sunprotection?

[Dashzap]

I hate wearing hats, they are too hot when you have thick hair. I sunburn though, and sunscreen doesn't completely solve the problem. I'm interested what you all do... I've tried all the above options at one time or other...

 

[mmessler]

I hate wearing hats, they are too hot when you have thick hair. I sunburn though, and sunscreen doesn't completely solve the problem. I'm interested what you all do... I've tried all the above options at one time or other...

Have you tried visors instead of a full hat? Same sun protection, not as uncomfortable with a full head of thick curly hair. Trust me, I know.

 

[nbodyhome]

I actually have some sun protective clothing, I bought my last set of clothing from Stingray in Australia (including a soft hat with a brim). I also wear some sunblock, but the clothing is VERY lightweight and then I don't have to wear much sunblock. It isn't cheap, but I love taking it on vacation as it's lightweight. I wash it in the shower with me and it's dry by morning.

There are American companies also like Solumbra, I don't like their clothing as much (fashion wise, and it is pricier). I haven't tried any others.

I've had pre-melanoma, and a great dermatologist where I used to live suggested I get the sun clothing. I wish I had done it sooner. I live in FL, you can never be too careful.

 

[Heluvsme]

My mom, her brother, and my grandfather all died from Melanoma, so as you can imagine we are fanatical about sunscreen (note to self: buy stock in suncscreen company ).....anyways.....we use a lot of sunscreen, and for our parts on our heads, I dab it on with a Q-Tip. It's always the part that gets burned on us, so 2 summers ago, out of desperation, I tried a Q-Tip and just dabbed on a 50 SPF and it worked fabulously!! I've done it ever since and we've not gotten burned on our parts in our hair anymore. Now my dh, he has very short hair, so he has to wear a hat. We've tried the scalp protector spray-on sunscreen, but it is really oily and none of us like the feel of it.

But I agree with you, hats are so hot, they work great, but soooo hot.

 

[scorpad99]

Only sun screens that contain Zinc really protect you from the sun, and only a few actually contain that. Believe it or not the NO AD pink bottle for babies has it in it, and thats all we use, that and the stick for the face that they also make. We never get burnt as long as we started using Zinc! And you can also buy pure Zinc in a tiny round package and directly put that where u burn the most.

 

[Todd&Copper]

I use hats, but take them off once I am indoors or in the shade (I have thick hair that is medium brown and it gets hot enough to fry and egg if I don't wear a hat).

 

[nbodyhome]

The BEST sunscreen ingredient, developed by Loreal, is supposed to be Mexoryl. It has been in Europe for years, and finally was approved last year for the US.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=47957

Here is an interesting article from ABC news from 2005, before it was approved:

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=858453&page=1

It has been in Europe for almost 15 years, and I'm going to see if I can find it in Paris next month for any less than what it is going for here (pricewise). It isn't a cheap sunscreen, but it is supposed to be the absolute best for protecting the skin. The sun protective clothing I use is supposed to have an SPF of 50, but that doesn't mean it covers every inch of me (it doesn't).

In Europe, the sunscreen is Ombrelle. In the US, Anthelios SX.

 

[WillCAD]

SPF 50 for me. Anything less is like just putting BBQ sauce on.

 

[Tasmen]

I'm pretty lucky to have been born with olive hued skin so when I do go out into the sun, I tan rather than burn. However, I never go out into the sun without sunscreen. I'm too darn scared of melanoma and I like looking younger than my actual age. My DH, however, is not so lucky. He burns and burns and burns. We usually apply a lot of sunscreen before we venture into concrete laden parks. We also reapply it after lunch just to be safe. I've found the sunscreen sold at Aveda to be really good. It works great for us plus it smells wonderful. I haven't tried the loreal brand sunscreen, but I may get some of that for May and give it a try.

 

[ZoZo]

I found a lightweight hat that I really like - it's a Columbia hat that's ventilated (has a mesh panel around the crown). Extremely lightweight and has a nice brim. It's called "Bora Bora Booney." It's on the Columbia web site www.columbia.com (and also other places like REI and Eddie Bauer, I think). Comes in several colors. It could be worn by either men or women.

I wear it on Saturdays, when I volunteer at my local zoo and am outdoors all day. I'm also fanatical about sunscreen (two relatives in their 20s have had melanoma), but like the added protection of a hat.

The Columbia site has lots of different kinds of hats - happy shopping!

 

[Along4theRide]

I'm not a hat person and I am certainly not going to carry anything in excess-like an umbrella...so just sunscreen for me!! I'll try to make the kids wear hats, but i'm going to force them. I don't like them, so they may not either.

 

[nbodyhome]

. I haven't tried the loreal brand sunscreen, but I may get some of that for May and give it a try.

Like I said - it is more expensive, BUT I've had pre-melanoma and skin protection is so important for me. It's taken so long for this product to finally reach the US.

But definitely check out sun protective clothing as well! The clothing is so lightweight - and dries quickly if it gets wet. I like the clothing because I can wear it over and over and it doesn't melt off me and doesn't need to be reapplied.

I just bought some Banana Boat stick recently to have something around (easy and quick to apply), but I will be switching to Loreal this year (I'm going to Paris in a few weeks, so I'll check there first to see if it's less expensive).