Tan or Burn - Summer Skin Care for Adults and Children

Growing up in Southern California, we looked on a tan as a good thing. When you had a tan, people would comment on how healthy you looked. I was lucky to have a bit of an olive cast to my skin. I did not burn as easily as others. I was also fortunate that I never liked just "laying out" in the sun. These many years later, the result is that I do not seem to have the same wrinkles or skin deterioration as others my age. I have a couple of friends who loved laying out in their teens. These folks now look at least 10 years older than I do.

Honestly, I still like the look of a suntan. A sun-kissed glow, a little all-over darkening of the skin, is beautiful. I still hear the term "healthy tan" in my head. I still resist having a pasty white complexion. After all these years of public-service-announcements, however, I know the price that tan really has.

Friends and family have suffered from pre-cancerous lesions, moles and skin cancer. I have a couple of people who must regularly go in to have small spots checked and "scraped." According to their doctors, these skin issues have been almost entirely caused by sun exposure. If not caused directly, the sun exposure exacerbated them.

My father is a fair skinned, blue eyed man in his 70s. Every time he goes to his dermatologist, the waiting room is full of men about his age and coloring having lesions removed. Most of them have to be removed from the left arm and left side of the face. In talking to the doctor, he pointed out that this is the part of the body that would be exposed to the sun when driving with a car window rolled down. The other group I see in the dermatologist's office are women in their 40s and 50s who used to lay out in the sun in the era before we talked about SPF and the dangers of tanning.

Less Unhealthy Tanning

Having acknowledged that tanning is not good for you and that it can even be dangerous, there are still those out there who will want to have a tan. If you insist on tanning, here are some ideas to help you do it more safely.

Sun Protection Factor - SPF. This number represents a multiplier. You can use it to help determine how much longer you can stay in the sun when wearing it than when not wearing it. For example, if you burn when not wearing sun screen in 15 minutes, then you should be able to be in the sun for up to 60 minutes wearing an SPF of 4. Most skin doctors and cosmetologists agree that everyone should put on a moisturizer containing an SPF of at least 15 every morning. Most of us spend more time in the sun than we think. This is a good habit to get your children into. Most sunscreens should be applied 15-30 minutes before heading into the sun. Most will need to be reapplied if someone gets wet or sweats a lot.

For children who are going to be spending a lot of time in the sun, there are some excellent hypo-allergenic sunblocks of 30, 45 and even 90 designed to help them prevent burning. .

One thing to keep in mind is that SPF protection is not cumulative. If you wear a make-up with a SPF of 10 over a moisturizer with an SPF of 6, you will not get an SPF of 16. You will get an SPF of 10. Remember that 80 percent of the sun damage a person racks up is likely to occur before they are 18. Making sure children use sunblock can save them lots of future health problems, and can help them avoid wrinkles when they get older.

Of course, the very best sun protection can be offered by clothing. Hats with large brims, sunglasses with UV coating, and clothing that covers arms and legs can offer protection for those who must be out in the sun, but want to avoid the harmful effects. Hiding out in the shade not only feels good but also offers some protection from the sun.

There are other considerations where sun safety is concerned. The more directly overhead the sun is, the stronger it is. Anyone who has traveled near the equator knows the sun is stronger there. If you are laying out on the beach in Southern California with a latitude of 32 degrees 44 minutes N of the equator (San Diego) to 34 degrees 26 minutes N (Santa Barbara) you are likely to feel the effects of the sun far more strongly than if you are at 47degrees 32 minutes N (Seattle). The lower the angle of the sun in the sky where you live, the lower the SPF you can probably get away with.

Another concern when considering tanning is the UV level. UV=ultra-violet. This is a kind of light with a wavelength the human eye does not see. It is not possible to determine the UV level by the weather. Even if you do not get a burn, the sun damage can happen when it's overcast. Cloudy days can have high UV indexes. Clouds and cold days will fool you. People often end up with the worst burns on cloudy days because they are not clued in by the heat. They cut back on sun protection. The sun's light can penetrate clouds, and so can the UV rays.UV damage, unlike SPF protection, is cumulative. The damage lives on even after the burn is gone.

The UV index was created by Environmental Protection Agency. It has a scale that goes from 0 to 10 . A zero represents the lowest sun damage risk. In the Northern hemisphere, the numbers tend to be highest during May, June, July, August and September. During those months, many television stations may include the UV index in their weather reports. Use these as a guide.

What to Do If You Do Burn

Despite precautions, there may be times that you or your children end up with a sunburn. It can take up to a full day for the redness related to sunburn to show up. If you or your child is starting to turn red at the beach, you've likely already got a sunburn. Keep in mind that certain medications can make you more prone to burning. There are things you can do to help minimize the hurt and the damage.

Remember that children are not "little adults." Sunburns are a more serious issue for them than for you. If your child is under one year old and gets a sunburn, or if your child is older than one year old and experiences sun-exposure related pain, blistering or runs a fever over 101F, call your doctor. To help your child through the discomfort from sunburn, give them water or juice to replace bodily fluids. Dehydration is a major concern with sun related sickness. Let them soak in a tub or sink of clear, warm (not cold) water. It will cool down the skin. Don't rub or wash. Just let them soak. Apply an unscented moisturizing lotion to soothe the skin only if the skin is not blistered. Do not rub it in; just daub.

Most importantly, if your child has experienced a sunburn, keep him/her out of the sun until it is healed. .

For yourself, the same precautions are a good idea. I find a couple of tablespoons of finely ground oats dumped in my bathwater if I have a mild burn also seems soothing. If you decide to use it, make sure to rinse well after under a cool shower.

If You Gotta Get Some Color

If you want the color of a tan without the dangers, there are "sunless" products on the market. Follow the instructions and you can get a natural look without risking the orange cast older products used to create.

For the best results when using sunless tanning, make sure you are well hydrated. Shave your legs the day before you self-tan. The day you plan to use a self-tanning product, begin by exfoliating. These steps will give you a canvas for more even results. Next wash, rinse and dry your skin. Rinsing is especially important as soap residue and body oils can create splotchy and uneven results.

Apply your tanning product using BOTH vertical and horizontal strokes. This will help to prevent looking striped. For most products, you will get a better result by applying the product lightly and then reapplying if you need to instead of applying a heavy layer once. Many products recommend reapplying the product every 2-3 hours until the desired color is reached. I have found my best results came when I did two applications one day, waited two or three days and then applied again. This not only provides excellent results, but gives you a chance to check out your results in a variety of lighting conditions. What looks great in sunlight may not look so hot under fluorescent lights. Look at yourself in a mirror at home, at work and outside if you can. You may decide that you like the level tan you've achieved. It also prevents people from laughing as you move from pasty-white to George Hamilton brown overnight.

Another thing to keep in mind is to wait three or four hours after your last application of a self-tanning product before you apply moisturizers, cosmetics or other products to the skin.

Still another option is to go for a spray-on tan. This is the method preferred on television shows like Dancing with the Stars. It provides an even and natural look.

Avoid tanning beds. While they provide a quick tan, the agreement among medical professionals is that they are not a good idea. The current models may be less detrimental than the older ones, but you are better off skipping them.