The other day, I was taken by the hair coloring of a clerk at the local store. I commented on how beautiful it was, with the dark base and the natural-looking streaks, as if the sun had touched her alone; and we began a conversation of how when we were younger we would not have to use any hair dyes: we just sprayed Sun-In on our hair and laid out in the sun for an hour or two. This of course led us to discussing the near impossibility of doing that now, as we have blasted the ozone layer(s) so hard we have created a direct line between us and the harsher (more deadly) rays of the sun (and no, Sun-In is a pump spray, not an aerosol, so we didn’t have to go there with culpability and irony and all).

But you probably didn’t come here to read about hair coloring techniques that are sun-free or chemical free, for that matter…at least not specifically. You came looking for information on the different types of skin cancer. The speculation and theory does hold some evidence against chemicals in—ahem—health and beauty products; and it does point to the sun’s “damaging rays” as a possible cause.

The info on the types of skin cancer below, is going to be basic and should serve as an introduction to the different types of skin cancers, their possible causes, treatments, and cures.

There are three types of skin cancer: Basal Cell Carcinoma (a.k.a. non-melanoma skin cancer); Squamous Cell Carcinoma; and Melanoma.

Melanoma (also, Cutaneous Melanoma, Malignant Melanoma) – Cancer cells are growing in the melanocytes, the cells that are responsible for skin pigmentation. According to University of Maryland medicine and other experts, of all of the types of skin cancer, Melanoma is “the rarest and the most virulent….” It is typically found in people with fair skin, light hair, and/or light eyes, though it is possible in others with different complexions, and as the experts above also assert, does not exempt those with dark brown or black skin. Identifiable symptoms include, most commonly, a mole changing color, size, shape, or state (starts oozing or bleeding), or a mole that UMM notes “feels itchy, hard, lumpy, swollen, or tender to the touch.”

Squamous Cell Carcinoma—Also called non-melanoma skin cancer, Squamous Cell Carcinoma usually begins as a red-looking, scaly patch or patches of skin, or can appear as nodules. Of the three types of skin cancer, Squamous, affecting Caucasians, usually fair-complected, is the second most common and shows up, typically, on the ears (ear-rims), face, lips, and mouth.

Basal Cell Carcinoma – The second of the types of skin cancer, Basal Cell Cancer, typically starts as a “small, fleshy bump or nodule,” most commonly found on the head, neck, and/or hands. Of the three types of skin cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma, which is typically found in Caucasians, say those at UMM, make up “more than 90 percent in the U.S..

My mother had the second most common of the types of skin cancer, on her lip, and while we at first teased her that it was herpes, she was smart enough to know it was a “sun blister” and quick enough to catch it by going to a specialist. That’s the good news, to give you hope when you bemoan the loss of days picnicking, swimming, and “bathing” under the wonderful sun.