I have been in outside sales many years and have driven over 600,000 miles. Guess where my first skin cancer showed up? On the left side of my face and ear. So I thought about the driving connection and my Dermatologist confirmed it. Although untinted car window glass can block some UV radiation it does not stop it all. Now I put Coppertone Sport 48 on everyday before I go out. I carry a wide brimmed explorer hat with me everywhere - have an extra one in the car. This whole skin cancer thing has been a bummer - I am a typical male and never wanted that slimy lotion on me. Did not lay out in the sun on purpose very much. Just never protected myself. I wish somebody had grabbed a hold of me when I was a kid and warned me but nobody knew about the danger back then and would I really listen? All these bad habits we do - many times we hear the warnings and just ignore - then many years later pay. Like eating too many carbs!

To Quinadal,

45 minutes should be plenty from what I remember - just incidental sun even that I get with protection is enough. Sun screens only cut down - do not eliminate all UV absorption. If you burn that readily then you should put on sun screen before you go out. I know there are good facial cosmetic creams that women use that also contain sunscreen.

After being on the beach for days (slathered in sunscreen), I showered and changed for the drive home. THAT is when I got sunburned (no, I don't drive a convertible or a super econobox). Ain't that something!

Jinx

Less than 15 minutes of sun exposure on a forearm will give you all the vitamin D your body needs for the day.

My aunt had skin cancer. The kind that makes your face basically peel away and come off your skull. Sounds gross? It was.

When I was 19, my dermatologist pulled out a book of plastic surgeries done on former beauty pagent contestants. Some of them were even state winners. All of them had gone to tanning booths or kept tans in the summer. All of them had also lost most of their nose, sides of their foreheads, and tops of their ears.

Skin cancer is the most prevalent cancer in the world. We have so much more environmental damage than we did 50 years ago, and the rate of cancer is expected to keep doubling every few years.

Besides cancer - tans really take a toll on skin firmness. I live in Florida, and nothing is grosser than a 40-year old woman's wrinkly, saggy, leathery chest in a low-cut shirt. There's no reason for a 40-year old to look like that.

If you want a nice image of what it can do to your skin, compare the backs of your hands (frequent exposure) to your butt (probably little exposure, unless you use tanning beds). Your butt undoubtedly looks better.

There is a very interesting, informative article in the June issue of Reader's Digest. Just read it with an open mind. Remember, there was probably a time when you thought low-carb was a lot of bunk, also.

The amount of time needed for your daily requirement of vitamin D isn't hardly long enough for anyone to get a burn, although some are more susceptible to sunburn than others.

Reader's Digest web site is:
www.rd.com

The web site is not very helpful. It just gives the title as "The Healing Vitamin" and says it is on p. 140. I guess you'll just have to read the real thing.

I guess you can tell by my user name that I love the sun. I spent most of my teens and twenties sunbathing, but now am just too busy to lay out.

I do enjoy being outdoors and am 100% more energized on sunny days.

In 45 minutes, I can get a burn, just in the backyard!(I'm one of those redheads, who only look tan when moving-the freckles appear to blur ) The last time I was down the shore was in 1980, & I actually got blisters-THROUGH a T-shirt, in New Jersey,no less- I probably wouldn't have survived Hawaii
Having ALMOST learned my lesson- I will sunscreen for extended periods, but I should probably do it forr lesser timeframes too.

Ok here are my rules for sunbathing:

I never directly tan my face - I use bronzer, bronzing blushes etc. or self tanner to bring the color up to match my body - just a shade or two.

I try to restrict the time I'm exposed in the direct sun to the morning hours when the rays aren't as strong.

I don't use a very strong SPF - I use a mixture of coconut oil & SPF 8 - but I tan pretty easy, do not burn too often

I am going on 37 and people comment that I look younger I think because I never baked my face or my body for that matter!! I have a friend that used to go to Florida every year for spring break and she looks like she could be my mother - crazy - huh?

Years ago tho whe I was like 5 I remember my older sisters taking me to the public pool in New York with their bottle of Johnson's Baby Oil and putting it all over them and me and they would just bake in the son. I don't ever remember getting burned though because I think they probably covered me up sooner than they did themselves!!