Tips for Living in the Summer Sun

by Dr. Tiffany Schafer

It's summer time and that means that if you are "on the move", you are probably in the sun. Here are some summer sun tips to help keep your healthy and happy!

Schools Back - Sun 101
The sun radiates different frequencies or kinds of light. Not all are visible. The invisible sunlight or ultraviolet (UV) is what we are concerned with because it burns the skin. UV light is further classified.
· UVA penetrates deep into the skin producing premature aging and cancer. Tanning beds radiate 2 to 5 times more UVA than the sun. Think of UVA as the Aging rays.
· UVB is stronger than A and causes sunburns, aging and skin cancer. B rays are strongest from 11 am to 4pm during the summer. Think of UVB as Burning rays.
· UVC is stronger yet. These rays are stopped by the Earths’ ozone layer.
We just touched on the types of rays so you can now grab your current sunscreen, read it, and decide if it covers both A and B or if you need an up-grade. As far as the number, stick around 30-45ish.

Skin types
Now, if you haven’t noticed we’re all different colors and shades. Our heritage and genetics does play a huge role in our skin color and the concentration of melanin in our skin. Melanin browns or darkens the skin to protect. Red hair, freckled, fair skin English individuals have less melanin than dark hair and olive skinned Mediterranean persons who have even less melanin than say a native Jamaican. Naturally the first will burn quicker. But, the latter person will also be subject to burning. No matter how well you may tan or how dark your skin is, sun protection is necessary. Any time a tissue is chronically irritated, we have to be worried about cancer. Lots of sun, not just burning, is another chronic irritant. Fair skinned kids need to be cautious of the sun because they have less melanin but dark skinned kids need to be cautious because signs of cancer are harder to see. The moral is- Protect Your Skin Period.

Let’s make this an easy transition.
How can I protect? Glad you asked. Apply each hour. Yes- I said each hour. Application whether it be a powder or cream, needs to take place at least each hour and possibly more if you’re out on the lake or out by the pool all day. Your pores open and are continually releasing sweat and the sunscreen gets weaker. Thus, you need to re-apply! I know the back of the bottles say crazy stuff like ‘All Day Protection’ or ‘Reapply every 6-8 hours’, but that’s crazy talk. If you’er going to do it, do it right- apply at least each hour.

How do I make skin protection easy? Usually ‘easy’ means quick. So, lets save you some time. There are a number of sites with different application products for sunscreen. Prodermaproducts.com has a number of towelette or small one time size products to purchase. These are great to keep in the car, on the boat, in your swim bag, or your sports bag. My personal favorite is a powder made by bareMinerals. It twists open to reveal a brush to quickly apply the powder on your ears, back of the neck, and don’t forget those calick or hair parts. Check out spfstore.com for sunglasses, shirts, and other great products that will protect the skin and allow you the fun of the water. Personally, I wear a hot weather underarmor shirt under my life vest when I’m out on the boat and water skiing. My shoulders and arms are protected, it looks sporty, and I’m not a lobster when we go out at night. It’s just a win- win.


7 Sunny Tips
1. Find a sunscreen you like and will use. Keep it accessible
2. Load up on your antioxidants with your diet and supplements.
3. Stay hydrated.
4. Purchase polarized sunglasses to protect your eyes and don’t go out in the sun without them.
5. Apply sunscreen each hour you are outside, cloudy or sunny.
6. Always remember to screen the ears and calicks or hair lines.
7. Don’t ever underestimate the sun or the length of time you will be outside, make a habit of the sunscreen.