bed) exposure is very real. I don't want to look wrinkled before my time, or get an easily avoided and potentially deadly disease like skin cancer, so I'm always looking for the latest and greatest in self-tanning products.

So naturally when I saw this article I had to take a look, and thankfully it doesn't sound like there's anything to worry about. Now if I can just find a tanner that never EVER streaks...

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Most people agree that the single best thing you can do for your skin is wear sunscreen. And during the summer months sunscreen is a common staple in most people's daily beauty routine. But what many people don't do is continue using sunscreen diligently even after the hot temperatures and days at the beach are over. The sun may be lower in the sky in the winter, and the days may be shorter, but the damaging rays are still there. Whether you spend time outdoors or not, the sun can find you! On your way to work in the car, through the windows at work, all the little exposures can really add up.

I am particularly bad about remembering sunscreen when I'm not in a swimsuit, but luckily in the winter there's a lot less exposed skin to worry about. It can be as easy as making sure your daily moisturizers for face and hands have an SPF ingredient, and wearing hats and sunglasses when outside. It's one of those details that doesn't make a huge difference right away, but you'll be happy you paid attention later when you have less wrinkles and sun damage!

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