Sun safety over Spring Break

Spring Break is nearly upon us and though most of us will be eating macaroni and cheese to save cash, some brave souls will venture out to warmer temperatures and other lands flowing with sun and sand.

But since we’ve been cooped up like lab rats for the past month, few of us are prepared to handle the sun’s onslaught. Luckily in the 1930s, a pale scientist invented a product called “sun cream.” Here’s a crash course on the modern sunscreen and sun safety world.

Sun rays are actually ultraviolet light, a type of electromagnetic radiation similar to x-rays. It can be broken down most simply into three subtypes: UVA, UVB and UVC. The most harmful type, UVC, is filtered out in the Earth’s atmosphere and never makes it to the surface. UVA and UVB, however, do get through and are the cause for everything we associate with time spent in the sun.

UVB is the most visible offender; it’s the main cause of sunburns and tanning. UVA penetrates much deeper and is known to prematurely age skin and cause damage to DNA on the molecular level. Both types carry the potential to cause skin cancer, with over one million new cases reported every year considered to be sun related. Remember, any change from your skin’s natural color, even tanning, is actually damage being done to the cells.

SPF (Sun Protection Factor) is the abbreviation to look out for. The SPF number is an indicator of how long you are protected against the sun’s rays before damage is done like normal. For example, an SPF of 15 means I can stay out 15 times longer than I usually could before I started burning. If it takes me ten minutes to burn regularly I now get, at max, 150 minutes.

While the best bet is to avoid the sun entirely, this isn’t always possible or fun. Your next best option is to wear protective clothing, preferably one with a SPF rating. Not all clothing is equal though. Your average white T-shirt has an SPF of only 6. Luckily, there are products such as the spray on formula U-V-Block by Atsko that actually raises the SPF of any article of clothing. A single application raises a T-shirt’s 6 to a 30+.

If covering up isn’t an option, sunscreen is your final defense. When selecting a product, it should say “Broad-Spectrum Protection” or both UVA and UVB protection on the label. Also, try to buy SPF 15 or above, preferably at least 30. At SPF 30, 97% of UVB rays are blocked. Also, water resistant means you get 40 minutes of water exposure before the sunscreen wears off; waterproof gives you double the time.

Of course, what guide would be complete without a recommendation? As a fair-skinned guy with a shaved head and a love of the ocean, I’ve tested quite a few products over the years. The best sunscreen I’ve found to date is Bull Frog Surfer Formula Gel Sunblock, SPF 36. It can feel heavy and oily, but this stuff literally creates a coating on the skin that works and repels water for hours beyond any competition, well beyond the 80-minute benchmark.

If all else fails, bury yourself in the sand and stick a drink nearby. Anything is better than nothing.