Do you use sunscreen?

[Norse]

+1 on the Neutrogena Sport - usually put 70 on my face, ears, nose and 40 on the rest of my exposed skin. I have had one pre-cancerous mole removed and my grandma has lived through melanoma more than once. I don't take unnecessary chances with skin cancer now that I am older and wiser like I did when I was an idiot kid ("hey, let's sunbath wearing baby oil!").

[staceysue]

Neutrogena Face Shield it is!

Although anything can happen, skin cancer is one thing I haven't worried about here. Even when I was a kid, though, I was very careful about it in KS. I saw a guy without any ears there! He lost them to skin cancer and just had holes in his head. When my friends were sunbathing I was saying "I don't want wrinkles when I get older!" I was such a geek.

I get so little sun up here. Just my face when I'm skiing or riding and that's it. It's cold so much of the time that it's nothing to go a whole year without ever putting on a swim suit and it's easy to be quite comfortable all year without ever putting on shorts or a tank top. Even as a nurse, I very rarely see it. One great thing about our climate - the dogs don't get heart worms and the people rarely get skin cancer!

Of course, this is my first year cycling in the summer. I didn't start until September of last year. I imagine I'll have a lot more opportunities to expose my body to the sun now . . . .

[GLC1968]

I'm going to come clean here - I only use sunscreen as a last resort. I would prefer not to put all the chemicals/oils on my skin and frankly, I don't believe that it is as beneficial as we have been lead to believe.

When I am outside in the summer (on the farm), I wear a big brimmed hat, long sleeves and jeans or long pants. At work, I'm inside all day. In the winter, I don't even think about sunscreen since the sun rarely shines when I'm outside. Plus, I happen to be olive skinned. I actually DO worry about vit D levels. 10 minutes of direct sun on the face and hands per day is exceedingly hard to come by in some climates, you know.

I only wear sunscreen on the bike which is pretty much the only athletic activity I'd do ALL day or during mid-day. For that, I look for sweat proof and I slather it on. I really only wear it to prevent burns though - I don't think it does diddly for preventing premature aging or skin cancer when I STILL get super dark no matter how much I put on, how high the SPF or how fresh it is. I do appreciate its ability to prevent severe pain though, so I use it when that is a concern.

[michelem]

Here's a good resource regarding sunscreen safety:

http://www.ewg.org/cosmetics/report/sunscreen09

I probably err on the side of overkill (zinc/titanium sunscreen, sun protective (UPF 30) long sleeve jerseys, and long tights for running and cycling -- even in 100 degree weather. Etc. I as diagnosed with VERY LOW vitamin d levels due to all my "covering up" and now take 1000-2000 IU of vitamin d supplements each day. It's amazing at how correcting this deficiency has alleviated 99% of my joint/bone pain.

I've seen the devastation of skin cancer on my husband (he's undergone multiple surgeries and wears the scars to prove it). I used to not worry about it, due to being olive-complected and growing up when SPF 2 "suntan oil" was all the rage. But, I'm hoping better late than never . . .

[abejita]

I am a sunscreen junkie. I am very fair and burn if I just think of the sun. Living in Texas doesn't help any. There has been a lot of controversy as to the sun stability of many US brands of sunscreen as well as their ability to block UVA rays.

I us La Roche-Posey Anthelios XL. It has mexoryl which is the only sunscreen that is proven to be photo stable as well as an excellent uva and uvb block. In the rest of the world, this sunscreen is considered the gold standard. Unfortunately, in the US we are behind the curve and the only product that is approved by the FDA with mexoryl has an spf of 15. For years, I had my canadian friend ship spf 50+ sunscreen to me, but now it is pretty easy to find on the internet. I bought my last batch on amazon.

[BikingNurse]

Mary K has a good moisturisure that I use. It has sun block in it aswell. I really like it. Me being so fair skinned and burning so easily (you should se the Bike MS pics from last year -I look like roudolfs cousin) I use banana boat for before I head our on the rest of me though.

[shootingstar]

I know that several folks here are complaining about the lack of sun during certain seasons but it absolutely cannot compare living in the Arctic where it is the land of the midnight sun in winter (I was there at 1:00 pm in January. It was dark, like the sun was about to rise. That is how dark it gets during daytime.) And it is very cold up there, so more disincentives of getting sunlight from being outdoors, etc.

So truly, we really need to be careful claiming about not getting "enough" sun. It's alot easier for us to get it...just by walking around outdoors for 15 min. or so at least every day.

I mentioned earlier about my lack of interest in lying out in sun in Hawaii last year because of cycling daily.

On my lst trip to Hawaii in 2002, I wore long-sleeved cotton shirt at least 50% of the time. The sun's rays really did feel very powerful (to me) and I was getting tired of the sun screen bit.

I have not sunbathed in a bathing suit ..for past 20 yrs. And it definitely is not because I'm ashamed of my figure. Far from it. Instead cycling so regularily in past 18 yrs., just makes sunbathing totally irrelevant for me.

[GLC1968]

So truly, we really need to be careful claiming about not getting "enough" sun. It's alot easier for us to get it...just by walking around outdoors for 15 min. or so at least every day.

Until I moved here, I would agree with you.

There are days in the winter where I don't see the sun AT ALL. I work in a building that while it has windows, I am seated no where near one (even worse when I'm in the lab). Our winter days are so short that I'd leave for work in the dark and return to home in the dark...5 days in a row. Lunch is usually taken at my desk (if I can take one!)...so I see NO sun. Hell, even my farm chores were done by headlamp during the week!

So yes, it is quite possible that 1) I don't need sunscreen in the winter and 2) I could have vit d deficiency issues for a month or two.

My husband is completely different. He works from home and does get out at least once a day to tend to the animals during daylight hours. He is also fair skinned. While he might not bother with sunscreen for daily use in the winter, he certainly has no danger of missing out on vit d.

Just like so many other things we talk about on here, everyone's situation is different.

[zoom-zoom]

My hubby recently had a melanoma and a lymph node removed. His surgeon and oncologist are reasonably certain that he's cancer-free, but this is a guy who never tanned. Not only do we wear at least 50spf sunblock, but also Moeben arm sleeves on the bike.

[crazycanuck]

http://www.cancer.org.au/cancersmart...pSeekSlide.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAu5wCTEBt0

for Catrin

[GLC1968]

Wow, CC, that's funny! I'd never heard that slogan either.

In my climate, I'm sticking with slip, slap, seek and slide. You guys can do the slop.

[marni]

Anytime a dermatologist sees my green eyes, the first thing they ask is if I use sunscreen. Like many others, I got the exposure as a child and some extra stupidity as a teen while skiing, when a bronze face was de rigeur.

Having had two total acid face peels to burn off pending melanomas I now slip, slop and slather.

Just as a side note another preventative I use in the summer are arm coolers. These are wicking sun resistant fiber that both pull the sweat off of my arms and prevent sun exposure. They are made by de Soto and are available from trisports.com.

I actually use these as arm protection/ wind breaks in the spring and fall as well. They aren't as warm as arm warmers but they absolutely are the best for taking the sting out of the sun.

marni

[ny biker]

Anytime a dermatologist sees my green eyes, the first thing they ask is if I use sunscreen. Like many others, I got the exposure as a child and some extra stupidity as a teen while skiing, when a bronze face was de rigeur.

Having had two total acid face peels to burn off pending melanomas I now slip, slop and slather.

Just as a side note another preventative I use in the summer are arm coolers. These are wicking sun resistant fiber that both pull the sweat off of my arms and prevent sun exposure. They are made by de Soto and are available from trisports.com.

I actually use these as arm protection/ wind breaks in the spring and fall as well. They aren't as warm as arm warmers but they absolutely are the best for taking the sting out of the sun.

marni

Actually the DeSoto arm coolers, cool wings and leg coolers are available here at Team Estrogen.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_CW.html
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_AC.html
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_LC.html

Now they have a base layer too.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_WBL.html

Plus that helmet beanie.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_WBL.html

[Blueberry]

Just as a side note another preventative I use in the summer are arm coolers. These are wicking sun resistant fiber that both pull the sweat off of my arms and prevent sun exposure. They are made by de Soto and are available from trisports.com.

I got mine right here on TE: http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_CW.html

And I do love them. I'm on the fence about chemical sunscreens and how good they are for us. So, I try to cover up with fabric where possible, and use more natural sunscreens where I really need to. I find they just aren't that effective for me - I tried a new face formula recently, and looked like I had a sunburn from it. It was almost like a chemical burn. Not pretty.

ETA: I see they have leg coolers now. Anyone tried them? If so, how well do they stay up? I've not tried knee/leg warmers, but would be tempted to try these.

[Blueberry]

Actually the DeSoto arm coolers, cool wings and leg coolers are available here at Team Estrogen.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_CW.html
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_AC.html
http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_LC.html

Now they have a base layer too.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_WBL.html

Plus that helmet beanie.

http://www.teamestrogen.com/prodDE_WBL.html

Jinx. You beat me to it