A sun lover's guide to safety.

Being a teenager in the 1980's, laying out in the sun was almost a sport. I can remember trying to get a suntan on 50°F days in my parent's backyard. I still love a suntan and think they look great, but don't really want to risk burning anymore.

As a Mom, I slather my children in a SPF 30 or higher whenever they are in the sun. Have you ever wondered what does that SPF really mean? It tells you how long it will keep you protected. "For example: it is in how many minutes you burn x the number that tells you how long it should last (even though you should reapply often, say every few hours, or more often if you burn easily). So if you burn in 10 minutes of sun exposure without any protection, SPF 30 will keep you protected for 300 minutes (in theory!). If you're using a cream, the amount of sunscreen you should use is about the size of a regular golf-ball, or 1 oz."

I really love the UPF (Ultraviolet Protection Factor)swim shirts. "A fabric with a rating of 50 will allow only 1/50th of the sun's UV rays to pass through. However, a plain white t-shirt only has a UPF rating of 7. A long-sleeved dark denim shirt offers an estimated UPF of 1,700 – which amounts to a complete sun block. In general, clothing made of tightly-woven fabric best protects skin from the sun." But who is swimming in that??? I say stick with the sunshirts.

"To receive The Skin Cancer Foundation's Seal of Recommendation, sun-protective fabrics must have a minimum UPF of 30. We consider a UPF rating of 30-49 to offer very good protection, and 50+ excellent protection."

Sources:

http://www.skincancer.org/sun-protective-clothing.html, http://www.wikihow.com/Stay-Safe-in-the-Sun