Comments on Cranky Fitness: Fun in the Sun?

You're up a gum-tree, as they say in the antipodes...

2008-08-14T18:32:00.000-04:00

You're up a gum-tree, as they say in the antipodes. Learn to love the sun. Learn its rules, then it doesn't bite! Have you ever seen a mother crocodile pick up its newly hatched babies and carry them in her mouth, between those rows of vicious-looking teeth, to a safe place in the water? They don't bite her and she doesn't bite them. Miraculous, but then so is nature when you know the rules.
So; Rule #1: The sun is your friend, not your enemy. You make vitamin D from sunlight, and Vitamin D gives you strong bones protection from cancer.
Rule #2: Wrong food is your enemy. Know your blood type to understand what food is desirable and what is to be avoided.
Rule #3: Vitamin A protects the skin from sunlight. Vitamin E protects Vitamin A.
Rule #4: Go naked in the sun. Use stinging nettle tincture diluted 50:50 with water as a sun protector. Also take homeopathic stinging nettle (Urtica Urens) before and after going in the sun. Always condition your skin after the sun with Neways After Sun Care cream.

Every spring I go backpacking and this leaves me e...

2008-07-28T09:10:00.000-04:00

Every spring I go backpacking and this leaves me exposed, on mountain ridges for hours and hours a day. I'm blond, blue-eyed and fair skinned.

I *hate* sunscreen, and with no shower available, it's really impractical anyway. So...I cover up. There are a lot of super lightweight wicking fabrics that allow me to wear long sleeves. I wear running tights anyway because I think they are more comfortable.

I use a bandana and a baseball hat combo to cover my neck area and the hat shades my face. The bandana can also be soaked in a stream, and when it's drying out next to your head, it's very cooling.

Yeah, I look a little dippy, but I'm not overly hot and I don't get sunburned. The only problem I have is my wrists and backs of my hands.

When I was a wee tot, mom put me in a white t-shirt at the beach to prevent the burn, and that seemed to work well. She's one of those people who tans easily and often and is totally unrepentant about doing so.

Great post. My two cents:1. I have sunscreen -- Cl...

2008-07-02T14:22:00.000-04:00

Great post. My two cents:

1. I have sunscreen -- Clinique Super Defense spf 25.
2. I rarely wear it -- mostly because I'm pregnant and am worried about the chemicals affecting baby. And because I'm lazy.
3. The sunblock/chemicals thing is really, really confusing, especially when you start looking at nanoparticles. What I've used for when we go to the beach, etc. (not often) is EWG's rankings -- I pick the lowest one of a brand I can actually find at a store and that's reasonably priced. I tried Dr. Hauschka for sensitive skin and it caused massive breakouts.

I work in the pharmaceutical industry (but I don't...

2008-06-24T09:34:00.000-04:00

I work in the pharmaceutical industry (but I don't understand half of what I hear!) But I have learned that special interest groups will twist any findings to fit what they want people to hear.

I have a friend who says Chemistry is Chemistry. I guess that means that a chemical reaction for one thing won't necessarily cause the same chemical in something else. So unless it has been specifically tested and proven for that particular thing - don't believe it. Just because it has ingredients that 'have been known to cause blah blah blah' in one formulation or another, it doesn't mean that it will in this instance. (but it also doesn't mean that it WON'T). It is something that needs to be further tested to prove one way or the other.

Now - I have no idea if they made any sense at all - since I really don't know what I'm talking about!

:-)

I despise applying sunblock (especially if I'm put...

2008-06-15T16:30:00.000-04:00

I despise applying sunblock (especially if I'm putting it on my arms and have to wait for it to dry before I put my shirt on...I'm so impatient!). But I must wear it, at least when I'm going to be outside for any length of time, because I am Very Pale.

whoa, thats gotta hurt! and i cant believe how whi...

2008-06-11T18:38:00.000-04:00

whoa, thats gotta hurt! and i cant believe how white she was before -_- I feel bad for her... i bet that week was one to remember (in a bad way ;)

Sunscreen can be goopy- but is worth it for the sk...

2008-06-10T17:02:00.000-04:00

Sunscreen can be goopy- but is worth it for the skin protection! I love my Dove moisturizer because it comes with some sun protection (only SPF 15, I think... but better than nothing!).

I'm saving all these recommendations. It's been tw...

2008-06-10T08:55:00.000-04:00

I'm saving all these recommendations. It's been two years, I think, since I looked at the Skin Deep site, and clearly it's time I made a list and went around stores doing another sniff test.

Mary Anne, wearing sunblock and hats in Kentucky, even though all my skin cancer relatives were living in Alabama and Florida

This is a bit of a no-brainer in Australia. The s...

2008-06-10T04:30:00.000-04:00

This is a bit of a no-brainer in Australia. The sun is so strong and 1 in 3 Australians will develop a skin cancer in their lives. As a fair skinned person who burns at the sight of the sun I have had strangers on the street tell me off for looking a little "rosie".

There is a huge selection of sunscreens available in Australia. My personal favorite is Megan Gale's Invisible Zinc range. They use ZinClear - invisible zinc - so are relatively chemical free (no PABA or PABA derivitives). They come in clear and tinted - I use the tinted version as foundation in summer. Non-greasy, moisturising and a great all-round every-day block. (30+ as well!)

Not sure if it's available outside Oz, but you can get it on the net.

Being that I am of northern European heritage, I a...

2008-06-09T23:28:00.000-04:00

Being that I am of northern European heritage, I am very pale. No, I think that pale is an inaccurate description: ghostly is better.

I can pretty much guarantee a sunburn with thirty minutes of sun exposure unprotected. This time of year if I as much as run errands I use sunscreen. I prefer Clinique SPF 55. It doesn't irritate my skin and it has a version that I can put on top of my make up with minimal problems (it works-- don't ask me how).

I read somewhere that anything over 35 serves no purpose. I have no idea if this is true or not, but I still buy nothing less that a 55.

Sunscreen spilled in my bag in Cozumel and got all over my passport back in 1999. To this day it still smells like coconut.

Good Times, Good Times,

Karen

I'm an Aussie, and we certainly do take sun protec...

2008-06-09T22:48:00.000-04:00

I'm an Aussie, and we certainly do take sun protection seriously here. We have very high rates of skin cancer, which are unfortunately rising at the moment.

Here we have a campaign called "Slip, slop, slap." It means slip on a t-shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat. Some schools even make wearing a hat compulsory for children when they are outside.

We have a huge variety of sunscreens and protective clothing here. I also hate the gunky feel of most sunscreens so I get the gel based ones where possible. These have an unpleasant alcohol smell at first, but they go on easily and are absorbed well by the skin, and I've never been burned using them. I'm not sure if they are available in the US though. We are also getting more of the titanium dioxide and "invisible zinc" sunscreens. I have no idea what the chemical composition of these are like though, I've never really worried about that sort of thing, although I might check up on them now.

I also have some facial moisturisers with SPF 15 from an American brand called Paula's Choice (not sure how you feel about links in comments, but the website should be easy to find with a Google search). They are fantastic, don't feel at all icky, and use avobenzone as the active ingredient. They are much better than any other moisturising sunscreen I've ever tried. The woman who runs this company is a huge advocate of using sunscreen everyday to protect your skin from sun damage, and her products are very carefully developed to not irritate or be dangerous. She reviews and recommends other brands, as well as selling her own line. Some great general skin care info there as well.

Apologies for the very long comment. It's my first one on your blog. I love your posts, very amusing!

Bathing in chemicals- I hate to see what they'd sa...

2008-06-09T22:28:00.000-04:00

Bathing in chemicals- I hate to see what they'd say about the sunscreen I just bought for your face that has bronzer in it!

I'm a recent convert to sunblock, too, from the olden days of sun worshipping. So my comment to all this is DANG IT!!!! I think it's still what I want to do, though, rather than have a leather face at age 45.

Also, I heard you can absorb vitamin D through your eyes, as well as skin? I googled it, though & I didn't find a good explanation. (????)

I agree with the hat & clothing advice...I'm a big...

2008-06-09T21:12:00.000-04:00

I agree with the hat & clothing advice...

I'm a big fan of homemade products (although I don't make / use them as much as I wish I did). I googled 'homemade sunscreen' and came up with a couple recipes using natural oils and stuff to create sunscreen - one says it comes out as a cream!

Might be worth a shot...at least then you know what you're slathering on! And natural oils provide great moisture, too.

I hate sunscreen and rarely use it. My long runs ...

2008-06-09T20:05:00.000-04:00

I hate sunscreen and rarely use it. My long runs are in the morning and my afternoon runs are short, so I build up a tan naturally in the summer without any burning. I'm also genetically primed to tan easily rather than burn, as long as I don't do anything crazy like go out in the mid-day sun for hours and hours.

I think most people can successfully get healthy sun exposure just by being sensible about when and how long they're outside. Some people are, of course, predisposed to melanomas and they should be more careful, but in general I think it's best to avoid both heavy sun and sunscreen. Have outdoor fun early and late, and spend the afternoons indoors!

Some great recommendations, thank you all!(I'm gl...

2008-06-09T19:49:00.000-04:00

Some great recommendations, thank you all!

(I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks most sunscreens suck).

And thanks, Dragonmama/naomi w, it's cool to know you're the same person.

1) I use the evil sunscreen, ack....2) Other optio...

2008-06-09T19:47:00.000-04:00

1) I use the evil sunscreen, ack....
2) Other options might be "physical block" sunscreens (some even made by the same company) which are zinc oxide or titanium dioxide - used to be primarily Aussie suncreens (those folks are SERIOUS about sun protection) but more mfrs are jumping on the bandwagon now that they can make smaller particles to address the old "white paint on mhy face" problem (now transparent or can be rubbed in to be less obvious). Other benefits are that they are "instant" - you don't have to wait 15+ minutes to go outside after putting them on (yes, you're supposed to wait that long for the chemical ones to bond/react and be effective; I keep the physical ones at work for lunchtime outings), they are often less irritating to those w/ sensitive skin (no stinging chemicals) and they are more safe for kids. One drawback might be their waterproofed-ness.
3) There is some good sun protective clothing out there. If you're in a high sun area, it may be worth the investment. My favorite is stuff from Sun Precautions - incredibly light, and I've worn it hiking in Arizona in June with no sunscreen under it and no problems. Coolibar is another catalog - less pricey, but heavier. Even the regular mfrs like Columbia, REI and others are making clothing w/ higher SPF. Still need some sunscreen, but an improvement.

I hate putting on sunscreen, which is why I opt to...

2008-06-09T19:31:00.000-04:00

I hate putting on sunscreen, which is why I opt to look like a dork and carry a red umbrella with me all summer long.

PS: This is the poster formerly known as naomi w. Since there's another Naomi who posts here, I figured I'd avoid confusion by reverting to my usual online moniker.

I'm with the crowd that tries the cover up with cl...

2008-06-09T18:24:00.000-04:00

I'm with the crowd that tries the cover up with clothes method, and sunscreen for the parts we don't cover in summer(face, hands, forearms, knees on down). We use the spray on in the blue bottle, LOL, when we remember, and try to just spray it on without having to rub it in because of the slime factor. I will definitely spray on sunscreen if I have any tattoos showing, as the UV fades the ink.

I remember using several different sunscreens on Rose Bowl flea market days in the early 90s, and 15 minutes after I put it on I'd get dizzy and nauseous, and it took me awhile to realize that the chemicals in the potion were making me ILL! So I didn't trust it much after that for a long time. Now I'm okay with (just went to look) Coppertone Sport rub free spray SPF 30. In moderation.
I see all the damage on my left arm from all my years of getting a truck driver's tan, and wish I had listened to my grandma more, but as a kid I lived in the desert and was always in the sun, then spent so much time outside growing up that tanning was just part of living.

Now with supposedly even more UV rays coming through than when those of us who are Boomers were kids, it's probably better to stay out of the sun or use sunscreen when in it.

But I'm getting tired of trying to find a way through the cancer obstacle course. It seems like currently just about everything about modern living causes cancer.

For face and neck I highly recommend Origins "Have...

2008-06-09T18:04:00.000-04:00

For face and neck I highly recommend Origins "Have a Nice Day". It says SPF 15, but I have been in blazing sun for 2 hours and while my (unprotected) arms got a light burn, my face and neck were totally unscathed. Costs a LOT, but the little jar lasts a really long time...I usually buy one every 1-2 years and I use the stuff every day. A little goes a long way since there's Titanium Dioxide in it, yeah, the (white) stuff old lifeguards used to wear. Since it's a physical barrier, it's really effective. And a tiny dab spread all over the face is all I need, pretty much, unless I'm out all day.

For the rest of the body, I've found Neutrogena's Healthy Defense Oil Free Sunblock (SPF 45) and their "Fresh Cooling" continuous spray works pretty well. The former is not very sticky at all and absorbs well and the latter is sticky/greasy, but if you're out alone and need to spray your own back, it's quite handy. Do spray outdoors or risk being asphyxiated by the mist, however.

As for hazardous chemicals, I find it hard to believe that sunscreen is worse than the myriad other carcinogens we confront every day, and the sun, she is strong.

My (blonde, freckled) mother's had pre-cancerous areas removed and I've had two (apparently innocuous) moles removed and biopsied. I went to grad school with a guy who'd had 4th stage skin cancer twice and died before he was 30 of his 3rd go-round. It ain't pretty. Can't be too careful.

Also love my sunhat and thin long sleeves/thin long pants for the very dangerous areas (Costa Rica, for example) and high UV days.

Glamour-Geek, still with missing password.

Hey, I use that same sunblock on my face! And I l...

2008-06-09T16:44:00.000-04:00

Hey, I use that same sunblock on my face! And I love it. And I'm not switching. So there. /sarcasm.

Seriously, the first thing I look for in a sunscreen is whether or not I will WEAR it. If it's slimy, I won't wear it, even though I know it's good for me. So can I just tell you that the best body sunblock EVER is the Coppertone Sport that you spray on like an aerosol! I LOVE IT. No rubbing, and no slime. ::::happy dance, happy dance::::

Yes, the chemicals aren't so great, but in my pale, pale case, I figure I'm more likely to get cancer from sunburns than sunblock. Ergo, wearing sunblock is important, and if the only way I'll really put it on is to buy the chemical crap - then I will ROCK those chemicals! LOL

I remember tanning intentionally, or at least tryi...

2008-06-09T15:52:00.000-04:00

I remember tanning intentionally, or at least trying to. Mom would never let us stay out too long, she always had to find something for us to do. Good thing too.

I wear a facial moisturizer every day with an SPF of 15. If I know I am going to be out in the sun, I will put on at least 30.

Red, you can still burn through clouds, sorry! Personal experience.

There is clothing that is supposed to have sunblock properties, but I don't know how well it works. Like all such things it is not pretty but is expensive.

There's an ingredient that's basically in every si...

2008-06-09T15:38:00.000-04:00

There's an ingredient that's basically in every single lotion (hand, face etc) that helps it be absorbed, that's cacenogenic. But this just goes to prove my husband's point, one day they'll find out that cancer medicine (could think of sunscreen like this right?) causes cancer. it's tough.

I love the sun...In the Pacific Northwest, you hav...

2008-06-09T15:02:00.000-04:00

I love the sun...In the Pacific Northwest, you have to take it when you get it and run with it...

I don't like to deal with the "studies" on the sunblock, I just go with what smells good and works...I am a die-hard Banana Boat user. I have a bottle of every SPF, from 4-65 , that they make and use them every summer or when I'm going to be in the sun for extended periods of time. My favorite is their sport SPF 15. It's sweat and water proof and doesn't leave the nasty greasy feel to your skin. I know I should probably use more than 15, but I figure I'm 25 and haven't had any issues and at least I use it...My daily moisturizer(sp?) is an SPF 30 that is fantastically light and makes the skin of my face just glow...

Oh that picture...I can't tell you how many times ...

2008-06-09T14:21:00.000-04:00

Oh that picture...I can't tell you how many times that was me and my red-haired best friend.

I am a born sun worshipper - it's in my genes. But now, sadly I've acquiesed to the ways of science and sunscreen. No more tanning. And that picture gives me courage and reminds me why tanning wasn't really that fun, at least not after coming inside.

yes, i remember the good old days of using baby oi...

2008-06-09T14:02:00.000-04:00

yes, i remember the good old days of using baby oil so we got a darker tan!? How terrible is that?

and I also bought the same stuff, and then read all the horrific things it will do to me once absorbed by my skin. I take it with a grain of salt though because nothing can be worse than the baby oil years, right?

as for my kids, I buy the super expensive california baby brand b/c someone has deemed it very safe. hopefully that is true because it sure is pricey!