Best Sunscreen Strength to use?
 

We're going to Maui in February. What strength sunscreen do you recommend we use. 15? 30? 45? We live in the Pacific Northwest and so aren't exposed to a lot of sun in the winter. A couple of the family members are fair skinned, a couple of us tan easily. Thank you.

I think this is a question for your dermatologist. There are so many factors that I would not attempt an answer even though I smear sunscreen on everyday because of my problem with skin cancers. <BR><BR>Just bear in mind that tan skin is damaged skin. The sun's UV rays foul up the DNA and, if the damage is bad enough, skin cells cannot reproduce properly.<BR>That is when your skin begins to grow basal cells, squamous cells, and (God forbid) melanoma. <BR><BR>My own dermatologist told me which sun screen to get. And he had some blunt advice, after some treatment on my face: Your skin cannot take any more sun. <BR><BR>Again, I suggest you consult a dermatologist and follow his or her advice. <BR><BR>As a last comment, let me ask you a question: How much protection to you think you would need if you were outside for long periods of time in Egypt?<BR>A lot?<BR>Well, Maui is farther south than Cairo.<BR>And the suns's rays would be more intense.

30<BR>My dermatologist says that anything over that is no more protective than 30.

Mine says the same, and that the key is re-apply often and generously.

Being a natural blond with light eyes, I burn easily and tan slowly. I used a variety of sunscreens from 8 on my arms and legs, to 15 on my back and 30 on my chest and face. For me, the key to avoiding burns is to slather on the sunscreen generously WELL BEFORE I get in the sun. If the lotion has a chance to sink in ahead of time, it seems to work so much better.

Another trick is to apply the sunscreen and about half an hour apply it again,it seems to work better when it is layered.<BR>

Not being a beach person, I'm curious, why would you use different strengths of sunscreen on different parts of your body. It seems like quite an investment, a lot of effort, and a lot of stuff to lug around. Wouldn't it be best and more economical to just go with one and the one that is the strongest -- obviously with an SPF of 30 or more?

Lee:<BR><BR>I don't think it is the SPF that is that important, it is more important to put sunscreen on every 3 hours.

Oh God, don't listen to Stephanie!<BR>You can use the same SPF everywhere,the less the SPF the more UV rays come through,the more color that skin will get.<BR>Stephanie,stay out of things you know nothing about.

I think what she was refering to is that once you get past an SPF of 15, the level of sunblock doesn't go up that much. For example, an SPF of 15 blocks out about 85% of the suns harmful rays whereas an SPF of 30 only blocks out about 87% of the suns harmful rays. Not sure about the exact percentages but I think that is pretty close. And yes, you will still get a tan with sunblock.

Another important factor with sunblock is to apply enough. It is recommended that a person use 1-2 ounces. That is a lot more than most people (including me) use. Also, light-weight t-shirts and other similar clothing are not totally sun-blocking (I read a white t-shirt is SPF about 10).<BR><BR>Sun can also reflect off water or sand, even if you are under an umbrella or awning.<BR><BR>

Do you have all day sunscreens in the states(P20)?<BR>I am from the UK and have found these to be excellent,you apply them in the morning 1/2 hour before exposure and they give you all day cover. we have used them whilst scuba diving and snorkeling and found them to be very effective.for extra peace of mind you can put normal sunscreen on your most sensitive bits as well.

Although I live in FL, and am outside and on the water a lot, the biggest problem I've had with sunburn was skiing in Colorado this spring! <BR><BR>My friend's dermatologist told her to apply 30 twice, the first time slathering it on so there is excesss, and letting that sit and absorb into the skin as much as it will, then applying it a second time and rubbing it in well--all before leaving for the slopes. I tried that method after a couple of days of burns, and it definitely worked better, but even so, I returned to FL after a week of skiing with more tan than I had before leaving. Don't forget your lips too--swollen cracked lips don't look so hot with pretty sun dresses!!

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this, and have a feeling it is still little known that the best sunscreens have the ingredient Avobenzone (also called Parsol 1789.) This ingredient protects your skin from the premature aging damage the sun can cause. <BR><BR>I've basically heard that the best sunscreens are those with this ingredient. Coppertone 30 has it, but a lot of them do not. You need to read the ingredients very closely. I have yet to find this ingredient in any sunscreen marketed for children. <BR><BR>I've also read many times that once you get past SPF30, there's not much more protection. <BR><BR>I think it's wise for everyone in your family regardless of how easily you do or don't tan to use an SPF30.

Who is edting these messages?????? I have left 3, and they are not here!!!!!

The numbers measure how much longer than normal you can stay in the sun before the skin gets red. In practical terms, it tells you how much of the sun's rays get through.<BR><BR>15 means that 1/15th, or 6.67% of the sun's rays get through. 30 is 3.3%, 45 is 2.2%. I use the highest, 45 or even 50. There is no disadvantage in using 45, and if maybe it is only a dollar more a bottle, why not use it?<BR><BR>The problem with sun exposure is not the 1 or 2 days you are in the sun, or whether you get red, but the cumulative effect of many years of sun exposure which causes chronic damage to the skin such as wrinkling, thinness, scaly spots which are precancerous actinic keratoses, and various types of skin cancers. The less the rays get through, the better.<BR><BR>It should be applied a few hours before the sun exposure, and after swimming. <BR><BR>The exact benefits of Parsol 1789 is unknown.<BR><BR>Products labelled "very water resistant" are generally better.

There are two things that I have wondered about sunscreens, perhaps someone here knows the answer? First, if you apply sunscreen several hours before going out in the sun, does it have the same effectiveness as if you'd done it about half an hour before going out, or does it wear off (assuming you haven't swum, sweat heavily, or showered in the meantime)? When I'm on vacation, or often in the summer if I think I'll be outdoors later during the day, I'll apply sunscreen when I get dressed in the morning, so I don't have to think about it later or be caught without it when I go out. However, I've wondered whether I'm compromising my protection when I don't go out for several hours.<BR><BR>Also, does anyone know whether sunscreen loses it's effectiveness with age? I don't see any expiration dates on the bottles, but I always wonder if last year's leftover bottles are still good (I tend to buy several bottles to keep in different locations - the car, the beach bag, my hiking backpack, etc, that don't always get used up).

Sara, those are great questions. I also would love to lnow the answers.

Have heard and read many times that, yes, sunscreen loses its effectiveness over time and that you should replace it each year. However, I've used "last years" sunscreen plenty of times over the years and it has still protected against sunburn.

I am very fair skinned and burn easily. My dermotologist would prefer I stay out of the sun, but since she knows I like the outdoors she recommended a great sunscreen called Solar Defense. I used it when I hiked in the Grand Canyon and it even held up in the water. I didn't burn at all. I don't know if they sell it where you live. The bottle has an 800# which you could try calling - (800) 530-3722.<BR><BR>Have a great trip!

Hawaii weather stations usually advise you what sunscreen level to use. I can recall them regularly telling people 45 so I am not sure about the dermotologist claim that 30 is the limit although I do question this also. I remember Johnson and Johnson getting the bloopers award for advertising when they first introduced it.<BR><BR>I think fair skin people would burn with only 15 on. I am fare and would put on nothing less than 30. I plan to bullfrog on my chest this summer. Not a cancer risk thing just a wrinkle thing.

One last note. I used 3 bottles of SPF 30 a few years ago when at a SC beach (for one week). I applied it liberally (every 2-3 hrs) and actually got a tan, not burn, from it. No matter what to do, you'll get some kind of coloring from the sun.

Stephanie, a tan is a sign of sun damage.<BR>The sun's rays penetrate into the skin and cause the skin to react by creating melanin.<BR>No damage/irritation, no tan.<BR>Of course redness is worse than tanning.<BR>But the only 'healthy' tan is the artificial kind from a bottle.

The SPF 30 debate relates to diminishing returns.<BR>Using a higher SPF, like 45, WILL provide more protection than 30.<BR>But the point is that if you're looking at cost-effectiveness, do you want to pay more for something (SPF45)that makes a 1.1% difference in the amount of sun which gets through (versus SPF30)?<BR><BR>SPF8 versus SPF30 is a meaningful difference...12.5% penetration versus 3.3%.<BR>But above 30 the improvement is simply negligible, but not zero.

Dr. M.:<BR><BR>A tan is a sign that the body is protecting the DNA in each skin cell with all the melanocytes in every individual cell gathering over the DNA, thus the brownish color (I took an Anatomy and Physiology class in college). If you want to actually enjoy a vacation in Hawaii or any tropical place, you have to get in the sun and therefore, you will get coloring. You do have the option of staying in a hotel room the whole time or go outside on a patio with an umbrella and cover your whole body, head to toe, with clothing, wear a hat with sunglasses and do absolutely nothing but that is not considered an ultimate vacation to most people.

Two comments: 1. I wish you medical experts would tell us where you got your medical degree.<BR>2. My dermatologist suggests Blue Lizard. If you want his name, I will give it to you.<BR>He also has advertisements in his office for a brand I never heard of with as very high sun screen factor. I asked him about it and he said I did not need it.<BR>So there is more protection out there than SPF 30. <BR>

Dr M sounds like he/she knows what he/she is talking about.Having to go to a dermatologist every 6 months now since I had skin cancer.And my Dr says the same sort of thing.<BR>Stephanie never sounds like she knows what she is talking about.There was another thread about Suntanning and she did the same thing.You just can't shut her up!!!<BR>But the one thing that I learned the hard way-<BR>If your skin gets color(in other words -tanned) then you are getting the rays that cause skin cancer.So no matter what you call it or how you talk your way around it, wear sunblock-ifyou stay pale,you stay safe.<BR>And one more thing Stephanie-most people who care about their skin today and for the future,the ones who have some intelligence-make sure they use sunblock then they can go to Hawaii or wherever they want.<BR>It is just the dummies like you that think you look good,tanned and wrinkled like some old leather bag,sitting in the waiting room at the hospital,waiting for your biopsy to come back.

Advice:<BR><BR>You go sit in a hotel room, I'll go out and enjoy myself. I don't tan year around and in fact I'm pale most of the year, I just have decided to not live in a paranoid state. Not everyone who sits in the sun for short periods of time will not automatically get skin cancer. Just because a medical condition happens to you does not mean everyone will get it.

A little medical background about tanning and SPF's:<BR><BR> It wasn't until 1979 that the FDA concluded that sunscreens could help prevent skin cancer, and developed the first rating system for SPFs. <BR><BR>In 1988, the American Academy of Dermatology held a consensus conference on photo aging and photo damage. The conclusion from that conference was that "there is no safe way to tan."<BR><BR>The color of your skin is determined by the amount of melanin it contains. This substance called melanin protects the skin from the sun's ultraviolet rays. A tan is visible proof that your skin is being damaged. When the ultraviolet radiation of the sun hits your skin, it stimulates cells known as melanocytes, which make the brown pigment called melanin. The melanocytes respond to the sun by making even more melanin to protect your skin from the sun. The melanin acts sort of like a barrier for the skin's cells and can give people the brown tint that is a suntan. Thus, tanning is the result of the damaging effect of UV radiation from the sun as it stimulates the skin.<BR><BR>

I wanted an awesome trip to celebrate our anniversary and planned Hawaii. In April I casually had a mole check, they biopsied and it was malignant melanoma. I've had it removed, leaving a 5 inch scar. I'm thankful I was urged to have it checked. Anyway, It will be a lifestyle change for me to be more careful when in the sun. My dermatologist told me that here I should use spf 30 but when I am in Hawaii the sun will be much more intense and I should use spf 45 there. Why would anyone want to risk using anything less than at least 30 in Hawaii. I'm sure most of us think this will never happen to me but...surprise! I am looking forward to my trip in August and I will have loads of fun with activities in the sun but I will be skin smart using a high spf and reapplying often.

I live in Hawaii, my derm says use a screen with "titanium" in it. I like Hawaiian Tropics, it smells good enough to eat, LOL. <BR><BR>Dont forget to but suncreen on the tops of your feet if you are wearing slippahs! My neighbor is an ER doc here and says he has actually hospitalized vacationers with second degree burns on the tops of their feet!

To "OO's friends dermatologist" "Leave it on for the skin to absorb." The skin will not absorb anything, and certainly not sunblock. I think the benefit to slathering it on and leaving it there is that it dries in a nice opaque layer, not that it gets sucked into the body.<BR><BR>As far as sunblock expiring. The most recent stuff I have bought has an expiration date on it. I have heard in ads that you should buy new stuff - but of course that is what the manufacturer wants you to do, so I wonder about the validity.<BR><BR>I also keep some in the car, but I suspect this will lower its usefulness, since most medications will degrade faster at that high a heat, so why not sunblock?<BR><BR>I think the standard advice of buying high SPF sunblock, using a lot and often, covering up with clothing, staying out of the sun at peak mid-day hours will about cover it - but I am sure someone else has other ideas as well.<BR><BR>

What are all you white guys talking about ?

Regarding the slathering: well moistured skin fares better in the sun than dry skin. My own personal experience shows that slathering to begin with, then small reapplications about every three hours works great.<BR><BR>My husband and I were at an all-day outdoor event this summer and never burned. We didn't realize it when we started, but our sunscreen was only SPF15 and had a 1999 expiration date. (We thought all Coppertone Sport was SPF30.) Keeping ourselves coated was the trick, I guess.<BR>

Repeated applications do have some value.<BR><BR>Several studies show that labels like "all day" or "water-resistant" are meaningless. There are no standards for those labels. You have to keep applying the stuff if it's going to be effective.

check out &lt;http://www.aad.org/pamphlets/sunscreen.html&gt;<BR><BR>Can anyone tell me what is the disadvantage of using a 45 spf sunscreen rather than a lower number?

So if I put on a 30, and then later put on a 15, does that mean I now have on a 45?<BR><BR>Sunscreen does expire. Throw out the old stuff.

1) 30 + 15 = 30.<BR> Kind of like mixing 100 decibel music with 50 decibel music. The 50 doesn't add anything.<BR><BR>2) Only disadvantage to using 45 is they usually charge a little extra. Not much, but that's the only downside.

Lee, I've read 15 is the highest anyone needs, because anything above *that* isn't more effective. So go figure. Just make sure you use globs and reapply every couple of hours. The sunscreens are tested that way and that's how their effectiveness is rated. Have a great time!

As I said, where did you folks get your medical degrees? I don't think most of you know what you are talking about.<BR>of course SPF 30 is better than 15, perhaps not 2 times as good, but certainly it offers more sun protection.<BR>