Anyone have an idea why some people burn and others don't? I talked to a pakistani guy who said when he gets lot of sun exposure he'll turn dark brown but his brother just burns. I thought that is interesting. I'm luck enough that I don't burn easily, I remember down in San Diego going to the beach on a warm overcast day and between the white sand and clouds it felt like I was in a microwave.
The worst sun burn I've ever had... Ironically enough was from welding. In a cut off button up in early spring.
I typically get pretty red once early in the summer (no peeling) then I'm good all year. I get a healthy tan but my brother is as blond as me and after working outside a couple days he is as brown as a biscuit. I mean, he gets 'randomly' searched at the airport in the summer.
My GF on the other hand could burn twice a week.
benzbaronDaryn wrote: Anyone have an idea why some people burn and others don't? I talked to a pakistani guy who said when he gets lot of sun exposure he'll turn dark brown but his brother just burns. I thought that is interesting. I'm luck enough that I don't burn easily, I remember down in San Diego going to the beach on a warm overcast day and between the white sand and clouds it felt like I was in a microwave.
It's the amount of melanin in the skin. When you have more, you turn darker faster protecting your skin cells from the UV rays. When you have less (or none like us Gingers) you burn from the UV rays faster, damaging the skin cells.
My father gets a good "burn" (read: turns red for 3 days then turns brown) early in the spring. Then for the rest of the year doesnt get affected by the sun at all. I burn every week.
FranktheTank wrote: The worst sun burn I've ever had... Ironically enough was from welding. In a cut off button up in early spring. I typically get pretty red once early in the summer (no peeling) then I'm good all year. I get a healthy tan but my brother is as blond as me and after working outside a couple days he is as brown as a biscuit. I mean, he gets 'randomly' searched at the airport in the summer. My GF on the other hand could burn twice a week.
My brothers both have brown hair. In the summer when they're caddying, they have each been mistaken for Mexicans. By Mexicans. My older brother has a minor in Spanish and was able to fool a really dumb kid for awhile.
Me? I'm blond with blue eyes. I usually end up getting burnt once (even with sunscreen), then slowly start to get tan, providing that I am in the sun every day. Takes a long time though.
I like to get these "UPF50" shirts and combine them with sunscreen and a wide brim hat. But mostly I stay out of the sun if I can (not to the point where I stay in the basement all year).
I wore my sandals for the first time this past SUnday on the mower. For 2 hours. 2. Friggin. Hours. I'm burnt so bad on the tops of my feet and ankles that it hurts with every movement. I've been putting on aloe for the last 2 days every few hours and it just soaks in instantly.
It sucks.
Welding will give a bad burn because of the intensity of the UV light. Button up your collar, or you will regret it. I know this from bad experience.
The UPF 50 shirts work, but so do lots of regular shirts. The main benefit of the UPF 50 shirts is that they are usually made with vents and out of fabric that will keep the air circulating around you to keep you cool.
Marinading and slowly roasting in your own sweat is just kind of nasty.
Past about SPF 30, you're looking at increasingly diminishing returns... SPF 100 isn't twice as good as 50, it's not even twice as good as 30 (though is sort of is for sunburn, but not the more dangerous UVB).
The European Union said:Moreover, the increase in protection is only linear in the case of sunburn, that is to say, a product with sun protection factor 30 protects twice as well from sunburn as product with a sun protection factor of 15. However, a product with sun protection factor 15 absorbs 93 % of UVB radiation, and a product with sun protection factor 30 absorbs 97 % of UVB radiation. Finally, sun protection factors above 50 do not substantially increase the protection from UV radiation.
I slather on the previously mentioned Neutragena Sport 30 SPF. I'm not exactly sure what "Helioplex" is, but it seems to do the trick.
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