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5 common sun protection mistakes

Think you’re sun smart? Unfortunately, you’re probably making at least one of these common mistakes when it comes to protecting yourself from the sun’s harmful rays. Here’s how to make sure you’re doing everything you can to protect yourself

By Stephanie Gray

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1. You don’t reapply

Every morning you diligently apply SPF and pack a bottle of sunscreen when you know you’re going to be out all day, but chances are you’re not reapplying as frequently as you should. “People think that buying a high SPF will allow them to put it on once and leave it on, but that’s not true,” explains Anastasia Ivanova, Campaign Manager for La Roche-Posay’s MySkinCheck. “Regardless of the SPF, you need to reapply every two hours.” Dr. Sandy Skotnicki, Medical Director of the Bay Dermatology Centre agrees, “You need to reapply every two hours as the chemical sunscreens break down in the sun.”

For casual exposures, say running a couple errands outside or going to work, newer technologies in sunscreens such as Neutrogena, La Roche-Posay and Ombrelle, will last eight hours, assuming you aren’t jumping in the water or excessively sweating. “A good habit to get into is to apply a bit of sunscreen to the arms, chest and face before you dress in the morning,” says Dr. Skotnicki. “I would not worry about reapplying in these cases, unless you’re high risk, which means, fair skin, freckles, over 50 moles or a family history of skin cancer.”

Swimming or sweating up a storm? Even if you’re using a sunscreen that has a “water-resistant” or “sweat-proof” label, you need to reapply shortly after. “Water-resistant means it retains its SPF 45 minutes after bathing,” says Ivanova. “You won’t lose it right when you go in the water, but after that it will deteriorate, so you need to reapply.”

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9 Comments

I too believe that the sunscreen wave is all about marketing and sales. Every single person that has commented in favor of sunscreen has offered nothing creative as far as thought and statistics. All they have done is reiterated the same marketing crap that has been fed to us for the past 20 -30 years. They all testify to the "claims" made by the people reaping millions from scare tactics fed to the masses in order to sell their wares. We watch movies and laugh at people taken in by "snake oil" salesman; look carefully my friends there appears to be a strong parallel. And yes it will be much easier to criticize me and fork over the 10 bucks for your "sun remedy" then to become conscious. "If one dares to be conscious then they must bear the weight of consciousness"..Jung,

Submitted by kennybigrig on Thu, 2012-06-21 9:29pm.

To the person that said sun screen is a marketing ploy-are you KIDDING me? Actual cancer research teams have studied it for years and KNOW that sun screen assists, even though staying out of the sun is the best way to avoid skin cancer. It is not just Banana Boat saying hey, use this product! So would you leave your children out in the sun all day without lotion, because its some sort of conspiracy? The rates of skin cancer have sky rocketed; its cool to be tan, especially in North America. You can look those rates up and see if thats all made up as well. People could have been dying from skin cancer for years! And likely have! Cancers can start as skin cancer from a simple mole and then spread, turning into many other sorts of cancers. Yes, some Vitamin D is good for you but no one needs to bake in the sun. It causes early aging, i.e. sun spots, liver spots, wrinkles, etc and people getting skin cancer are younger and younger. Tanning beds should be banned! Protect yourself!!

Submitted by sara on Wed, 2012-06-20 1:44pm.

In response to the person who complained about not including darker skinned and bi-racial people in the article.....really??? Why should anyone in particular be mentioned? It is common sense that fair skinned people are more prone to sunburn and skin damage, duh! Everyone, no matter pale skinned, various shades of darker skin, whatever colour, PUT on sunscreen!

Submitted by Hettie V. on Tue, 2012-06-19 4:21pm.

This is Canada where there are a lot of brown people as well as bi-racial people. Where were we reflected in this article??? A large mistake is that people of colour do not need sun protection. Therefore this article missed a large swath of people.

Please ensure that in this digital age that you write pieces that are of use to and include all of the people in the neighborhood.

Submitted by P Moore on Tue, 2012-06-19 12:38pm.

Using sun screen to protect your skin or to make richer and richer labs around the word........??? Just stay out of the sun or go in it early in the morning or late in the day.

Submitted by Lola on Tue, 2012-06-19 12:34pm.

I have never used sunscreen, as far as I am concerned I think the whole thing is just a marketing ploy by the manufacturers of the products, if it is totally nessacary why weren't people dieing enmasse of skin cancer before it was invented. It is all just BS

Submitted by RKO on Tue, 2012-06-19 8:04am.

Sun screen?Idiots.Sun screen wont protect you from skin cancer.In the US the # 1 state for skin cancer is Michigan not California or Florida or Nevada.Why is that??????The sun is natures way of protecting us from cancer and disease.Get your vitamin D level checked and unless you are taking a supplement no doubt you will be way below the range of 175 to 250.In Canada this test is not covered by OHIP and will cost you ($33.00 I think).Why is this simple blood test not covered????Hmmm.Use common sense and stay out of the sun for prolonged periods or wear loose clothing and a hat.Im thinking sun screen could be more dangerous than the sun.Well thats my opinion.

Submitted by ron on Tue, 2012-06-19 6:55am.

A word to the wise, yes wear sunscreen every day, on your face even in the winter - my dermatologist told me to do that. I am of that age where I used to (with my English porcelain nice skin) pour the baby oil on and lie in the sun, complete with home made aluminum relfectors! . I'd get very burned and yes, after all the redness did turn a very light tan. Thank goodness my skin wasn't permanently damaged. BUT I do have some brown spots. I have tried two different types of lasers and neither of them helped - the operator said she'd never seen that happen - said the spots are too deep. So now I never lie out in the sun and embrace that porcelain skin. When I do feel like having a "glow" I use Tan Towels which can only be purchased, believe it or not, from The Shopping Channel, especially on my legs. They never leave streaks and you can keep applying if you want to go darker. You can get dressed right away (never staining on clothes). I don't care if living in this big city I am surrounded by "healthy" looking very tanned people. Oh yes, used to go to sunbeds too and think they should be banned, not only to under age kids but closed permanently, espec. after my doc explained to me all about it. Spray tan - maybe, only if you can find someone who doesn't make you orange which they all tend to do. I live near the beach in Canada - sure we don't get a lot of sun in Vancouver, but when it does get hot, it's hot (for here away) and I honestly cringe at young (and much) older people lying out. I also see here (like in Florida) old people down there who have awful dried out, dark skin. This post is long, sorry for that, but I feel so strongly on this point.

Submitted by Pirjo on Fri, 2012-06-15 11:09am.

What happened about that guy in 2day's Yahoo story? It's somin about him getting sunburned after he put on sunscreen?I can't read the story but wonder if he fell asleep after a while & it wore off.:(

Submitted by nas on Wed, 2012-06-06 5:48pm.