do you always wear sunscreen?

[alpinebluesky]

I'm a sunscreen freak. I wear it everyday, and make sure it has adequate UVA protection. I love the look of a tan, but I'm vain and dont want to ever look old

It bothers me when it gets too close to my eyes though, so I just make sure to always have sunglasses or goggles on when I'm outside.

 

[atlantiqueen]

always.

When I get out of the shower, I moisturize with lotion that has SPF 15

Facial moisturized with SPF 20 and if I'm wearing make-up it has SPF 20

When engaged in activities outside - minimum SPF 20 more likely to be 30

I'll skip the melanoma, thanks.

 

[smpayne]

When I was 13 I got so sunburned (while skiing) on the underside of my nose and upper lip, that it blistered. Now I get frequent cold sores in that area, so I have to be extra careful. Not to mention I am extremely fair.

My base cream has a SPF 25, and my foundation has a SPF15, so I tend to wear it every day anyway. It is somewhat of a necessity here in Southern California. I don't really change my routine any for skiing, until March, when I have pull out the big guns. I will have to try the stick sunscreen to help against windburn.

Where I alway forget is my neck and chest area, where my t-shirt doesn't cover. I have had a very red V shaped sunburn on my chest many times.

 

[ski4me]

sunscreen queen

I always wear Sun Screen. Overcast or Sun. I am paying for the years I lived in Sun Valley, Idaho and was not as careful with sunscreen application as I am now. Pale skin beats skin cancer scars. Coppertone for Faces spf 30. Good for contact wearers.

 

[Daria]

I too always wear sunscreen no matter the conditions. When skiing I use a water/sweat proof version - never leave home without it!!!

 

[Telluride Ski Babe]

Always. The melanoma incidence rate for Colorado men is 38 percent higher than the national rate, and for Colorado women, 46 percent higher. My cousin was one of those rare survivors of Stage IV melanoma (it metastasized in four months to his liver and spine). I'll never not wear sunscreen.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I always wear sunscreen - daily moisturiser with SPF 15, followed by SPF 50+ sunscreen (which will change to SPF 70 in the Spring). And I tend to tan, not burn, but I prefer to be paler and to protect my face from as much sun damage as possible.

Where can I find SPF 70??? Brand??? Wow, I thought I found the max in 50 (Hawaiian Tropic & Clinique)! Help! I'd love to know, as I need it. I'm a redhead (well, auburn) with skin to match. I've been read the proverbial riot act by more than one dermatologist and always am interested to know what works best/longest, etc.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I love the look of a tan, but I'm vain and dont want to ever look old

Smart move. I should be the poster girl for "this is what can happen" Back in "the day" (never mind which day), tans were considered healthy. Oh, the old Coppertone ads...There was an era long ago when children developed rickets from lack of Vitamin D, so the next generation of parents went WAYYYYYY overboard with the sunshine benefit thing. I'm one of the kids of that generation of parents who overdid it and sent their kids outside all summer with minimal protection, lots of sunburns, lots of blister and peeling, thinking after the burn/blister/peel, we'd be fine.

I really can't afford all the corrective cosmetic stuff that's now available, so I have to live with it and hope it doesn't get any worse.

But my annual skin checks take awhile....
Wear sunscreen.
Stay out of tanning beds (the worst).

 

[MaineSkiLady]

Always. The melanoma incidence rate for Colorado men is 38 percent higher than the national rate, and for Colorado women, 46 percent higher. My cousin was one of those rare survivors of Stage IV melanoma (it metastasized in four months to his liver and spine). I'll never not wear sunscreen.

^^^^^THIS should be the last word in this thread.
Scariest scenario and post ever.

 

[pinto]

A couple of things: I think the SPF 70 is Neutrogena? That stuff is great.

Also, make sure that your sunscreen has UVA protection. It doesn't matter if it's SPF 2 billion if it's only UVB ... UVA is what scientists believe causes melanoma.

This is why there is no proven link between sunscreen use and lowered rates of melanoma. In some studies, people with melanoma actually used MORE sunscreen than those without. Outside workers also have a lower rate of melanoma than inside workers.

Speculation is that if you aren't burning (caused by UVB rays), you'll stay out in the sun longer, absorbing more UVA rays (which, melanoma-wise, are the ones to worry about). And that people with fairer skin (who burn more, ie, are more susceptible to melanoma) use more sunscreen than those with darker skin. So it's not saying that sunscreen causes melanoma. Ha ha. But it has never been proved to prevent it. It does prevent burns and premature aging, etc, and has been shown to reduce non-melanoma cancers (basal, squamous cell).

But, just like wearing a helmet isn't necessarily going to help if you run into a lift tower at 30 mph, using regular sunscreen doesn't necessarily help guard against melanoma.

(And, once again, I am not discouraging the use of either! Just be educated about their limits.)

 

[ski now work later]

Back in "the day" (never mind which day), tans were considered healthy. Oh, the old Coppertone ads....

I am a fair skinned redhead and suffered many awful blistering burns as a child, especially one in Florida that made me really ill. The only product I could get my hand on was Coppertone oil -- think roasting chicken! I had 4 areas biopsied last Fall and thankfully they were ok.

Working full-time in the summer since I was 16 has kept me from too much sun exposure. When I do go out in the sun, I use high quality sun screen and cover my head when out of doors in the sun and wear sunscreen on my face when skiing, usually Skinceuticals. I also wear good sunglasses and goggles as my eyes are pretty sensitive to the sun. Being Russian in descent from both sides of my family, I fare better in Northern climates and am more of a winter than a summer person.

 

[cosmogirl]

I always wear sunscreen now, and am hoping that all the years of no protection, tanning beds, ect. will not come and haunt me. Crazy it takes so many years to wise up. Maybe all my sun-worshipping in the past, fried too many brain cells. My sister has had both squamous and basal cancer. My hubs grandpa died of a brain tumor originating from an undiagnosed melanoma. Matter of fact, his whole side has high risk factors for skin cancer. I bathe my kids in sunscreen, they hate it, but someday I hope they will thank me!
Carpe Diem!

 

[TsuKata]

I always wear sunscreen. This past weekend, I was the only one in our group without raccoon eye syndrome.

I swear by Neutrogena's sun protection products. In the summer, for biking or orienteering, I use their Fresh Cooling Body Mist sunscreen...it smells and feels *so* good. For winter activities like skiing, I use the Healthy Defense Sunblock Stick. For day-to-day, I use the Summer Glow Daily Moisturizer with SPF 20...it does a good job of balancing out my paleness.

 

[Native Vail Gal]

I use UVA 2....that's it.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

I swear by Neutrogena's sun protection products.

Ditto. Everything they make performs to spec or better. As a pale redhead, this matters big time to me.

 

[CMCM]

I didn't bother in the thick of winter because I had on a neck gator, helmet liner, goggles, helmet....heck, nothing was showing to burn even if it had been possible!

But with sun, spring, absolutely YES, I'm a fanatic about using it! I just finished a solid 5 days of skiing with not even a bit of redness....I put on that Neutrogena dry look 70 spf stuff...it's nice because it's not greasy. I put it on at home, then more an hour later as we left the car to go up on the slopes. Then I had some other stuff in a small tube in my ski jacket (45 spf I think), and I put that on every couple of hours, just to be sure. And I never burned, despite total sun, so I'm pleased. I'm 58 and don't look it....good skin, no wrinkles, and I really do think this is because I've always been really careful in the sun. A nice tan just isn't worth it, you always have to pay for it later. So all you younger ladies, use that sunscreen religiously! You'll be glad you did....

Carole

 

[MaineSkiLady]

c I'm 58 and don't look it....good skin, no wrinkles, and I really do think this is because I've always been really careful in the sun. A nice tan just isn't worth it, you always have to pay for it later.

Sound advice, CM2 (and welcome aboard!). And I am officially jealous - or shall I say wistful...because at a similar life-stage, I'm one of those who stands as proof of why tans and burns are NOT good earlier in life...:(

 

[SnowHot]

I posted earlier in this thread but haven't refreshed my mind on how, and think this is a post worth repeating if it hasn't been covered yet.

Do we have any divas who have extremely oily skin that find it difficult to use sunscreen?

That would be me. I finally found a Stick type sunscreen, made by dermatone that is not greasy, and works well with my oily skin.

Most recently, I started using an oil free skin cream with an spf 15, which is fine for most days.

But at the altitude, the 30 spf stick is the way to go for this greasy ski diva.

 

[MaineSkiLady]

^^ SH, give that Neutrogena Dry Touch stuff a try. Been where you are, and it sorta kinda goes away almost overnight at some point (oily skin). In the meantime, I've heard this stuff is good for that situation.

 

[CMCM]

Sound advice, CM2 (and welcome aboard!). And I am officially jealous - or shall I say wistful...because at a similar life-stage, I'm one of those who stands as proof of why tans and burns are NOT good earlier in life...:(

When I was in my mid-late 20's I worked with a girl who was maybe 23....she was a major skier, she was tan all year round, and she already had leathery skin and crows feet at 23. That made a huge impression on me, and I was always careful in the sun from that point on. I wasn't a big sunscreen user in those days, but I stayed in the shade where I could, sometimes wore hats, and I never deliberately lay out and baked in the sun, thank goodness. It also helps to not ever smoke, I think. And to drink moderately. I have an acquaintance who is a year older than I am, and she was a MAJOR drinker, smoker, and sun worshipper most of her life. She is a physical wreck now and she looks like a 75 year old in terms of her skin and wrinkling. I saw her recently after not having seen her for a good 10 years, and I was floored to see how she looked. And she used to be really beautiful, she was a model for awhile in her 20's, but you'd never know it now. I showed my daughter her photo and she guessed her age to be late 70's, not 59. It's all so self induced, that's what is shocking. People don't realize what they are doing to their future looks!:(