The Soap Yard

ruffles · Guru

Do you need sunscreen after 4:00 PM?

meggie · Senior Member

We are told to be aware of the UV index at any time of the day, including the sneaky cloudy ones.

KarenK · Guru

I would say, depends what you're doing. I just went out to water my gardens and I did not put on sunscreen. My yard is shady enough and I wasn't out that long to need it. But if I were going to a ball game and sitting in the sun section, I would definitely put it on. So just general out and about, I don't worry about it after 4, but direct sunlight for an extended period with no shade, I'd use some sunscreen.

Your body needs SOME sunlight to make vitamin D, so it's good to allow yourself some direct sunlight.

ruffles · Guru

Gardening..........Usually I'm in the yard for a good while. Even with 50 SPF, the freckles are proliferating. The novelty of sunscreen has worn thin.

ruffles · Guru

I spose, when weighed against the novelty of a melanoma, it clarifies the perspectives.

teddymac · Member

Avoid sunscreens with Vitamin A, or “retinyl palmitate” or “retinol” on the label. Recent FDA studies indicate Vitamin A may speed the development of skin tumors and lesions and is found in many sunscreens.

I like using the following site to find sunscreens....

http://www.ewg.org/2010sunscreen/best-beach-sport-sunscreens/

KarenK · Guru

Gardening in full sun after 4 pm, I would use sunscreen. I've read that most skin damage occurs when you're young and I know that's the case for me. At this point, if/when I get skin cancer, it's going to be from that early exposure, not from gardening after 4:00 in middle age. The die has been cast -- as a kid we used Coppertone, but I think that was like SPF 4? disbelief

I never used baby oil, as many of my friends did, but I did enjoy a nice tan in my teens and early 20's. I'm just waitin' for it, baby!

FormerLurkerLibby · Senior Member

You (meaning Ruff specifically) are more likely to develop a skin cancer from what you did to your skin in the past than what you do to your skin today. THat said as we age our skin becomes more sensative to the harmful effects of the sun. I believe that report about retinol was pretty much poo-pooed by the medical profession. However, I am not currently in practice, and didn't read the medical journals at the time.

I can't stand the feel of lotions. So I use the spray SPF 40 or so. There is a sport one that is in a blue can (Coppertone?) that I like. To me it is worth the extra money because I won't put the lotions on my skin, and I do use the spray.

KarenK · Guru

Libby, that's the same one I use. I love the Coppertone "Sport" spray -- it sprays at any angle, so good for when I go to the beach by myself. I like the Coppertone sport lotion for my face -- it's the only one I've found that stays in place and doesn't get into my eyes.