Sunbathing Without the Red

One of the most prized souvenirs you can bring back from a vacation is a beautiful, glowing tan. Let’s face it: your collection of holiday shots is only going to make the rounds at the office once, your stories about what you did during those hot, tropical nights are going to be old by next week and no-one wants to see the hideous shirts you somehow ended up buying on your wild shopping spree in the ‘everything really cheap cheap!’ tourist markets. But — when you’re walking around on a cold wintry day with your pasty-faced colleagues and they comment enviously on your honeyed, sun-kissed skin, well, it brings back wonderful memories of the time you spent on that beach.

Of course, there’s a bit of preparing to do if you want to have that enviable tan without having to worry about skin cancer twenty years from now. By now, everyone knows the dangers of sunbathing without protection and no-one wants to be a statistic.

Red Lobster or Golden Goddess?

Every dermatologist is going to tell you that the best way to avoid saggy, aged skin and cancer is to quit sunbathing, period. If it’s a bronze skin you’re after, there’s plenty of tanning lotions and what-have-you’s on the market that will give you the perfect ‘golden god/goddess glow’ without ever seeing a hint of sun. Of course, if you don’t want to be that drastic, then there’s still plenty you can do to protect yourself and still have a good day at the beach.

A person’s ability to sunbathe without burning is very individual. There are people who can’t stick a finger outside without burning. People of Northern European stock (or really, anyone fair-skinned, redheaded, and/or prone to freckles and sensitive skin) are more likely to be in this category. Sunbathing is probably the last thing they’d want to do, since it’s about equivalent to sticking a finger in a fire and then complaining about being burnt. These are usually the people most prone to achieving that unforgettable 'red lobster' beach look.

For the more fortunate individuals, they can sit under a blazing sun for days and never suffer more than a bit of redness. Usually, people with darker skin have this higher tolerance and the most chance of coming back with a really fantastic tan. Most people fall somewhere in between.

All about sunscreen

First thing to consider when you're going for that great tan is, of course, the sunscreen issue. There’s a huge amount of information out there in the media about sunscreen and sun block, but the basics are pretty simple. If you’re looking for a tan, but don’t want to burn, then grab the sunscreen. Basically, the stuff has chemicals in it that prevent UVB rays, which cause all the redness and burning, from touching your skin, while letting in all the other rays. The bad thing is that wearing sunscreen doesn’t protect you from getting cancer later: while the stuff stops your skin from burning, the more dangerous UVA rays are still getting through, and that’s what causes most of the deeper, more long-term damage to your skin.

To prevent UVA getting to the skin, there’s sunblock, which have inorganic compounds such as titanium oxide included that completely block the sunlight. If a lotion is marketed as being ‘broad-spectrum’, that means it protects against both UVA and UVB rays. In the past, many sun blocks made you look like you’ve slathered on icing sugar, which is probably not the ‘beach look’ you’d want, but today’s formulas have thankfully solved that problem. Unfortunately, since sun block literally blocks all the rays, using it means that you won’t get a tan.

Right after the whole sunscreen vs. sunblock dilemma, there’s the whole Sun Protection Factor (SPF) issue to consider. Basically, the SPF rating on a bottle of sun block or sunscreen measures how much longer you can stay in the sun without burning, as compared to how long you it would take you to burn without using the product. So, if you normally burn in 20 minutes without using sunscreen, then using a sunscreen that’s rated spf 2 means that you can stay out for twice as long (40 mins), if its SPF 15 then you can stay out for 300 mins, and so on. Obviously, the bigger the number, the longer you can go without burning. One really important point about SPF is that SPF MEASURES TIME, NOT STRENGTH. Some people mistakenly think that the number refers to how powerful or how effective the product is at blocking the rays. Unfortunately, right now, there’s no measure to rate just how effective a product is at blocking the rays.

Dermatologists recommend everyone wear at least an SPF 15 rated product at all times and many people go even higher. Some people do have allergic reactions to the higher SPF-rated products, so you’ll have to check whether your skin can tolerate the product first. Whatever the rating, you still have to reapply the product every two hours or so, as the effectiveness wears off substantially after the first two hours.

Rubbing on that lotion

Once you decide which tube of lotion to grab off the pharmacy shelves, then comes the real test of protection: actually slathering the stuff on your skin. Most dermatologists say that people don’t put enough lotion on to make the protection effective, so when the label says ‘apply liberally’, it really means, liberally. The general guideline is about a heaped tablespoon’s worth of lotion per limb, and a heaped teaspoon’s worth on the face.

Many people balk because it seems like such a huge amount to slather on. However, applying less than the correct amount of an SPF 30 product basically gives you only the same level of protection as if you were using an SPF 15 product, which is a bit of a waste. So, slathered and slathered every inch of your skin.

Don’t forget your lips (there’s protective lip balm available), the nose and the ears, they need protection too! For nudist sunbathers, all the bits that don’t normally get exposure should also get an extra slather, as they’re more likely to burn and need more protection.
 

More than just the lotion

So — every bit of skin slathered, and you’re all set for the beach right? Not quite. There’s a few accessories you’ll need. First, and most important — sunglasses. This has a lot to do with how much reflective surface there is around you: at the beach, the sun’s rays reflect off the water and the sand (and almost anything else), so even if you’re sitting in the shade, you’re going to be hit by UV rays. This means that your eyes are always going to be vulnerable to excessive UV ray exposure too, which is contributing factor to a whole host of eye problems. Make sure that the sunglasses are rated 100% UV ray protected. A good bonus is that with your eyes protected, you don’t end up developing squints and eye wrinkles.

Then there’s the clothes (yes, that does seem an odd topic for a beach). A hat is a good start — after all, once all that slathering is over, there’s still your scalp to deal with. Unfortunately, all that hair on your head is NOT a good enough covering to protect against the sun — there are plenty of cases of skin cancers erupting on the head, hidden under all that not-so-protective hair — so a hat would be a good idea.

Also, for those moments when you’re not strutting your stuff, a cover-up is essential, and you might as well make sure that it does a good job of protecting you from the sun’s rays too. For this, closely woven material is all that’s needed: it doesn’t have to be a woolly overcoat, but as long as the material is dense enough not to let the sun’s ray through, you’ll be well protected. Unfortunately, the usual white cotton t-shirt is almost as bad as bare skin, so something a bit more sturdy (but hopefully also more fashionable) is called for. A stylish sarong would do the trick.

And now, after all that preparation, its time to head off to the beach. The best time to go is before about 11 am and after about 3 pm, the period when the sun is at its strongest. Once you’re at the beach, its time for that most cherished of vacation activities: lying down on a beach towel, stretching out, and working on getting a beautiful, glowing sun tan.

Article Information
First published 21 December 2004. This article is free for personal and commercial reproduction, with the following terms and conditions.