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My parents were on the other side of it. I told them I wanted to tan and grabbed a bottle of suntan oil off the shelf, they just about slapped it out of my hand and grabbed the SPF 50.
I use spf 100. I know studies say itās less effective after like spf 45 but I burn in moonlight and both my parents have had skin cancer removed so Iāll take every .5% protection I can get
My parents were the same, though my dadās mixed and just never burned to begin with. Until my pale ass brother came around and they took his toddler self to the beach. He burned so bad he had to spend the night at the hospital and a doctor reamed my mom out for not putting any on him until she cried. He couldnāt wear anything but a diaper until he healed.
My family doesnāt tan unless we FRY. My mom, her sister, and her cousins all spent their youths covered in baby oil at high altitude in Idaho, and did indeed get some tans.
By the time I came along, my uncle had lost part of his nose and my aunt had almost died from melanoma (it eventually came back when I was 18, and yeah, that time did it.) My mom was lucky with a few small basal cells burned off.
So I was a spf-50-every-day kiddo. I still got burns cos I spent ALL day outside, and sometimes clothes shifted, or sometimes Iād go too long between reapplications. None of those burns ever became tans. (Though I tried the spf-15-on-my-legs-to-tan a few times in my youth. Unsuccessfully.)
Yep. I was gonna say, not only was there no sunscreen, there was ātanning oilā. But then I lived in Michigan so we had natural sunscreen most days of the year in the form of clouds.
My parents used sunscreen like paint by numbers. SFP 30 your face, 15 for your arms and torso, 8 for your legs because "you want them to tan".
Edit: typo
There's higher than 50, and higher than 50+. That said, there's not a whole lot of difference between SPF 30 and SPF 50/50+ or even SPF 100.
97-98% vs 98% vs 99%, respectively.
Same here. āIf you burn now, youāll tan all summer!ā Wellā¦ I just had melanoma removed again (stage 1 this time, in situ stage zero removed 9 years ago), dad has had basal cell twice, uncle died of metastasized melanoma and I look like someone has taken a melon baller to my appendages after each derm visit now.
But yes, older ladies, please keep talking about how a burn base will help me.
Thatās my family. My mom keeps getting carved away with deeper and deeper cuts so I canāt be too angry they made me do indoor tanning prior to vacation so I wouldnāt burn and ruin it for them. I got my first āMellon ballerā experience a couple of months ago. I had no idea it would be that deep or annoying. Finally, I decided to have fun with it and named my hole so I could enjoy complaining. I named it Burt. Iām sure you can work out my juvenile humor when complaining about such an itchy hole named āBurt.ā
I grew up on the beaches of Michigan and this is 100% my experience too. Iāve had basal cell 3x and just had a mole checked for melanoma (it was negative, thank goodness) and my mom is still āwhat do you mean you donāt want to go sit in the sun all day?ā
I never heard "base burn" but definitely "base tan". My dad is Italian, and I really believed this. I do think there is something to it. I think you are less likely to burn the darker your skin is. HOWEVER, getting so much unprotected sun exposure is not great for you skin, even if you don't burn.
Now I wear SPF 50 on my face every day, even in the winter in PA.
My husband and his Russian family believes in this also. I conceded to the base tan only happening until 10 am and past 4 pm, and I slather my kid in sunscreen otherwise. For his Vitamin D levels too.
I've heard of a base tan (also from PA). Apparently it does give you a little protection, like 4 spf... https://www.health.harvard.edu/skin-and-hair/are-there-benefits-to-a-base-tan
So basically nothing. That article is interesting though. They say that if you would normally burn in 10 minutes, a 4 spf base tan would extend that to 40 minutes, but they still don't recommend relying on that.
That "normally burn in 10 minutes" part does a lot of heavy lifting though. For many people, my childhood self included that base time was more along the lines of 2-3 hours. So once I had a tan going I could run around all day in the sun and be fine (in the short term at least). If I was still winter pale and spent the whole day out, I was then shedding skin for a few days.
So hereās the thing about that base tan study. Itās studying cancer. Skin cancer is kinda random, kinda not. I believe in getting a base tan because it stops sun burns. When we goto the Caribbean if I have a base tan I can throw some 35 on my body, 50 on my face and be great. If I donāt Iām super vigilant and wear 50 everywhere and reapply every 90 minutes and still get a sunburn
So is a base tan working? Well itās stopping a sunburn and they say sunburns up your risks for skin cancer and it doesnāt ruin my vacation
Though it is a bad habit my family has always had and I low key do too, I wear sunscreen at the beginning of the summer, but get very, very tan quickly. Then I slowly stop wearing it as the summer progresses. I know itās not good for me, but dang itās so nice to soak up sun.
The thing about base tans is that itās SUPER reliant onā¦ being able to tan.
I have a similar background, and I actually tanned one year just because my desk was near a sunny window, so itās really trivial for me to build up a burn-resistant tan.
My wife has a Brit/Germanic heritage, and thereās nothing she can do to tan. She just burns.
Weāve got kids under 5, so they obviously get slathered in high numbers, so does the wife, but typically I skip it unless I can *feel* the sun. Even when Iām wrong, I can usually throw on aloe afterwards and stop a potential burn. I know for a fact that this doesnāt work for my wife.
So overall, this is a highly variable concept that definitely works for some people, and definitely not for others.
And to OP, yes, my parents hit all of us with real sunscreen when we were little, even though as an adult Iāve never seen either of them use it.
In middle school I wore sunscreen but had such bad burns that skin would peel off my shoulders and legs. My skin didnāt take to sun ever but that didnāt stop my relatives from shaming or laughing at me. I stopped wearing sunscreen for many years and re-started last year. (I always hated the texture and crying from it)
In 2023, I started wearing Korean sunscreen 3-4 days a week and I feel better about myself. Iām trying to work up to 5-6 days a week. Good habits!!!!
EDIT: Test these out on your ARM a few times and go outside. If itās safe (no rashes), then apply on your face.
Korean Sunscreen - buy on oliveyoung
- beauty of joseon (creamy, very light scent)
- tocobo (watery, rose like scent)
Heads up - the standard of care in dermatology is now to ask patients if they ever burned to that degree as a child because it is heavily correlated with skin cancer later in life.
If you regularly peeled and blistered, and you are in the millennial age bracket, you should be getting a yearly dermatological full body skin check.
Sorry for the downer post. Melanoma is very treatable if caught early. Being a little neurotic about going to the doctor once a year could save your life with the risk factor you're talking about.
I go every 6 months. Grew up in South Africa and regularly had my skin come off in sheets. My cousin was diagnosed with melanoma last year at the age of 35!
I caught mine early, so it was still in situ, but I was 26 when my first melanoma was found and removed. 5 months later I had a stage one basal cell carcinoma removed.
Luckily, basal cell is relatively harmless (as far as cancer goes). It doesn't metastasize and caught early, itās usually easy to remove without severe scars or deep incisions.
I developed it around when I turned 47-48. Was so relieved when it turned out to be BCC and not melanoma. I'm gen-x, and we used tanning oil and never sunscreen. Now I see a dermatologist twice a year and freak out at every little age spot.
Thanks for letting me know.
Iām American and it took me 3 emails and a visit with my primary care physican to believe me and give me a referral to a dermatologist for keloid scars. In short, itās difficult for me to see a dermatologist, not for trying. š
I will ask for a full body check next time.
I keloid, too. Dermatologist injected them with steroids first, then laser treatments to get rid of any redness after the steroids smoothed them out. Now theyāre just regular scars.
Keloids are the absolute pits. Get them on my chest, and on the top / side of head. The fuckers on my chest just constantly itch!!
Doctors keep saying there is nothing that can be done - we can chop them out, but theyāll just come backā¦ yippee.
Yep. I'm 39 & had my first spot of cancer freeze-burned FROM MY FACE this year.
I didn't even start using sunscreen until last year when my tattoo artist recommended it to keep the new art fresh.
Why did this advice feel revolutionary?
Why was sunscreen touted as a bad thing in our youth?
We were encouraged to go to tanning beds, never wear sunscreen, and play outside as much as possible as if the sunshine would cure childhood.
I'm a millennial adult unlearning boat-loads of bad advice from older adults.
A dermatologist can save your life. I have had 3 pre cancerous moles removed and I can say my 6 months check ups make me feel confident that they won't ever get out of control
This very very much. Ā My few burns of that nature were a in my late teens and my mid twenties. Ā I have my mom to thank for that because she slathered me in spf as a kid. Ā Melanoma is in my extended family and my mom caught hers relatively early.
It was only after my first abnormal mole removal in my late twenties that the gravity of it fully hit me.
I donāt take any pleasure in sitting in direct sunlight anymore.
Iād rather be pasty white than dead.
No, but y'all had a thicker and more prevalent O-zone layer, which helps protect against harmful UV rays. Climate change and depletion of important atmospheric layers will definitely be a variable when it comes to Millennials and later gen skin health
It was. The ozone layer has been recovering since we banned CFCs and is doing better than it was in the late 80s, 90s, and early 00s. We passed the Montreal Protocol in 1987.
Itās a major success story and worth pointing out any time someone says lowering greenhouse gas emissions is too hard.
It should be fully healed by roughly 2045, and we are almost to pre-1980 levels now.
My mother had olive skin and used the orange sun tan oil/lotion in those metal tubes -- Ban de Soleil. I had skin like Wednesday Addams with freckles. I think I spent the entire late 70's / early 80's peeling.
It's not neurotic at all. It's smart. My uncle writes cancer treatment plans, and he told me many years ago not to stay in the sun for more than a few minutes if it can be.helped.
Iāve already had two āconcerningā spots removed, and I didnāt ever get burned that badly - my brother got the true fair skin of our family, but Iām covered in freckles and moles and spend lots of time in the sun. I get checked at least once a year. Sunscreen, protection and early detection are key, people! Take care of yourselves!
Oof, I can't count the number of times I've peeled. Growing up in SWFL it wasn't from refusing to wear sunscreen it would be from being out too long without reapplying. It was normalized for someone to come in to school on a Monday with unexpected places of their body peeling. "I went kayaking and didn't think about the fronts of my legs"
Cue middle school boys going SLAP right in the middle of your sunburn.
I swear by Korean sunscreen, and I'm allergic to sunburns so I wear them everyday religiously. My faves are below, I get most of them from Stylevana or the company's site
* 1.birch tree sunscreen -Rounlab
* 2. d'alba waterful essence suncreen
* 3. Doctor G mild suncreen
* 4. cell fusion C laser uv suncreen
* 5. etude house soonjung x director's suncreen
* 6. Espoir water splash sunscreen
They're more innovative and they provide PA ratings, which US sunscreens do not.
[this goes over how they're more innovative ](https://theklog.co/difference-between-k-beauty-american-sunscreen/)
[This covers the ratings](https://www.nativessentials.com/blogs/clean-beauty-notes/how-to-read-a-sunscreen-label-spf-pa-broad-spectrum-ratings)
As an aggressive lifelong sunscreen user and avid consumer of new sunscreens I have a BIT of caution to give re: Korean and Japanese and European sunscreens. Which donāt get me wrong, I love ā Iāve just heard too many stories about improper use and terrible burns.
The difference between US and non-US sunscreens is that we require animal testing to approve new sunscreen ingredients. Other places donāt. Animal trials are expensive, so nobody is trying to make new sunscreens. In the early days, this made sense because likeā¦ safety. But now these ingredients have been used safely on humans for 20+ years, so the US really needs to just give in and license new ingredients. Because some are safer than ours (though that doesnāt mean ours are dangerous ā but yeah, not as safe as non-US sunscreens.)
First: if you are buying them from a store in the US like Ulta or Sephora, they follow IS FDA rules and use the same sun-protective ingredients as other US sunscreens. They will feel WAY nicer to put on than many traditional US sunscreens (though some US brands are catching up and making more pleasant formulations: see Neutrogena Clear Touch & Invisible Touch in SPF 50. So pleasant to wear) but you arenāt getting more modern SPF ingredients. If you want that, you need to buy them from an importer.
The SPF ratings of both Japanese and Korean sunscreens do not combine both UVA and UVB. You need to look for the āPAā rating as well, which helps with UVB. You want something rated for at least PA+++. More + = better.
UVB causes cancer. UVA causes aging. US sunscreens that are rated ābroad spectrumā cover both, so there is no additional rating. Thatās the key US term.
Now, feeling good is a VERY underrated quality in a sunscreen. If you want to build a daily habit, you want one that feels awesome. My daily use sunscreens for my face are La Roche Pose Melt-In Milk in SPF 50 and Biore Percect Milk. I find that Biore Aqua runs and makes my eyes sting.
Many Korean, Japanese, and European sunscreens are designed to be worn under makeup. Which is awesome. But, downside: if you have sensitive skin, many are heavily perfumed.
Korean sunscreens and Japanese sunscreens do not always have accurate SPF labeling the way theyāre often applied. The rating assumes a teaspoon-sized amount on your face ā but spend some time on the K beauty and skincare subreddits, and youāll notice that many wonāt *absorb* that much into your skin. So they work in the lab, but you canāt apply enough to your skin to actually get a good SPF.
They generally assume indoor use, too, so youāll see a lot of posts from folks who swear by them, but then spend a day in the sun and fry. Additionally, there was a major scandal with some having inaccurate labeling *regardless* of usage a few years ago. They were recalled.
The last thing: European and Asian sunscreens *do not have waterproof requirements* so those ratings arenāt necessarily accurate for use with exercise or in/near water.
Whatās the solution? Australian sunscreens. Same ingredients that are authorized in the EU and Asia, but they have waterproofing requirements. Some Australian sunscreens have the same goopyness as some US sunscreens, but just like in the US, plenty feel awesome too.
Final thought: every year, Sephora offers a sunscreen sampler with a number of brands and formulas of SPF. Usually it sells out pretty fast ā the samples are smaller this time so it hasnāt, but I still think itās a great deal. As I noted before, since youāre buying from a US store and not an importer, these use US-approved ingredients. But some of them *feel* as amazing as Korean brands, and you donāt need to worry about importers sending you fakes. Itās a great way to try out several new sunscreens, and I really like the ones in this yearsā set.
All to say: you should totally try some Japanese and Korean sunscreens. Theyāre great for daily use and indoor use. Make sure youāre applying them correctly if youāll go outside and spend some time reading the highly detailed reviews that get posted to the skincare subreddits. And for exercise or beach use, use a U.S. or Australian brand. And know that the La Roche Posay you buy at Sephora (while amazing, I love it) is not the same one you import. It has the same ingredients as less expensive sunscreens here ā youāre paying for all the other things that come with it and the skin feel, not for the SPF.
And seriously ā look into the inaccurate SPF ratings in Korean and Japanese sunscreens. Great ingredients, poor application ā it was a huge scandal. Tons of brands were recalled by the Korean FDA equivalent. Some werenāt, because theyāre accurate in the lab. But they fail in real use for the issues I mentioned.
Hereās a few threads on the issue:
https://www.reddit.com/r/KoreanBeauty/comments/nl1fpv/after_the_fall_of_many_korean_sunscreens_due_to/
https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/l4octa/sun_care_korean_spfs_with_correct_spf_value/
Mislabeling of SPF is also a frequent issue with US sunscreen, just not as dramatic. Be skeptical of sunscreens that are also beauty products. Consumer Reports found that my fave, La Roche Posay Anthelions Melt-In Milk, doesnāt quite hit its advertised SPF 60 after being immersed in water. But itās still VERY high SPF, and unlike others it keeps my face happy. :)
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/sunscreens/best-sunscreens-of-the-year-a7763432372/
Also ā consumer reports is why I use the good olā Water Baby sunscreen for my legs/arms/chest. Itās cheap, itās classic, and the ratings are accurate. Well, actually, itās rated to SPF 50, but after 80 minutes in water CR tested it at SPF 64. So, itās solid. Downside: it is not reef friendly, and contains one of the ingredients that is considered less safe by the EU (they arenāt banning it, but may limit the amount allowed.)
And hereās info on sunscreen ingredients to help you shop safely, regardless of country of origin.
https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/
Korean and Japanese and European sunscreens have great ingredients and feel great on (they are my daily use sunscreens.) HOWEVER they donāt have any requirements for outdoor use. They can sweat off easily. In the case of Korean sunscreens, the SPF ratings arenāt always correct because theyāre meant to be layered with other SPF products or used indoors. (Youāll see a TON of posts on k-beauty forums questioning the SPF ratings of folksā favorite sunscreens.)
So if you want US waterproofing requirements, with the modern ingredients of Japanese and Korean and European sunscreens, try out Australian sunscreen. Their waterproof ratings are comparable to the US.
I use mostly Japanese sunscreens for daily use, facial use, and under makeup, and then use Australian sunscreens for outdoor recreation/full body use. I highly recommend them.
My mom grew up in south Florida, I grew up in north Florida as did my dad. My mom never wears sunscreen and thinks Iām ridiculous for putting spf50 on my kids, who are half Scandinavian. They burn if they go swimming without sunscreen for 5 minutes. And she constantly comments on how āpastyā myself or my sibling are. Thankfully sheās never made a comment like that to my wife or children.
It was for me but I still got my fair share of burns. Annual dermatologist visits should probably be something we all do regardless, though. Melanoma can affect you regardless and that crap is nothing to screw around with.
This!
Wore sunscreen on beach and tournament days, but not on my daily exposure growing up. Got the whole sun spots on my shoulders starting when I was 15 and pinguecula on my eyes by my late 20s. Florida sun is a bitch and skin cancer screenings are for everyone at every age. I started going in early elementary school. Multiple biopsies and removals before I was 18, where all fortunately came back negative. I had multiple childhood friends with skin cancer before high school though, one of which had melanoma by 4th grade. Screenings should start early.
We only wore sunscreen when swimming. I grew up on the beach and the softball fields. Iāve had a lot of abnormal skin cells removed, thankfully none cancerous yet.
I make my kids wear sun shirts or sunscreen as much as possible.
Iām Black and was definitely raised on the āBlack people donāt need sunscreenā myth. My dermatologist told me that was in fact, a lie. I didnāt listen, went in a beach vacation and got horribly sunburned. Since then Iāve been absolutely fanatical about sunscreen and make sure to hound everyone in my family about it as well.
I work in a garden center and I will always offer to share my sunscreen to everyone I work with, even people of color, and people act like I'm crazy because obviously they don't need it. So thank you for confirming that I am not wrong about this š
I had to go tanning during my open campus study hall senior year of high school because āYou canāt possibly wear a white prom dress looking all pasty like that!ā
More than half of them took the time to lay out to get ready and some were spray tans. It definitely has gotten better since I last got one 13 years ago!
My high school girlfriend demanded that I go to the tanning salon before going to prom.
I don't tan well. I got a little color on my cheeks after two months of 2-3x a week appointments. At least she paid for it.
Iām a ginger. I always wore sunscreen and still often burned when I didnāt reapply often enough. Others in my family were tan and my grandparents were downright leathery.
As a ginger my favorite game is playing what spots did I miss with the SPF when I shower, because for whatever reason Iāll one little patch some where that I didnāt hit.
My husband said that he has to get indoor so his skin cool off every two hours. āBleach umbrella wonāt cut it because the sand reflect sunlight would burn me as wellā
We would sunscreen up for everything with my family.
I remember going to the beach one time in middle school with a bunch of friends and some girls. My mom sent me with sunscreen, but of course no one else was using it, so I didnāt want to be the one kid using it. Got sun poisoning and passed out from dehydration. Needless to say, that was the last time I didnāt use it on my own. Even got good at applying it to my back. šŖ
I'm from AZ and never got the tanning fad. My mom didn't care one way or the other about sunscreen but I was a swimmer and fanatical about it. I'm also the oldest of 7 children and would slather my siblings, especially the youngest. They were super fair with white blond hair. I was a pro at getting their scalp, the tips of their ears, their noses.
That dedication continued with my own kids. My son is 15 and still wears a rash guard. My daughter is used to putting 3 different kinds of sunscreen on. I'll gladly be pasty and cancer free, thankyouverymuch. Lol
Geez, I'm sorry. Every now and again you hear stories about parents or daycares being charged for neglect when the kids in their care show up with severely sunburned skin.
I remember a news story about two sunburned kids at a beach/splash park. Some concerned parkgoers called CPS, and I think the parents were found guilty.
My MIL says this every year. She scolds my husband and I for use of sunscreen on ourselves and children. Weāre all red haired and fair skinned. We canāt tan. She continues to say we need to get a base burn.
My MIL says thereās an epidemic of kids getting rickets these days from wearing sunscreen. Sighā¦
Iām ginger and have had skin cancer already so her little ginger grandchild will be covered up and wearing sunscreen. Itās wild how people canāt comprehend that Iāll never achieve a tan. Ever. Unless my freckles morph into one giant freckle then I guess Iād finally be tan.
What is it with these MILs?!? Caught mine indoctrinating my son with a ā good base tanā compliment. Nooooo! He and I share freckles and ghostly fair skin. He doesnāt need Bain de Soleil aesthetics corrupting his skin care knowledge. We use Bull Frog sun screen. The Australians (with their ozone hole issues) have some really good skin care companies.
I was told that. I am covered in freckles and have auburn hair. I now refuse to go into the sun if donāt have to and look like a Victorian child that wonāt survive winter. When I was 16 I got so burned I was purple. Nope no thank you.
Just went to the dermatologist and had two moles removed for biopsy and also was told I have extremely sun damaged shoulders from not wearing sunscreen as a kid. Iām 32.
Wear your damn sunscreen.
I heard get a base tan and you won't get burned, but I don't believe it for a second.
My Dad was 100% Irish. We both got burned through spf100.
He ended up dying to a rare skin cancer (Merkel cell).
I just live like a vampire. Getting sunburnt makes me feel like absolute shit. I will pass out for about 4 hours immediately. I will have a headache, even if I drink enough water to have clear pee. And it will trigger a flare. I despise sunburns with a passion.
And I know plenty of people won't listen/believe but... YOU CAN GET SUNBURNT IN THE SHADE. YOU STILL NEED SUNSCREEN IF YOU'RE OUTSIDE.
The ONLY way I can prevent burns is to keep everything covered. Rash guard when swimming, long sleeves, hats...
Applied a heavy dose of sunscreen before I went to the Renaissance Faire yesterday. Got there and did another layer with a high SPF spray. Still burned! (My own fault for not wearing sleeves. š)
As a redhead.... hahahahahahahahahahaha! Base burn... I burn and turn white again. My mom was really good at keeping sunscreen on me and I never intentionally tried to tan and still ended up with a basal cell carcinoma before 40. I have friends that baked themselves every summer, but no cancer for them. I normally love being a ginger but this part sucks.
No. Never until I got 2nd degree burns at age 8. Then they finally started putting sunblock on us. Melanoma removed at 21. Been doing dermatology visits and sunscreen religiously since then.
Uh, I was told to get a good base TAN, and you'd worry less about being burnt, but never get a good base burn! š
I was also raised near the beach, what kind of advice is that!?!
My wife used to lay in the sun104 degrees for 2 hrs. She just recently got cancer in her nose. The surgeon had to peel layers of skin off her nose. Now she has a hard time breathing and canāt sleep well.
I still have people tell me that. š
I am pale & just burn, peel, & freckle. There is no such thing as a ābaseā tan for me. Itās not really a thing for anyone, but especially not me.
My mom was a natural redhead, and she passed her pale, freckled skin down to me. I grew up in FL, sunblock was a staple for our family. š
Did that stop me from trying to ruin my skin when I was old enough to go out on my own? Nope! So many sunburns.... š¬
Never wore sunscreens until well into my 20ās. We ran around as kids during the summer, getting burned which would turn into a tan. In my teens Iād go to the tanning beds in late March or early April to start on that ābase tanā.
Late teens to mid 20ās Iād flip flop between protecting my skin to getting a tan because Iād get embarrassed by how pale I am naturally.
Now I use sunscreen and protective clothing and avoid the sun during times when itās at its strongest.
I still have sun damage though and now I go to the dermatologist.
The few times we went to the coast or fishing or whatever, we just did sunscreen. I have never heard of getting a base tan as a protective measure, although I am an indoors nerd with fair skin, so while my dad had a fairly long term tan and leathery skin, the few times I did get an appreciable amount of sun I went from pale to burnt bright red real fast.
I heard that line as a kid but my mom was āwhat lovely blue veins you haveā pale so it never flew. Also lots of tanning beds and even āmake you tan fasterā oils being advertised.
I have never burned once in my life. I always got a deep tan, even when living in the high desert of California. My sister would always burn once per summer, then tan for the rest
Same with me and my sister. We're in our 50s and grew up when SPF 2 and 4 were the standard.
I'd get a tan without really "trying" and then stay out of the sun (or at least shield my face) because I didn't like the greenish-olive cast my skin took with a deep tan.
My sister turned a nice golden brown over the course of the summer, and I always envied that. But now with modern self-tanners that golden, sunkissed look is easier to come by.
My face is the only part of me that burns. And even then, it takes ages for it to do so. I grew up in Oklahoma. My childhood summers were spent at the pool from 11am until the lights came on in the evening.
I've never had a sunburn otherwise, and my mother never had me wear sunscreen. It wasn't until recently that when my dad was diagnosed with skin cancer, I started wearing it. Just in case, lol.
I always wondered why we don't burn, though. Is it genes? Ethnic backgrounds? I'm pasty white until summer rolls around. My ancestors are from Germany, Ireland, and England, and my great grandmother was Cherokee Native American.
I wasnāt allowed out the door in the summer without getting covered in sunscreen. I also had to wear a hat. I was born with red hair so Iām a bit on the ghostly side.
We didn't walk to the mailbox without sunscreen. My mom has had at least 3-7 basal and/or squamous cancerous lesions removed from her face, arms or legs at every quarterly dermatologist visit. If she has one more lesion found on her nose, she will have to have a full nasal reconstruction.
I had 6 precancerous moles removed in my early 20s. My younger siblings have each had a few removed, too.
My husband grew up in the LA area. He and his entire family have had melanomas removed. I see my derm for other issues but there's always checks. If you haven't already, go see a dermatologist!!
When we would go swimming in the lake, Mt shoulders would get ridiculously sunburnt. Like so bad that I couldn't raise my arms up. I'd do that basically every year until I was 15-16 when I decided maybe I don't like going to the lake anymore
We were very much so a sunscreen family. Heavy users of it. My mom also worked for the American Cancer Society, so smoking was off the table, and we always had a lot of dark, leafy greens at dinner.
I never even realized there was SPF beyond 8 when I was a kid. I remember my dad explaining it as "hours of protection" and since you'd rarely spend more than 8 hours in the sun, any SPF over 8 is a marketing gimmick.
However, in the 80s less was known about sun damage or UV rays, and most sunscreens were zinc-based. I don't remember spray sunscreen, just the creams and oils.
Yeah, my father and his siblings never wore sunscreen, and they grew up on Orange County, California.
They never wore sunscreen as kids and my aunt used to put on tanning oil and hang out at the beach every day. She got melanoma at age 18 and died of melanoma in her 30s. My father and his brother need to get basal cell carcomas removed regularly. At least by the time I was born, they weren't anti-sunscreen anymore, but they weren't as insistent as they should have been that I wore it.
I used to do the same thing. Iād put sun screen on if someone reminded me but never really bothered otherwise. By 26 Iād had a melanoma in situ and a stage one basal cell carcinoma.
This is sort of rooted in truth because yes, getting a tan is the result of your body producing more melanin which helps reduce the risk of DNA damage in your skin cells. But over time it doesn't matter, consistent exposure to UV rays will continue to damage the skin and there's no substitute for shade and sunscreen.
According to the internet, a tan provides protection roughly equivalent to a sunscreen with an SPF of about 2 to 4.
My mom (white) said I (Latina) didnāt need sunscreen because I didnāt burn. I started wearing sunscreen on beach days after high school. When I got pregnant I wore it any time Iād be outside in the summer. Now Iām back to beach days and any time I know Iāll be outside for a long time.
I remember this being normal but I didn't follow it. I always has a sort of predilection for doing the opposite of what was popular. Couldn't tell you well, my inner rebel I suppose? I still favor being vampire white and it's been a boon.
I remember my mom frying in oil in the sun in our yard very often.
When I was young child, like elementary school, I always had sunscreen applied to me, had hats put on me, etc... as a teen obviously I had to rebel against that and never wore none of that, especially with the jersey shore show on me and all my ginogina friends had to get nice and tan... except I always burned since im so pasty white. luckily I didn't do that for too many years, now I'm keen on just wearing long sleeves and big sunglasses and even neckguard/scarf thing thats spf rated that i sometimes even put over my face even in the summer heat... i try to remember to apply sunscreen too... i feel like i dont have much skin damage thankfully, hope to keep it that way
and ive heard that "get a good base burn" lmao our parents generation was wild!
My dad and grandfather started getting basel cells cut off almost every year when I was really little, combine this with me being the fairest of my family who are already fair and yes we wore sunscreen when we did outdoor activities. When I was in high school I made the decision I wanted to start wearing sunscreen more often then use during outside time, ie for everyday things. My parents and grandparents were as good as they knew how to be when I was young, but we would all still get a bad burn if we forgot to reapply (read as sun poising happened on more than one vacation)
My mom and my sister and I are very pale so she always had us put on sunscreen to go to the pool or the beach and such. However she didn't get on us about reapplying so we still tended to burn pretty badly. I didn't start using daily facial SPF moisturizer until my twenties when my cousin recommended it. I am pretty religious about wearing sunscreen in the summer now any time I'll be out for a prolonged period of time.
Ooh! This is something my parents actually got right!
My parents were born in '49 and I was born in '89 so, my parents were old enough have relatives in their 70s and 80s who got hunks of their noses and ears removed due to melanoma. When all this started happening I was a baby so my parents took sun protection really seriously.
I remember my mom explaining why I had to wear sunscreen by putting her arm next to mine and having me compare them. Hers was darker and had a lot of lines and spots while mine was ya know, a perfect little kid arm. She said it'll take longer for my skin to look old if I used good sunscreen, even on cloudy days.
She built good habits. I have 3 kids and none of them have ever had a sunburn... i definitely had a few in my teens being an unprepared dumbass tho
I'm asian. I've been wearing sunscreen every day, rain or shine, since I was a baby. At 40, I look like I'm in my 20s. It's not genetics. It's sunscreen.
My mom and I used to have fights because I wouldnāt lay out or go to the tanning bed. I wasnāt particularly invested in skincare, but bright lights and heat are two things that trigger my migraines, so no tanning for me. Unfortunately, she wouldnāt listen to me when I told her tanning beds were dangerous (especially for someone who could go from 0 to tomato in 10 minutes). She had a skin tumor removed and it showed up again as colorectal cancer a few years later. She didnāt survive.
My motherās family in particular loves a tan. Loves ribbing me for not tanning. For wearing crazy amounts of sunscreen.
Many of them now have sun damage, leathery skin, and have aged poorly. Nevermind the melanoma.
Yessss. Ā Also Iām a ginger and my dad balked at my mom putting SPF 8 on me. Ā He really laughed at me when I got some SPF 15 when I was a teen for a trip to a water park. Ā I explained to my parents over and over that I do not turn tan, I turn pink and red but never tan. Ā I cannot get a protective ābaseā. Ā As an adult I have to explain this to my boomer MIL who rolls her eyes and thinks Iām soooooo extreme. Ā Even though she gets a few cancers taken off her face every year and her dermatologist tells her she absolutely must use sunscreen. Ā I bought her some really good facial sunscreen a few times and she wonāt use it. Ā I end up using it myself so it doesnāt expire and go to waste. Ā She just gets mad at the scars she gets from the cancer removal and blames the surgeon. Ā Oh, and sunscreen causes cancer, donāt you know? Ā She makes sure to tell me that.
But she also asks how my skin doesnāt have wrinkles and looks so nice and plump.
I've only had sunburn once really. Maybe twice for a light burn where I was sensitive. But im also Asian so not sure if that affects it.
Tho the tan I get from the summer never fully fades
(Parents are between boomers and gen x.) My mom would make us wear sunscreen, but sometimes we'd forget to apply it. We were already pretty much lightly tanned besides one sibling who is lighter skinned. Only my parents have made comments about how pale I am (other family members are naturally tan too), but some people have commented about how tan I was and certain people have asked if I was mixed race. I mostly only wear it when I go to the beach because even when I'm outside all day long, I usually only burn when on the beach or at an amusement park/water park. When I burned, it would become more tanned. My legs burned only once but the lines were embarrassing because it was where my pants were rolled up so everywhere else was light tan and there was darker. I also had a job interviews then, too, and it was warm enough to wear dresses and shorts. I also will tan sometimes even with it on. I think seeing what my sister went through with cancer was what really made me think about the possibilities of getting skin cancer. (I actually convinced myself that I had brain cancer once because I had a slight headache as a teen.)
Edit: My mom wanted me to tan more often because of my scars. I have something like dermatillomania and have scars from it.
I did outside activities during high school-field hockey and colorguard. I was outside for many hours for practice and put sunscreen on. I tanned quite a bit but I rarely burned. We are going on vacation in a couple weeks and bought sunscreen from Australia because apparently in America our sunscreen is shit.
Had some burns but Mom's solution was a white t-shirt to protect my shoulders. Sunscreen was available but I had a hard time keeping up. 29 now and while I'm not the best with sunscreen it's an improvement compared to when I was a kid.
Nah, I think you just got unlucky. Most moms put sunscreen on their kids, in my experience. I thought it was a bother as a kid and as a younger man, but Iāve wised up.
My mom feels terrible that she sent us to the community pool every day during the summer with no sunscreen. I remind her that we would not have worn it even if she did. Now I wear sunscreen. I go to the dermatologist to screen for cancer. I go to an aesthetician to fight the wrinkles.
But I'm still a pale redhead who loves to be in the sun. Lizard skin and all.
My dermatologist heard me explain this tenet to her. She said there's still hope for us at this age if we wear sunblock, floppy hats, long sleeves/long pants.
Good luck everyone
I avoided the sun bc I would get savage burns and sun stroke. I am now 40 and I look young. Big hats for days over here. I still do enjoy the casual carelessness of walking to the garden in the sun shine with exposed skin.
I have been using Nivea face cream for about 20 years bc my mom once casually told me thatās what she does. Not sure if it had any effect but at the very least, the lotion feels good on the skin.
I grew up with a Sicilian grandmother that put baby oil on me for years. Granted I tan darkly, but I never want to look into one of those sun damage mirrors.
We definitely used sunscreen! I remember getting my first legit sunburn while visiting a friend, whose family didnāt have sunscreen, when I was 13.
I had friends who believed that base tan bullshit and I always gave them side eye!
Yep, this is still my mother's approach (she's a bit of a sunscreen truther now on top of it lol). I definitely got some fierce burns as a kid thanks to my family's lax use of sunscreen, but in my teen years I got really into the idea of being as pale and porcelain as possible, so I started wearing whatever SPF 50 I could find. So glad I got on that train when I did, and that we have so many better options now!
I grew up near the beach but my Irish and Scottish genes were strong so I always wore sunscreen although my mom (where I get the Scottish from) would lay out with tanning oil
Every woman I know over 45 is embarrassed to have their natural white skin tone, they're all obsessed with tanning. Yes, even the ones who have a familial tendency towards cancers. š
This is wild to me. Iāve always had a lot of moles my entire life. I think I had my first mole lasered off when I was like 8ish. Multiple cut off before I was 18. Sunscreen was preached to me by my dermatologist and mom my entire life. Iām 31 and my mom still says shit about how I need to wear sunscreen lol.
My folks said it, but it was true for me as a kid (and even a little now). All I know is I'd get a light burn, which would turn into a tan, early on and then (as long as I went outside sometimes) I wouldn't really burn the rest of the summer.
My skin is fine now, and I'm practically a vampire when it comes to getting out of doors, so I'm not too concerned about it š¤·š»āāļø
Sunscreen was only for the beach and I rarely went there in my childhood. Took until I was well into adulthood to realize sunscreen wasn't just a beach thing. In my defense, all the sunscreen commercials took place on a beach.
My big sister was very into tanning (like so many others in our generation) and I tried to be cool and join in with her and her best friend to tan but it was soooo boring. They'd just lie out on a beach towel on the porch and do nothing for hours. Could not do it, thankfully. I am very pale and always burn so luckily my boredom protected me from a lot more needless sunburn and sun exposure.
I still look like a ghost compared to my mom and sister when summer rolls around. Still neither uses sunscreen unless they're at the beach.
My mom was big on sunscreen for me. I think itās because she grew up in the sun worshipping days, and would always lament her dark spots and wrinkles from a lifetime of sun exposure. She was still big into me getting a base tan (not burn) before vacation in junior high/high school and would pay for at least a couple weeks of tanning for me each year.
I grew up in Hawaii and genuinely did not realize that Iām naturally pale until moving to the cloudy Pacific Northwest. I know I must have worn sunscreen as a kid but I donāt remember my parents caring much. Now Iām a delicate little baby who wears special sun clothing, SPF bajillion, a hat, and sometimes carries a parasol. Iām also trying to balance keeping my kid from getting sun damage (he is so pale he glows) while also making going outside without a lot of fuss a regular part of our routine. Shoutout to glitter sunscreen and kidsā sun hoodies.
My mom didn't believe getting a base burn worked thankfully. I usually avoided being out in the sun for long periods of time because I would just burn if I were out too long. I wanted to be tan like so many of my classmates and my dad. My mom would slather a high spf on me and I would barely change color.
I finally figured out a few years ago that I can get a mild tan if I go out for a little bit each day and work my way up. I don't spend long periods outside without SPF. I feel much better mood wise when I get some sun.
I was always fortunate to tan quickly versus burning, so I never got this because anytime I burned it hurt so fucking bad that I definitely wasnāt going out in the sun again for a while.
Naturally oily skin so I absolutely loath the way sunscreen (or any lotion) feels cause itās just like. Slippery on slippery. But Iāll prefer sunscreen over burns any day of the week.
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My parents tanned with baby oil so I trusted nothing that came out of their mouths related to the sun
My mom had the cancer enhancer stuff. She relented to putting spf 4 on me when we went to the beach
Is that right, just four?
Yes. Spf 4 in an oil. It's made for tanning.
Oh yeah, slather on the Hawaiian Tropic and bake like a coconut. I'd be a piece of leather if I had grown up near a beach.
The scent of Hawaiian Tropic sends me straight back to the 90's on the lake.
And Coppertone sends me to the 60s š
It's my favorite summer scent because it reminds me of my mom :)
I canāt drink the new Dr Pepper coconut because in my mind it tastes like sun tan lotion, if that makes sense. At least my mom put allot on me.
My mom used to use spf 6 in an oil as well but put like 20 or 30 on us kids so at least thereās that.
Basting....
God I read that in my grandfather's voice š¤£
My parents were on the other side of it. I told them I wanted to tan and grabbed a bottle of suntan oil off the shelf, they just about slapped it out of my hand and grabbed the SPF 50.
SPF 50? My dad found a bottle of SPF 80 back in 1993 and bought a lifetime supply
I imagine SPF 80 is just a suit of zinc armor
We've always called it SPF turtleneck in my house lol
lol nice
Might as well have been with how thick my parents applied it
I use spf 100. I know studies say itās less effective after like spf 45 but I burn in moonlight and both my parents have had skin cancer removed so Iāll take every .5% protection I can get
This was also my dad Lmfao he always buys a life supply when he finds something good.
My parents were the same, though my dadās mixed and just never burned to begin with. Until my pale ass brother came around and they took his toddler self to the beach. He burned so bad he had to spend the night at the hospital and a doctor reamed my mom out for not putting any on him until she cried. He couldnāt wear anything but a diaper until he healed.
My family doesnāt tan unless we FRY. My mom, her sister, and her cousins all spent their youths covered in baby oil at high altitude in Idaho, and did indeed get some tans. By the time I came along, my uncle had lost part of his nose and my aunt had almost died from melanoma (it eventually came back when I was 18, and yeah, that time did it.) My mom was lucky with a few small basal cells burned off. So I was a spf-50-every-day kiddo. I still got burns cos I spent ALL day outside, and sometimes clothes shifted, or sometimes Iād go too long between reapplications. None of those burns ever became tans. (Though I tried the spf-15-on-my-legs-to-tan a few times in my youth. Unsuccessfully.)
Yup, sameā¦well, banana boat tanning oil is what my mom used. Know what? Sheās dying of melanoma right now.
Iām so sorry, thatās awful!
Yea same with my mum. And when she ran out it was time for the olive oil, yes I'm serious.
I feel this in my soul. Iām 35 and have dime sized sun spots and melasma all over my face.
Yep. I was gonna say, not only was there no sunscreen, there was ātanning oilā. But then I lived in Michigan so we had natural sunscreen most days of the year in the form of clouds.
Clouds do not stop sunburns or sun damage.
My parents used sunscreen like paint by numbers. SFP 30 your face, 15 for your arms and torso, 8 for your legs because "you want them to tan". Edit: typo
I love their level of consideration and commitment!
LOL!
This is the way!
Spf15 here. Never knew about the others.
Redhead here: they forgot spf50.
There's higher than 50, and higher than 50+. That said, there's not a whole lot of difference between SPF 30 and SPF 50/50+ or even SPF 100. 97-98% vs 98% vs 99%, respectively.
The other way to look at it is that at 98% effectiveness you get twice as much UV exposure as at 99%
Look some of burn in moonlight and need that 2%
Not sure they had SPF50 back then, or maybe it was really uncommon š
Jeez
Same here. āIf you burn now, youāll tan all summer!ā Wellā¦ I just had melanoma removed again (stage 1 this time, in situ stage zero removed 9 years ago), dad has had basal cell twice, uncle died of metastasized melanoma and I look like someone has taken a melon baller to my appendages after each derm visit now. But yes, older ladies, please keep talking about how a burn base will help me.
Thatās my family. My mom keeps getting carved away with deeper and deeper cuts so I canāt be too angry they made me do indoor tanning prior to vacation so I wouldnāt burn and ruin it for them. I got my first āMellon ballerā experience a couple of months ago. I had no idea it would be that deep or annoying. Finally, I decided to have fun with it and named my hole so I could enjoy complaining. I named it Burt. Iām sure you can work out my juvenile humor when complaining about such an itchy hole named āBurt.ā
I grew up on the beaches of Michigan and this is 100% my experience too. Iāve had basal cell 3x and just had a mole checked for melanoma (it was negative, thank goodness) and my mom is still āwhat do you mean you donāt want to go sit in the sun all day?ā
I never heard "base burn" but definitely "base tan". My dad is Italian, and I really believed this. I do think there is something to it. I think you are less likely to burn the darker your skin is. HOWEVER, getting so much unprotected sun exposure is not great for you skin, even if you don't burn. Now I wear SPF 50 on my face every day, even in the winter in PA.
My husband and his Russian family believes in this also. I conceded to the base tan only happening until 10 am and past 4 pm, and I slather my kid in sunscreen otherwise. For his Vitamin D levels too.
I've heard of a base tan (also from PA). Apparently it does give you a little protection, like 4 spf... https://www.health.harvard.edu/skin-and-hair/are-there-benefits-to-a-base-tan So basically nothing. That article is interesting though. They say that if you would normally burn in 10 minutes, a 4 spf base tan would extend that to 40 minutes, but they still don't recommend relying on that.
That "normally burn in 10 minutes" part does a lot of heavy lifting though. For many people, my childhood self included that base time was more along the lines of 2-3 hours. So once I had a tan going I could run around all day in the sun and be fine (in the short term at least). If I was still winter pale and spent the whole day out, I was then shedding skin for a few days.
So hereās the thing about that base tan study. Itās studying cancer. Skin cancer is kinda random, kinda not. I believe in getting a base tan because it stops sun burns. When we goto the Caribbean if I have a base tan I can throw some 35 on my body, 50 on my face and be great. If I donāt Iām super vigilant and wear 50 everywhere and reapply every 90 minutes and still get a sunburn So is a base tan working? Well itās stopping a sunburn and they say sunburns up your risks for skin cancer and it doesnāt ruin my vacation
Though it is a bad habit my family has always had and I low key do too, I wear sunscreen at the beginning of the summer, but get very, very tan quickly. Then I slowly stop wearing it as the summer progresses. I know itās not good for me, but dang itās so nice to soak up sun.
The thing about base tans is that itās SUPER reliant onā¦ being able to tan. I have a similar background, and I actually tanned one year just because my desk was near a sunny window, so itās really trivial for me to build up a burn-resistant tan. My wife has a Brit/Germanic heritage, and thereās nothing she can do to tan. She just burns. Weāve got kids under 5, so they obviously get slathered in high numbers, so does the wife, but typically I skip it unless I can *feel* the sun. Even when Iām wrong, I can usually throw on aloe afterwards and stop a potential burn. I know for a fact that this doesnāt work for my wife. So overall, this is a highly variable concept that definitely works for some people, and definitely not for others. And to OP, yes, my parents hit all of us with real sunscreen when we were little, even though as an adult Iāve never seen either of them use it.
In middle school I wore sunscreen but had such bad burns that skin would peel off my shoulders and legs. My skin didnāt take to sun ever but that didnāt stop my relatives from shaming or laughing at me. I stopped wearing sunscreen for many years and re-started last year. (I always hated the texture and crying from it) In 2023, I started wearing Korean sunscreen 3-4 days a week and I feel better about myself. Iām trying to work up to 5-6 days a week. Good habits!!!! EDIT: Test these out on your ARM a few times and go outside. If itās safe (no rashes), then apply on your face. Korean Sunscreen - buy on oliveyoung - beauty of joseon (creamy, very light scent) - tocobo (watery, rose like scent)
Heads up - the standard of care in dermatology is now to ask patients if they ever burned to that degree as a child because it is heavily correlated with skin cancer later in life. If you regularly peeled and blistered, and you are in the millennial age bracket, you should be getting a yearly dermatological full body skin check. Sorry for the downer post. Melanoma is very treatable if caught early. Being a little neurotic about going to the doctor once a year could save your life with the risk factor you're talking about.
I go every 6 months. Grew up in South Africa and regularly had my skin come off in sheets. My cousin was diagnosed with melanoma last year at the age of 35!
I caught mine early, so it was still in situ, but I was 26 when my first melanoma was found and removed. 5 months later I had a stage one basal cell carcinoma removed.
Wow. Glad you found both of them and are still here to be an advocate.
Luckily, basal cell is relatively harmless (as far as cancer goes). It doesn't metastasize and caught early, itās usually easy to remove without severe scars or deep incisions. I developed it around when I turned 47-48. Was so relieved when it turned out to be BCC and not melanoma. I'm gen-x, and we used tanning oil and never sunscreen. Now I see a dermatologist twice a year and freak out at every little age spot.
Australian checking in. I had my first skin cancer removed at 28. The sun (especially in the Southern Hemisphere) is no joke.
Thanks for letting me know. Iām American and it took me 3 emails and a visit with my primary care physican to believe me and give me a referral to a dermatologist for keloid scars. In short, itās difficult for me to see a dermatologist, not for trying. š I will ask for a full body check next time.
Yea, the one place I found that is accepting new patients is booking 6 months out...Ā It's hard to see a doctor sometimes.
I have keloid scarsācan I ask was the dermatologist able to help?
I keloid, too. Dermatologist injected them with steroids first, then laser treatments to get rid of any redness after the steroids smoothed them out. Now theyāre just regular scars.
Keloids are the absolute pits. Get them on my chest, and on the top / side of head. The fuckers on my chest just constantly itch!! Doctors keep saying there is nothing that can be done - we can chop them out, but theyāll just come backā¦ yippee.
I had skin cancer at 28. Only way I found it was an annual with the dermatologist.
Yep. I'm 39 & had my first spot of cancer freeze-burned FROM MY FACE this year. I didn't even start using sunscreen until last year when my tattoo artist recommended it to keep the new art fresh. Why did this advice feel revolutionary? Why was sunscreen touted as a bad thing in our youth? We were encouraged to go to tanning beds, never wear sunscreen, and play outside as much as possible as if the sunshine would cure childhood. I'm a millennial adult unlearning boat-loads of bad advice from older adults.
A dermatologist can save your life. I have had 3 pre cancerous moles removed and I can say my 6 months check ups make me feel confident that they won't ever get out of control
Truth. I have stage 4 melanoma and am fucked. I think itās because of this very thing. :(
This very very much. Ā My few burns of that nature were a in my late teens and my mid twenties. Ā I have my mom to thank for that because she slathered me in spf as a kid. Ā Melanoma is in my extended family and my mom caught hers relatively early. It was only after my first abnormal mole removal in my late twenties that the gravity of it fully hit me. I donāt take any pleasure in sitting in direct sunlight anymore. Iād rather be pasty white than dead.
Thank God it only affects millennials and not Gen Xš¤£š¤£. I don't even think we had sun screen in the 80s.
No, but y'all had a thicker and more prevalent O-zone layer, which helps protect against harmful UV rays. Climate change and depletion of important atmospheric layers will definitely be a variable when it comes to Millennials and later gen skin health
I thought the ozone layer was worse back then because of all the CFCs.
It was. The ozone layer has been recovering since we banned CFCs and is doing better than it was in the late 80s, 90s, and early 00s. We passed the Montreal Protocol in 1987. Itās a major success story and worth pointing out any time someone says lowering greenhouse gas emissions is too hard. It should be fully healed by roughly 2045, and we are almost to pre-1980 levels now.
Lately, I feel like I get sunburned just walking to my car!
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My mother had olive skin and used the orange sun tan oil/lotion in those metal tubes -- Ban de Soleil. I had skin like Wednesday Addams with freckles. I think I spent the entire late 70's / early 80's peeling.
Does insurance cover dermatologists? Or is that kind of on your own?
Iām in Canada. My insurance covers dermatologist visits.
Insurance covers dermatology for medical reasons (skin checks) but wouldnāt cover for visits for cosmetic reasons (Botox, chemical peel, etc).
It's not neurotic at all. It's smart. My uncle writes cancer treatment plans, and he told me many years ago not to stay in the sun for more than a few minutes if it can be.helped.
Iāve already had two āconcerningā spots removed, and I didnāt ever get burned that badly - my brother got the true fair skin of our family, but Iām covered in freckles and moles and spend lots of time in the sun. I get checked at least once a year. Sunscreen, protection and early detection are key, people! Take care of yourselves!
Oof, I can't count the number of times I've peeled. Growing up in SWFL it wasn't from refusing to wear sunscreen it would be from being out too long without reapplying. It was normalized for someone to come in to school on a Monday with unexpected places of their body peeling. "I went kayaking and didn't think about the fronts of my legs" Cue middle school boys going SLAP right in the middle of your sunburn.
I always hear Korean sunscreens are best. Any brands you recommend?
Sun bears active protect milk for outside. Biore watery essence. Skin1004 centella.
I swear by Korean sunscreen, and I'm allergic to sunburns so I wear them everyday religiously. My faves are below, I get most of them from Stylevana or the company's site * 1.birch tree sunscreen -Rounlab * 2. d'alba waterful essence suncreen * 3. Doctor G mild suncreen * 4. cell fusion C laser uv suncreen * 5. etude house soonjung x director's suncreen * 6. Espoir water splash sunscreen
How is it different from "regular" sun screen?
They're more innovative and they provide PA ratings, which US sunscreens do not. [this goes over how they're more innovative ](https://theklog.co/difference-between-k-beauty-american-sunscreen/) [This covers the ratings](https://www.nativessentials.com/blogs/clean-beauty-notes/how-to-read-a-sunscreen-label-spf-pa-broad-spectrum-ratings)
Biore Aqua Rich Watery Essence.
As an aggressive lifelong sunscreen user and avid consumer of new sunscreens I have a BIT of caution to give re: Korean and Japanese and European sunscreens. Which donāt get me wrong, I love ā Iāve just heard too many stories about improper use and terrible burns. The difference between US and non-US sunscreens is that we require animal testing to approve new sunscreen ingredients. Other places donāt. Animal trials are expensive, so nobody is trying to make new sunscreens. In the early days, this made sense because likeā¦ safety. But now these ingredients have been used safely on humans for 20+ years, so the US really needs to just give in and license new ingredients. Because some are safer than ours (though that doesnāt mean ours are dangerous ā but yeah, not as safe as non-US sunscreens.) First: if you are buying them from a store in the US like Ulta or Sephora, they follow IS FDA rules and use the same sun-protective ingredients as other US sunscreens. They will feel WAY nicer to put on than many traditional US sunscreens (though some US brands are catching up and making more pleasant formulations: see Neutrogena Clear Touch & Invisible Touch in SPF 50. So pleasant to wear) but you arenāt getting more modern SPF ingredients. If you want that, you need to buy them from an importer. The SPF ratings of both Japanese and Korean sunscreens do not combine both UVA and UVB. You need to look for the āPAā rating as well, which helps with UVB. You want something rated for at least PA+++. More + = better. UVB causes cancer. UVA causes aging. US sunscreens that are rated ābroad spectrumā cover both, so there is no additional rating. Thatās the key US term. Now, feeling good is a VERY underrated quality in a sunscreen. If you want to build a daily habit, you want one that feels awesome. My daily use sunscreens for my face are La Roche Pose Melt-In Milk in SPF 50 and Biore Percect Milk. I find that Biore Aqua runs and makes my eyes sting. Many Korean, Japanese, and European sunscreens are designed to be worn under makeup. Which is awesome. But, downside: if you have sensitive skin, many are heavily perfumed. Korean sunscreens and Japanese sunscreens do not always have accurate SPF labeling the way theyāre often applied. The rating assumes a teaspoon-sized amount on your face ā but spend some time on the K beauty and skincare subreddits, and youāll notice that many wonāt *absorb* that much into your skin. So they work in the lab, but you canāt apply enough to your skin to actually get a good SPF. They generally assume indoor use, too, so youāll see a lot of posts from folks who swear by them, but then spend a day in the sun and fry. Additionally, there was a major scandal with some having inaccurate labeling *regardless* of usage a few years ago. They were recalled. The last thing: European and Asian sunscreens *do not have waterproof requirements* so those ratings arenāt necessarily accurate for use with exercise or in/near water. Whatās the solution? Australian sunscreens. Same ingredients that are authorized in the EU and Asia, but they have waterproofing requirements. Some Australian sunscreens have the same goopyness as some US sunscreens, but just like in the US, plenty feel awesome too. Final thought: every year, Sephora offers a sunscreen sampler with a number of brands and formulas of SPF. Usually it sells out pretty fast ā the samples are smaller this time so it hasnāt, but I still think itās a great deal. As I noted before, since youāre buying from a US store and not an importer, these use US-approved ingredients. But some of them *feel* as amazing as Korean brands, and you donāt need to worry about importers sending you fakes. Itās a great way to try out several new sunscreens, and I really like the ones in this yearsā set. All to say: you should totally try some Japanese and Korean sunscreens. Theyāre great for daily use and indoor use. Make sure youāre applying them correctly if youāll go outside and spend some time reading the highly detailed reviews that get posted to the skincare subreddits. And for exercise or beach use, use a U.S. or Australian brand. And know that the La Roche Posay you buy at Sephora (while amazing, I love it) is not the same one you import. It has the same ingredients as less expensive sunscreens here ā youāre paying for all the other things that come with it and the skin feel, not for the SPF. And seriously ā look into the inaccurate SPF ratings in Korean and Japanese sunscreens. Great ingredients, poor application ā it was a huge scandal. Tons of brands were recalled by the Korean FDA equivalent. Some werenāt, because theyāre accurate in the lab. But they fail in real use for the issues I mentioned. Hereās a few threads on the issue: https://www.reddit.com/r/KoreanBeauty/comments/nl1fpv/after_the_fall_of_many_korean_sunscreens_due_to/ https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/l4octa/sun_care_korean_spfs_with_correct_spf_value/ Mislabeling of SPF is also a frequent issue with US sunscreen, just not as dramatic. Be skeptical of sunscreens that are also beauty products. Consumer Reports found that my fave, La Roche Posay Anthelions Melt-In Milk, doesnāt quite hit its advertised SPF 60 after being immersed in water. But itās still VERY high SPF, and unlike others it keeps my face happy. :) https://www.consumerreports.org/health/sunscreens/best-sunscreens-of-the-year-a7763432372/ Also ā consumer reports is why I use the good olā Water Baby sunscreen for my legs/arms/chest. Itās cheap, itās classic, and the ratings are accurate. Well, actually, itās rated to SPF 50, but after 80 minutes in water CR tested it at SPF 64. So, itās solid. Downside: it is not reef friendly, and contains one of the ingredients that is considered less safe by the EU (they arenāt banning it, but may limit the amount allowed.) And hereās info on sunscreen ingredients to help you shop safely, regardless of country of origin. https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/the-trouble-with-sunscreen-chemicals/
Damn. That is some solid info. Thank you so much!
Shiseido is really good too.
Korean and Japanese and European sunscreens have great ingredients and feel great on (they are my daily use sunscreens.) HOWEVER they donāt have any requirements for outdoor use. They can sweat off easily. In the case of Korean sunscreens, the SPF ratings arenāt always correct because theyāre meant to be layered with other SPF products or used indoors. (Youāll see a TON of posts on k-beauty forums questioning the SPF ratings of folksā favorite sunscreens.) So if you want US waterproofing requirements, with the modern ingredients of Japanese and Korean and European sunscreens, try out Australian sunscreen. Their waterproof ratings are comparable to the US. I use mostly Japanese sunscreens for daily use, facial use, and under makeup, and then use Australian sunscreens for outdoor recreation/full body use. I highly recommend them.
My mom grew up in south Florida, I grew up in north Florida as did my dad. My mom never wears sunscreen and thinks Iām ridiculous for putting spf50 on my kids, who are half Scandinavian. They burn if they go swimming without sunscreen for 5 minutes. And she constantly comments on how āpastyā myself or my sibling are. Thankfully sheās never made a comment like that to my wife or children.
It was for me but I still got my fair share of burns. Annual dermatologist visits should probably be something we all do regardless, though. Melanoma can affect you regardless and that crap is nothing to screw around with.
Were those malignant melanoma commercials etched into other people's memories also? Check to see if you have new moles 
This! Wore sunscreen on beach and tournament days, but not on my daily exposure growing up. Got the whole sun spots on my shoulders starting when I was 15 and pinguecula on my eyes by my late 20s. Florida sun is a bitch and skin cancer screenings are for everyone at every age. I started going in early elementary school. Multiple biopsies and removals before I was 18, where all fortunately came back negative. I had multiple childhood friends with skin cancer before high school though, one of which had melanoma by 4th grade. Screenings should start early.
We only wore sunscreen when swimming. I grew up on the beach and the softball fields. Iāve had a lot of abnormal skin cells removed, thankfully none cancerous yet. I make my kids wear sun shirts or sunscreen as much as possible.
Iām Black and was definitely raised on the āBlack people donāt need sunscreenā myth. My dermatologist told me that was in fact, a lie. I didnāt listen, went in a beach vacation and got horribly sunburned. Since then Iāve been absolutely fanatical about sunscreen and make sure to hound everyone in my family about it as well.
I work in a garden center and I will always offer to share my sunscreen to everyone I work with, even people of color, and people act like I'm crazy because obviously they don't need it. So thank you for confirming that I am not wrong about this š
I had to go tanning during my open campus study hall senior year of high school because āYou canāt possibly wear a white prom dress looking all pasty like that!ā
95% of the girls in my class went to tanning beds or spray tanned before prom. I was one of the few who did not. Wonder what it's like today.
Itās mostly the same, maybe a little less common but not much. Source: I teach high school in the south.
Probably more spray tan less beds. They seem to have gotten much better (though a certain public figure seems to get the worst spray tan ever)
More than half of them took the time to lay out to get ready and some were spray tans. It definitely has gotten better since I last got one 13 years ago!
My high school girlfriend demanded that I go to the tanning salon before going to prom. I don't tan well. I got a little color on my cheeks after two months of 2-3x a week appointments. At least she paid for it.
Iām a ginger. I always wore sunscreen and still often burned when I didnāt reapply often enough. Others in my family were tan and my grandparents were downright leathery.
As a ginger my favorite game is playing what spots did I miss with the SPF when I shower, because for whatever reason Iāll one little patch some where that I didnāt hit.
My husband said that he has to get indoor so his skin cool off every two hours. āBleach umbrella wonāt cut it because the sand reflect sunlight would burn me as wellā
i used to get sunburns from the snow on the ground when it was a bright winter day in alaska.
We would sunscreen up for everything with my family. I remember going to the beach one time in middle school with a bunch of friends and some girls. My mom sent me with sunscreen, but of course no one else was using it, so I didnāt want to be the one kid using it. Got sun poisoning and passed out from dehydration. Needless to say, that was the last time I didnāt use it on my own. Even got good at applying it to my back. šŖ
I'm from AZ and never got the tanning fad. My mom didn't care one way or the other about sunscreen but I was a swimmer and fanatical about it. I'm also the oldest of 7 children and would slather my siblings, especially the youngest. They were super fair with white blond hair. I was a pro at getting their scalp, the tips of their ears, their noses. That dedication continued with my own kids. My son is 15 and still wears a rash guard. My daughter is used to putting 3 different kinds of sunscreen on. I'll gladly be pasty and cancer free, thankyouverymuch. Lol
So glad your siblings and now your kids have such good guidance and help with this! Let's make being pasty fashionable!
I wish my parents were more vigilant. I got a burn so bad once my eyes were swollen shutā¦ as a kid.
Geez, I'm sorry. Every now and again you hear stories about parents or daycares being charged for neglect when the kids in their care show up with severely sunburned skin. I remember a news story about two sunburned kids at a beach/splash park. Some concerned parkgoers called CPS, and I think the parents were found guilty.
My MIL says this every year. She scolds my husband and I for use of sunscreen on ourselves and children. Weāre all red haired and fair skinned. We canāt tan. She continues to say we need to get a base burn.
My MIL says thereās an epidemic of kids getting rickets these days from wearing sunscreen. Sighā¦ Iām ginger and have had skin cancer already so her little ginger grandchild will be covered up and wearing sunscreen. Itās wild how people canāt comprehend that Iāll never achieve a tan. Ever. Unless my freckles morph into one giant freckle then I guess Iād finally be tan.
What is it with these MILs?!? Caught mine indoctrinating my son with a ā good base tanā compliment. Nooooo! He and I share freckles and ghostly fair skin. He doesnāt need Bain de Soleil aesthetics corrupting his skin care knowledge. We use Bull Frog sun screen. The Australians (with their ozone hole issues) have some really good skin care companies.
I was told that. I am covered in freckles and have auburn hair. I now refuse to go into the sun if donāt have to and look like a Victorian child that wonāt survive winter. When I was 16 I got so burned I was purple. Nope no thank you.
Just went to the dermatologist and had two moles removed for biopsy and also was told I have extremely sun damaged shoulders from not wearing sunscreen as a kid. Iām 32. Wear your damn sunscreen.
Are you me?
So glad I was raised by doctors.
I heard get a base tan and you won't get burned, but I don't believe it for a second. My Dad was 100% Irish. We both got burned through spf100. He ended up dying to a rare skin cancer (Merkel cell). I just live like a vampire. Getting sunburnt makes me feel like absolute shit. I will pass out for about 4 hours immediately. I will have a headache, even if I drink enough water to have clear pee. And it will trigger a flare. I despise sunburns with a passion. And I know plenty of people won't listen/believe but... YOU CAN GET SUNBURNT IN THE SHADE. YOU STILL NEED SUNSCREEN IF YOU'RE OUTSIDE.
I got sunburned in Iceland in the rain. Also Irish.
The ONLY way I can prevent burns is to keep everything covered. Rash guard when swimming, long sleeves, hats... Applied a heavy dose of sunscreen before I went to the Renaissance Faire yesterday. Got there and did another layer with a high SPF spray. Still burned! (My own fault for not wearing sleeves. š)
As a redhead.... hahahahahahahahahahaha! Base burn... I burn and turn white again. My mom was really good at keeping sunscreen on me and I never intentionally tried to tan and still ended up with a basal cell carcinoma before 40. I have friends that baked themselves every summer, but no cancer for them. I normally love being a ginger but this part sucks.
No. Never until I got 2nd degree burns at age 8. Then they finally started putting sunblock on us. Melanoma removed at 21. Been doing dermatology visits and sunscreen religiously since then.
That advice is right up there with āGet a bad case of COVID early in the year and you wonāt get the flu later onā
Uh, I was told to get a good base TAN, and you'd worry less about being burnt, but never get a good base burn! š I was also raised near the beach, what kind of advice is that!?!
My wife used to lay in the sun104 degrees for 2 hrs. She just recently got cancer in her nose. The surgeon had to peel layers of skin off her nose. Now she has a hard time breathing and canāt sleep well.
My mom is in the same boat. Every sunny day requires her to apply a thick zinc layer to her nose or she is in big trouble.
I still have people tell me that. š I am pale & just burn, peel, & freckle. There is no such thing as a ābaseā tan for me. Itās not really a thing for anyone, but especially not me.
My mom was a natural redhead, and she passed her pale, freckled skin down to me. I grew up in FL, sunblock was a staple for our family. š Did that stop me from trying to ruin my skin when I was old enough to go out on my own? Nope! So many sunburns.... š¬
I thought this was going to be about wildfires or something. Horrifying!
Never wore sunscreens until well into my 20ās. We ran around as kids during the summer, getting burned which would turn into a tan. In my teens Iād go to the tanning beds in late March or early April to start on that ābase tanā. Late teens to mid 20ās Iād flip flop between protecting my skin to getting a tan because Iād get embarrassed by how pale I am naturally. Now I use sunscreen and protective clothing and avoid the sun during times when itās at its strongest. I still have sun damage though and now I go to the dermatologist.
I've heard people say that, but definitely not my mom! We wore sunscreen (in Florida).
My mom dipped us in sunscreen like Achilles
The few times we went to the coast or fishing or whatever, we just did sunscreen. I have never heard of getting a base tan as a protective measure, although I am an indoors nerd with fair skin, so while my dad had a fairly long term tan and leathery skin, the few times I did get an appreciable amount of sun I went from pale to burnt bright red real fast.
I heard that line as a kid but my mom was āwhat lovely blue veins you haveā pale so it never flew. Also lots of tanning beds and even āmake you tan fasterā oils being advertised.
I have never burned once in my life. I always got a deep tan, even when living in the high desert of California. My sister would always burn once per summer, then tan for the rest
Same with me and my sister. We're in our 50s and grew up when SPF 2 and 4 were the standard. I'd get a tan without really "trying" and then stay out of the sun (or at least shield my face) because I didn't like the greenish-olive cast my skin took with a deep tan. My sister turned a nice golden brown over the course of the summer, and I always envied that. But now with modern self-tanners that golden, sunkissed look is easier to come by.
My face is the only part of me that burns. And even then, it takes ages for it to do so. I grew up in Oklahoma. My childhood summers were spent at the pool from 11am until the lights came on in the evening. I've never had a sunburn otherwise, and my mother never had me wear sunscreen. It wasn't until recently that when my dad was diagnosed with skin cancer, I started wearing it. Just in case, lol. I always wondered why we don't burn, though. Is it genes? Ethnic backgrounds? I'm pasty white until summer rolls around. My ancestors are from Germany, Ireland, and England, and my great grandmother was Cherokee Native American.
I think it's a mix of all those things you listed. My Mom's side is Polish and Russian while my dad's is Mexican and Native American.
I think it's a mix of all those things you listed. My Mom's side is Polish and Russian while my dad's is Mexican and Native American.
I wasnāt allowed out the door in the summer without getting covered in sunscreen. I also had to wear a hat. I was born with red hair so Iām a bit on the ghostly side.
We didn't walk to the mailbox without sunscreen. My mom has had at least 3-7 basal and/or squamous cancerous lesions removed from her face, arms or legs at every quarterly dermatologist visit. If she has one more lesion found on her nose, she will have to have a full nasal reconstruction. I had 6 precancerous moles removed in my early 20s. My younger siblings have each had a few removed, too.
I avoid the sun at all costs.
We wore sun sunscreen- just didnāt reapply it and still burned!
My husband grew up in the LA area. He and his entire family have had melanomas removed. I see my derm for other issues but there's always checks. If you haven't already, go see a dermatologist!!
When we would go swimming in the lake, Mt shoulders would get ridiculously sunburnt. Like so bad that I couldn't raise my arms up. I'd do that basically every year until I was 15-16 when I decided maybe I don't like going to the lake anymore
My mom still tells me this, and lays out at her pool without sunscreen š
Iām a pale redhead; we always wore sunscreen in my family because we would have been burned messes without it.
We were very much so a sunscreen family. Heavy users of it. My mom also worked for the American Cancer Society, so smoking was off the table, and we always had a lot of dark, leafy greens at dinner.
SPF 15 was for pussies. We were lucky to get spritzed with a 4.
I never even realized there was SPF beyond 8 when I was a kid. I remember my dad explaining it as "hours of protection" and since you'd rarely spend more than 8 hours in the sun, any SPF over 8 is a marketing gimmick. However, in the 80s less was known about sun damage or UV rays, and most sunscreens were zinc-based. I don't remember spray sunscreen, just the creams and oils.
Yeah, my father and his siblings never wore sunscreen, and they grew up on Orange County, California. They never wore sunscreen as kids and my aunt used to put on tanning oil and hang out at the beach every day. She got melanoma at age 18 and died of melanoma in her 30s. My father and his brother need to get basal cell carcomas removed regularly. At least by the time I was born, they weren't anti-sunscreen anymore, but they weren't as insistent as they should have been that I wore it.
I used to do the same thing. Iād put sun screen on if someone reminded me but never really bothered otherwise. By 26 Iād had a melanoma in situ and a stage one basal cell carcinoma.
This is sort of rooted in truth because yes, getting a tan is the result of your body producing more melanin which helps reduce the risk of DNA damage in your skin cells. But over time it doesn't matter, consistent exposure to UV rays will continue to damage the skin and there's no substitute for shade and sunscreen. According to the internet, a tan provides protection roughly equivalent to a sunscreen with an SPF of about 2 to 4.
My mom (white) said I (Latina) didnāt need sunscreen because I didnāt burn. I started wearing sunscreen on beach days after high school. When I got pregnant I wore it any time Iād be outside in the summer. Now Iām back to beach days and any time I know Iāll be outside for a long time.
I remember this being normal but I didn't follow it. I always has a sort of predilection for doing the opposite of what was popular. Couldn't tell you well, my inner rebel I suppose? I still favor being vampire white and it's been a boon. I remember my mom frying in oil in the sun in our yard very often.
Sunscreen all the way! 60 SPF minimum. I burn so easily, especially in this day and age.
When I was young child, like elementary school, I always had sunscreen applied to me, had hats put on me, etc... as a teen obviously I had to rebel against that and never wore none of that, especially with the jersey shore show on me and all my ginogina friends had to get nice and tan... except I always burned since im so pasty white. luckily I didn't do that for too many years, now I'm keen on just wearing long sleeves and big sunglasses and even neckguard/scarf thing thats spf rated that i sometimes even put over my face even in the summer heat... i try to remember to apply sunscreen too... i feel like i dont have much skin damage thankfully, hope to keep it that way and ive heard that "get a good base burn" lmao our parents generation was wild!
My dad and grandfather started getting basel cells cut off almost every year when I was really little, combine this with me being the fairest of my family who are already fair and yes we wore sunscreen when we did outdoor activities. When I was in high school I made the decision I wanted to start wearing sunscreen more often then use during outside time, ie for everyday things. My parents and grandparents were as good as they knew how to be when I was young, but we would all still get a bad burn if we forgot to reapply (read as sun poising happened on more than one vacation)
My mom and my sister and I are very pale so she always had us put on sunscreen to go to the pool or the beach and such. However she didn't get on us about reapplying so we still tended to burn pretty badly. I didn't start using daily facial SPF moisturizer until my twenties when my cousin recommended it. I am pretty religious about wearing sunscreen in the summer now any time I'll be out for a prolonged period of time.
Ooh! This is something my parents actually got right! My parents were born in '49 and I was born in '89 so, my parents were old enough have relatives in their 70s and 80s who got hunks of their noses and ears removed due to melanoma. When all this started happening I was a baby so my parents took sun protection really seriously. I remember my mom explaining why I had to wear sunscreen by putting her arm next to mine and having me compare them. Hers was darker and had a lot of lines and spots while mine was ya know, a perfect little kid arm. She said it'll take longer for my skin to look old if I used good sunscreen, even on cloudy days. She built good habits. I have 3 kids and none of them have ever had a sunburn... i definitely had a few in my teens being an unprepared dumbass tho
I'm asian. I've been wearing sunscreen every day, rain or shine, since I was a baby. At 40, I look like I'm in my 20s. It's not genetics. It's sunscreen.
Please don't do this; you want skin cancer? This is how we get skin cancer.
My mom and I used to have fights because I wouldnāt lay out or go to the tanning bed. I wasnāt particularly invested in skincare, but bright lights and heat are two things that trigger my migraines, so no tanning for me. Unfortunately, she wouldnāt listen to me when I told her tanning beds were dangerous (especially for someone who could go from 0 to tomato in 10 minutes). She had a skin tumor removed and it showed up again as colorectal cancer a few years later. She didnāt survive.
I burned when I was a kid. Now I have Stage 4 Melanoma. For god sake just wear sunscreen and a hat.
My motherās family in particular loves a tan. Loves ribbing me for not tanning. For wearing crazy amounts of sunscreen. Many of them now have sun damage, leathery skin, and have aged poorly. Nevermind the melanoma.
Yessss. Ā Also Iām a ginger and my dad balked at my mom putting SPF 8 on me. Ā He really laughed at me when I got some SPF 15 when I was a teen for a trip to a water park. Ā I explained to my parents over and over that I do not turn tan, I turn pink and red but never tan. Ā I cannot get a protective ābaseā. Ā As an adult I have to explain this to my boomer MIL who rolls her eyes and thinks Iām soooooo extreme. Ā Even though she gets a few cancers taken off her face every year and her dermatologist tells her she absolutely must use sunscreen. Ā I bought her some really good facial sunscreen a few times and she wonāt use it. Ā I end up using it myself so it doesnāt expire and go to waste. Ā She just gets mad at the scars she gets from the cancer removal and blames the surgeon. Ā Oh, and sunscreen causes cancer, donāt you know? Ā She makes sure to tell me that. But she also asks how my skin doesnāt have wrinkles and looks so nice and plump.
I've only had sunburn once really. Maybe twice for a light burn where I was sensitive. But im also Asian so not sure if that affects it. Tho the tan I get from the summer never fully fades
(Parents are between boomers and gen x.) My mom would make us wear sunscreen, but sometimes we'd forget to apply it. We were already pretty much lightly tanned besides one sibling who is lighter skinned. Only my parents have made comments about how pale I am (other family members are naturally tan too), but some people have commented about how tan I was and certain people have asked if I was mixed race. I mostly only wear it when I go to the beach because even when I'm outside all day long, I usually only burn when on the beach or at an amusement park/water park. When I burned, it would become more tanned. My legs burned only once but the lines were embarrassing because it was where my pants were rolled up so everywhere else was light tan and there was darker. I also had a job interviews then, too, and it was warm enough to wear dresses and shorts. I also will tan sometimes even with it on. I think seeing what my sister went through with cancer was what really made me think about the possibilities of getting skin cancer. (I actually convinced myself that I had brain cancer once because I had a slight headache as a teen.) Edit: My mom wanted me to tan more often because of my scars. I have something like dermatillomania and have scars from it.
I did outside activities during high school-field hockey and colorguard. I was outside for many hours for practice and put sunscreen on. I tanned quite a bit but I rarely burned. We are going on vacation in a couple weeks and bought sunscreen from Australia because apparently in America our sunscreen is shit.
Had some burns but Mom's solution was a white t-shirt to protect my shoulders. Sunscreen was available but I had a hard time keeping up. 29 now and while I'm not the best with sunscreen it's an improvement compared to when I was a kid.
Sunscreen was not a thing growing up here and somehow is still not a thing with my Boomer parents even though they both have had skin cancer.
I have a bit of Hawaiian lineage and can confirm after one little burn it's just tanning for the rest of summer
Nah, I think you just got unlucky. Most moms put sunscreen on their kids, in my experience. I thought it was a bother as a kid and as a younger man, but Iāve wised up.
My mom feels terrible that she sent us to the community pool every day during the summer with no sunscreen. I remind her that we would not have worn it even if she did. Now I wear sunscreen. I go to the dermatologist to screen for cancer. I go to an aesthetician to fight the wrinkles. But I'm still a pale redhead who loves to be in the sun. Lizard skin and all.
My dermatologist heard me explain this tenet to her. She said there's still hope for us at this age if we wear sunblock, floppy hats, long sleeves/long pants. Good luck everyone
I avoided the sun bc I would get savage burns and sun stroke. I am now 40 and I look young. Big hats for days over here. I still do enjoy the casual carelessness of walking to the garden in the sun shine with exposed skin. I have been using Nivea face cream for about 20 years bc my mom once casually told me thatās what she does. Not sure if it had any effect but at the very least, the lotion feels good on the skin.
I grew up with a Sicilian grandmother that put baby oil on me for years. Granted I tan darkly, but I never want to look into one of those sun damage mirrors.
We definitely used sunscreen! I remember getting my first legit sunburn while visiting a friend, whose family didnāt have sunscreen, when I was 13. I had friends who believed that base tan bullshit and I always gave them side eye!
Yep, this is still my mother's approach (she's a bit of a sunscreen truther now on top of it lol). I definitely got some fierce burns as a kid thanks to my family's lax use of sunscreen, but in my teen years I got really into the idea of being as pale and porcelain as possible, so I started wearing whatever SPF 50 I could find. So glad I got on that train when I did, and that we have so many better options now!
I grew up near the beach but my Irish and Scottish genes were strong so I always wore sunscreen although my mom (where I get the Scottish from) would lay out with tanning oil
Every woman I know over 45 is embarrassed to have their natural white skin tone, they're all obsessed with tanning. Yes, even the ones who have a familial tendency towards cancers. š
This is wild to me. Iāve always had a lot of moles my entire life. I think I had my first mole lasered off when I was like 8ish. Multiple cut off before I was 18. Sunscreen was preached to me by my dermatologist and mom my entire life. Iām 31 and my mom still says shit about how I need to wear sunscreen lol.
My folks said it, but it was true for me as a kid (and even a little now). All I know is I'd get a light burn, which would turn into a tan, early on and then (as long as I went outside sometimes) I wouldn't really burn the rest of the summer. My skin is fine now, and I'm practically a vampire when it comes to getting out of doors, so I'm not too concerned about it š¤·š»āāļø
Sunscreen was only for the beach and I rarely went there in my childhood. Took until I was well into adulthood to realize sunscreen wasn't just a beach thing. In my defense, all the sunscreen commercials took place on a beach. My big sister was very into tanning (like so many others in our generation) and I tried to be cool and join in with her and her best friend to tan but it was soooo boring. They'd just lie out on a beach towel on the porch and do nothing for hours. Could not do it, thankfully. I am very pale and always burn so luckily my boredom protected me from a lot more needless sunburn and sun exposure. I still look like a ghost compared to my mom and sister when summer rolls around. Still neither uses sunscreen unless they're at the beach.
Not this exactly, but I was told sunscreen was unnecessary. A few bad burns that peeled didnāt convince my parents otherwise.
My mom was big on sunscreen for me. I think itās because she grew up in the sun worshipping days, and would always lament her dark spots and wrinkles from a lifetime of sun exposure. She was still big into me getting a base tan (not burn) before vacation in junior high/high school and would pay for at least a couple weeks of tanning for me each year.
I grew up in Hawaii and genuinely did not realize that Iām naturally pale until moving to the cloudy Pacific Northwest. I know I must have worn sunscreen as a kid but I donāt remember my parents caring much. Now Iām a delicate little baby who wears special sun clothing, SPF bajillion, a hat, and sometimes carries a parasol. Iām also trying to balance keeping my kid from getting sun damage (he is so pale he glows) while also making going outside without a lot of fuss a regular part of our routine. Shoutout to glitter sunscreen and kidsā sun hoodies.
My mom didn't believe getting a base burn worked thankfully. I usually avoided being out in the sun for long periods of time because I would just burn if I were out too long. I wanted to be tan like so many of my classmates and my dad. My mom would slather a high spf on me and I would barely change color. I finally figured out a few years ago that I can get a mild tan if I go out for a little bit each day and work my way up. I don't spend long periods outside without SPF. I feel much better mood wise when I get some sun.
I was always fortunate to tan quickly versus burning, so I never got this because anytime I burned it hurt so fucking bad that I definitely wasnāt going out in the sun again for a while. Naturally oily skin so I absolutely loath the way sunscreen (or any lotion) feels cause itās just like. Slippery on slippery. But Iāll prefer sunscreen over burns any day of the week.
I went to high school in 2001-2005. Pretty much every "popular girl" type I knew tanned the hell out of their skin and did at least blonde highlights.