How to Prevent Sunburn in Five Easy Steps

You always hear doctors telling you to wear hats, wear sunscreen, and stay out of direct sunlight in the summertime. That's always so much fun. I rarely do any of the three. I typically don't fry up like a lobster the minute I get out in the sun, as I usually tan fairly well, but if I sit out too long, I do turn bright red. But I never seem to learn my lesson from year to year, either because I'm just lazy, or because I don't care to look like a sixty-year-old woman with a sunhat in the swimming pool. However, I also tend to suffer the consequences sometimes.

Take this past weekend, for instance. I slipped into my swimsuit, grabbed my towel, and headed outside, grabbing a bottle of SPF 15 sunscreen. I slathered some on my face, ears, shoulders, and neck, and called it good. Two hours later, I reapplied. An hour after that, I was pretty crispy. So much for the sunscreen.

But I figured out what I did wrong. After getting a hint from my family members that I was burning up, I realized what it was that I had been doing to get so red. Here's five ways you can learn from my mistakes when it comes to sunburn, and how you can prevent yourself from falling victim.

One: Don't wear the same swimsuit two days in a row

If you only own one swimsuit, you can't avoid this, but I often find that if I wear a different suit, I avoid burning around the same exact strap lines each time I'm in the sun. Also, you might try applying sunscreen before you put your suit on, so the cloth doesn't get in the way. Using this method, you will also avoid getting stripe marks - you know, those lines of skin you missed when you were applying the drippy goo.

Two: Remember to rotate, rotate, rotate

Think of yourself as a chicken on a rotisserie. If the chicken doesn't get turned, it will burn in one spot and remain cold as ice in another. So while you're lounging in the pool, whether it be on a float or hanging your arms on the edges, make sure you rotate every ten minutes or so. Usually when I'm in the pool, I'm talking to someone, and I forget to move around, thus burning my shoulders or other tender areas of skin. By remembering to rotate you can avoid much of this agony. Bring out a waterproof stopwatch or timer if you're truly worried you'll forget.

Three:Use a sunscreen of SPF 30 or more

You don't have to sunscreen with SPF 30 all summer, but during the first few weeks while you're still wearing your winter whites, this will give you more protection than the middle-to-end-of-summer SPF 15.

Four: Wait 15 minutes or more before hopping into the pool

This is one of the biggest mistakes kids (and adults) make. They apply sunscreen right before hitting the pool or the beach, and wash it all right off, and then wonder why they have 25 freckles popping out on their faces. So here's a helpful tip. When you're getting ready to go outside, sunscreen first thing, then get everything else - snacks, towel, flip-flops, swimsuit - ready to go.

Five: Apply Aloe Vera on affected skin

This is more of a fix than a prevention, but if you got burned yesterday and you want to swim again today, make sure you applied Aloe Vera at least once an hour before you go outside. This will keep you from itching your affected skin and help it heal while it gets reaffected. Better yet, wear a swim shirt or similar article of clothing to keep the skin protected while in direct sunlight.

Remembering these simple tips can mean the difference between getting severely burned and just getting a tan.