"When we were kids, the sun didn't kill ya!"

Are people really still getting a sunburn? I don't get it - what are they thinking? Have you not read anything in the last few years about the UV rays and the ozone layer?

I am not perfect - I love the sun - I really do - I even love a little color on my skin - I'm not against a tan at all. However, you can still get a tan without torching your skin! Yes, a sunburn turns into a tan - the melanin in your skin gives it color - but it is still possible to tan without burning. Sunscreen blocks UV light from entering your skin and therefore prevents the burn. It does not block all rays - SPF stands for Sunburn Protection Factor followed by the rating which is based on the sunblock's ability to suppress sunburn and lower the amount of DNA damage (yes, that's right, sunburns cause DNA damage).

A few weeks ago I visited my doctor and asked a few questions about the SPF ratings on sunblocks. I usually wear SPF 30, but my face cream only has an SPF 16 in it - so wanted to know exactly what those numbers meant.

She explained that the number is used to calculate your safe exposure time which means the amount of time you have in the sun without burning multiplied by the SPF number gives you the total amount of time protected. I burn easily since I have fair skin - I estimate about 8 minutes in the sun and I have a burn. Therefore, if I'm wearing SPF 30, if you multiply 8 by 30 which is equal to 240 mins or 4 hrs. Now, after hearing this, I thought about it and if I was in the sun for 4 hrs and only applied once, I would most likely have a slight burn. So, I looked it up online to find out what Wiki had to say....

I read that an SPF 10 protects against 90% of the rays, 20 against 95% and 30 against 100% and that you should reapply after 2-3 hrs. So this means that if you aren't wearing SPF 30, you aren't protected 100% and therefore, you will still get burnt.

I also read that some foods protect your skin against the UV light such as beta carotene and lycopene which are found in veggies such as carrots (duh!) and tomatoes. Also, flavonoids which is found in dark chocolate (eat your chocolate before being exposed to the sun, ladies!) helps protect your skin.

Ok, so I wear sunblock daily - I have made it part of my daily routine to apply it when I get out of the shower - I want to be protected (or risk turning into a huge freckle). It is also common knowledge that if you are swimming or sweating that the sunblock will need to be reapplied - even if the sunblock is considered 'water/sweatproof'.

So, on to my title:
"when we were kids, the sun didn't kill ya" says Dylan when I asked him his thoughts. He's French, so just turns dark brown and very rarely gets a burn - that still doesn't mean that he's not affected though. Your skin can be damaged even if you don't see the effect!

Ok, this is more like a vent than a blog entry, but I see people walking the streets with bright red skin and wonder what they are thinking. You may not make applying sunblock as part of your routine, but when you think of the damage that might be happening without you knowing, you might think twice. So....if you go out for a stroll in the hot sun, it should be something that crosses your mind. Another item that might convince you is the aging of the skin that is exposed to the sun - wrinkles are mostly caused by sun exposure - we've all seen the tanned sun worshiper that you know bowed down to the sun in the 70s and 80s and think that we never ever want to look like that....the time has come that we make sure we don't when we head into our middle age.

Ok, that's it for now - I hope that some of you have gained some knowledge about this and may make some changes to protect yourself. Enjoy the sun (protected)!