Sunscreen…
A controversial topic among generations. Skin cancer affects millions of people every year regardless of the amounts of time under the sun. It is imperative you know a few things about the sun and about the importance of wearing sunscreen when traveling to a sun soaked location like San Diego.
Many people believe that the sun’s rays won’t harm or affect you if its cloudy or overcast. WRONG! Overcast weather is actually one of the most important times to wear sunscreen. The sun is there people! It may be behind the clouds or the fog, but it is there and it is still reaching the melanin in your skin. Another important thing to remember is that sunscreen needs to be re-applied. Just because you put it on at 9am before heading to the beach doesn’t mean you’re good to go for the rest of the day! Especially in a beach day situation, sunscreen should be re-applied around three times. This means when you take a break from boogie boarding and you head back up to your towel to have a snack, grab that sunscreen and re-apply. Make sure to be dry when you re-apply and really let the sun screen soak back into your skin before going back into the water.
Another myth I would love to debunk is that you can’t get tan with sunscreen on. WRONG! You can definitely still get tan while protecting your skin. Tanning oils and lotions can be very detrimental to your skin in the long run, and as attractive as it may be to you to be tan in the moment, you should keep in mind how you want to look 20 years down the road. My advice for sun worshipers is to lay down a base coat of sunscreen before that tanning oil. If you’re going to be laying out under the sun for the majority of the day, make sure its a gradual increase. Burning your skin on the first day will not only ruin the rest of your vacation but will also keep you from a gradual bronzing. Oh and don’t forget about the peeling!
Now for the other excuse… “I’m going to break out” or “I’m allergic to sunscreen”. Yes these may be legitimate excuses for some people but there are many many brands that have created hypoallergenic sunscreens for sensitive skin. There are so many new types of sunscreens that are tailored to activity or skin type that there really is no excuse to not be wearing any. There organic sunscreens made by local companies. There are skin colored sunscreens that blend just like makeup. There are sunscreens for surfers, swimmers, babies, adults, really anyone could find a sunscreen to fit their needs.
Here are a few brands we recommend testing out while here in San Diego:
