Hi, my name is Josefina Bertone.
I'm a 2-year-old happy baby who loves to play outdoors. I was born overseas; and more than a year ago I travelled 12,000 km to come to Australia and live in this beautiful country.
In Uruguay, there is no culture in relation to sun protection. Normally we protect ourselves from the cold or the wind, but not from the sun. Even more, we only put on sunscreen when we go to the beach and only if between 11 am and 3 pm.
When children play in the park or on the beaches they rarely wear hats, and with adults, the same thing happens. Skin cancer has increased noticeably in my country, but awareness has not grown as fast as it should.
As soon as I got here my awareness about the sun protection started. I began to see that even as part of the school uniforms hats are worn. Both children and adults here use hats to enjoy the sun in a healthy way.
Every time I go to the beach I use mySolbari pink hat, which besides protecting my skin, makes me look great! To avoid premature ageing, and the accumulation of the negative effect of the sun, I always wear clothes with sun protection, and sunscreen.
Now I'm waiting for the arrival of my puppies, when they are here I will spend more time in the open air than indoors. Therefore, is very important to my parents that I get used and be always aware of the consequences of being exposed to the sun with adequate protection.
Solbari's clothing and hats models are great for the versatility of their design. I can wear my hat both on the beach with my bathing suit, and also at a birthday party wearing my favourite dresses and always look good.
Thank you Josefina (and mum Maria) for helping raise awareness for skin cancer, melanoma and skin conditions, and sharing your story with us and our Solbari Community.
The Solbari Team
Your skin is your largest organ and has a long memory. Sun exposure and ultraviolet (UV) damage is cumulative throughout your life. Research shows that sun damage contributes to more than 90% of wrinkles, brown spots, premature skin ageing as well as precancerous and cancerous skin lesions.
It is very difficult to the untrained eye to identify melanomas and skin cancers because they can come in many different shapes and sizes.
As Associate Professor Rosemary Nixon from the Skin & Cancer Foundation Inc. says, "the earlier a skin cancer is identified and treated, the better the chance of avoiding surgery, or in the case of a serious melanoma or skin cancer, potential disfigurement or even death."