Why be Sun Smart?
When our first child was very young my Dh's parents came out to visit us here in Australia. They are from Scotland and as it was the middle of summer I was very concerned about their fair skin.
I offered them 30+ sunblock but
they explained they had brought sunscreen with them. They dutifully applied their 'liquid sun shield" and enjoyed themselves in the sun for the day.
I later discovered the sunscreen was SPF 4.
They both turned a painful red.
When I was younger my friends and I used to slather ourselves in coconut oil- boy it smelt great ..... we all burned regularly. I remember one girl telling me (after we had both burned our backs scarlet) that the best thing to do was rub on baby oil and go back in the sun - or so her Gran had told her. She looked at me uncertainly and muttered 'do you think thats right?'. I was in too much pain to care- I spent the day in a darkened room with cabbage leaves on my back.
It was common and normal for people who wanted a tan NOT to apply sunscreen for the first half hour or so.....they often reddened that evening but it would 'go brown' by the next day so wasnt considered a problem......
I have already had a skin cancer removed. It appeared while I was pregnant and I worried about having to have some dreadful treatment which would hurt the baby. However when I went for help three doctors in a row told me it 'was nothing' before I was finally correctly diagnosed and the thing removed. (Yes- believe it or not, and this was only 6 years ago when skin cancer was very much in the news. If you have doubts INSIST on a punch biopsy or complete removal regardless - its YOUR health.)
Isnt sunscreen enough?
We are told repeatedly now through various advertising campaigns to be Sun Smart - sunscreen should be SPF Factor 30+..... but thats not enough- wear a shirt- put on a hat- wear sunnies and limit sun exposure- get to some shade - avoid the 12 - 3 period on those hot days....
But why bother? If we have sunblock on- isnt that enough? I used to think it was. I also used to think that if I kept applying sunscreen I could stay out in the sun endlessly. Wrong apparently! It seems to be a common understanding that so long as you slop on a bit of sunscreen you will be fine......
A few years ago out of concern for my children I researched a bit more carefully and I thought id share some information here- there are plenty of excellent sites too if you want to read more.
Quick Tips:
- Unprotected Sensitive skin can burn within 5 to 10 minutes on very hot days.
- Multiply the expected safe time by the sunblocks SPF factor. So if you burn easily and can expect max 10 minutes out in the sun unprotected before you would get a 'red tinge'....and your sunblock is 30 ....10 x 30 = 300 minutes in the sun.
- This time estimate is reduced by sweat, swimming and friction from towels and clothing.
- Dont wait more than 2 hours to reapply and preferably do it sooner.
- Wear a top - and a hat - and sunglasses!
- Use products that protect against both UVB and UVA
- Full sun damage often will not be obvious for 12 hours (so its impossible to know that you 'are ok' while sitting in the sun - skin will redden LATER)
Worth noting....If you dont carefully reapply sunscreen after swimming and on a regular basis- probably every hour or more on a hot day on the beach.........you will still be at a high risk of burning even if you suddenly start slathering on the cream, you cant stop the damage once its happened!
No sunscreen can give you 100% protection. Factor 30 is about 96%. Factor 60 - about the best you can get is about 98% blockage of harmful rays.
Put sunscreen on about 20 minutes before going out in the sun - it takes this long for the chemicals to be absorbed and start to work properly to protect you.
If you dont apply THICKLY you only get about half the protection listed on the bottle - so a SPF 15 cream could end up only giving you about 35 minutes protection.....
less if you have been swimming ,sweating ,drying yourself with a towel... and if you went out in the sun BEFORE waiting 20 minutes.....
The sun is intense during the middle of the day- dont risk your sun protection being too low- wear a top and a hat and if possible find shade during the hours of 11 to 3 or so.
Many medications can intensify your reaction to the sun - so you may think you are 'safe for 15 minutes without protection when in fact you have half that time or less. Asprin for instance intensifies UVA rays and there are many more the Shade Foundation provides a list
www.shadefoundation.org/sunwise_sunscreen.php
Summary
Sunscreen needs 20 minutes BEFORE sun exposure to work at its maximum level. It also needs to be applied thickly and often. If you are swimming or sweating heavily you may need to apply every 20 minutes to maintain protection.
It is
NOT safe to play in the sun 'for a while' then apply sunscreen- especially if exposure is continued straight away- you are actually potentially doubling or tripleing your or your childs unsafe unprotected sun time -
in short sunburn is extremely likely.
Any burn is increasing the risk of skin cancer.
Back up sunscreen with a top and a hat. Preferably invest in SPF protection clothing for your children for beach and pool - their delicate skin is easily damaged. (If you can see through clothing when you hold it up to the light suns rays can pass through it too - wet t-shirts can also allow unexpected UV exposure.
Dont rely on only sunscreen - especially in the heat of the middle of the day- seek shade and COVER up!
Stay Safe
Enjoy the sunshine .... but treat it with respect
Have fun!
(December 2006) (
