Not really fruit related but a very important thing for all of us that enjoy being outside and in the garden.
Im a middle aged male with freckled complexion and at a pretty high risk of skin cancer. My dad is in his 70’s and has a similar complextion. He’s had several cancerous and pre cancerous issues with his skin and I want to be more pro active about taking care of myself.
I’m a sun screen user. Not daily but anytime I plan to be outside on sunny days I always apply sunscreen to protect myself. The problem is I absolutely hate the feel of typical sunscreens. I hate that greasy feeling that is left on your exposed skin and that sweaty greasy look it gives you. I also have a tendency to sweat easily so I’ve had issues with sunscreen not lasting very long and also stinging my eyes when I sweat. I’ve used most of the name brand sun blockers that you can get at big bock stores like coppertone, Hawaiian tropic, etc. What I’m looking for is something better. I wouldn’t mind using two types. Specifically a heavy duty one that is sweat and water proof for when I’m doing dirty work like mowing the lawn or gardening. I’d also like to have a non greasy moisturize sunscreen that I can just apply daily as part of a normal routine. I’m not concerned about costs. I’m willing to buy good products as long as they deliver.
What type of sunscreen do you guys use and can you recommend anything that would work for me? Thanks.
Speedster, I would recommend any of the Bullfrong products. We use them here when we surf. They are designed to stay put even in the water, and not drip into your eyes with sweat or salt water. You will want at least 50 SPF. Most of Bullfrog’s waterproof sunscreens use Titanium dioxide, which won’t burn your eyes if it gets in your eyes. And, you need to make sure you where a large brimmed hat and long sleeves. Also, do not neglect the edges of your ears (a high risk spot for skin cancer due to the thin, thin skin, and that folks often forget to put sunscreen on their ears), as well as the back of your neck and tops of your hands (if you don’t have gloves on). There are shirts with built in sunscreen protection as well, and many gardeners (like me) wear them (Coolibar and Solumbra are two brands that I have). As you can see by my photo, I’m nearly a redhead myself, blue-eyed and covered with freckles. And, try not to labor during the high intensity hours of 10 am to 2 pm. During the summer, I do try to stay out of the direct sun during those hours. I’d rather get up at 5:00 am and work during the early morning hours, or in the later afternoon’/evening. Lastly, do not neglect your lips. You should be using at least 50 SPF on your lips and reapply every 2 to 3 hours while in the sun.
I was watching a golf tournament a number of years ago and the announcers were commenting about a player who had skin cancer and he was wearing a protective shirt.Except it didn’t really look like a shirt to me,more like a membrane that fit fairly tightly on his arms and probably breathable.I think he wore a short sleeve shirt over it.I want to say the product was called Frogskin,but am not sure.
A big wide brimmed hat will also help. Brady
Long hair. As the proud owner of 2 cancer notched ears I now have hair over my ears. You can buy ball caps with wide ear flaps. Cabela’s offers shirts w/high spf. pricey. My wife found some no name 50spf cream that worked for me as my arms are pretty well toast also. At a local grocery store.
Nivea for Men has been my go to for almost a decade. I dislike greasy lotions just like you and the Nivea is the best I’ve found for that.
It’s only SPF 15 but I’ve read studies that SPF 15 is virtually indistinguishable from SPF 45 if you’re in the sun for only 2-3 hours. If I’m out longer than that I use Neutrogena which is SPF 30.
I also have a couple good nylon hiking hats that I wear around the yard.
Thanks for the suggestions. I have a wide brim boonie hat I wear when I cut grass. Unfortunately I’m follically challenged so having hair over my ears is out of the question
I’ve tried the bullfrog products before and they seemed okay but not much different than the other name brand products. I’ll look for the Nivea product and try it out as a daily product.
One product I was looking at is called Blue Lizard Australian Facial Sunscreen. It’s very highly rated and all of the comments say it’s not greasy at all. So I may pick that up and try it out. It’s SPF30+ http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Lizard-Face-Sunscreen-SPF/dp/B000I5KCIW
I avoid sunscreen with benzone compounds, reports indicate it is a hormone mimic. I use kid/baby suncreen with titanium or zinc dioxide, usually walmart store brand. And a big hat.
It isn’t just your skin that you should protect, but also your eyes.
When you’re outside, you should also wear sunglasses, even on
cloudy days. I had to learn that lesson the hard way, when my
ophthamologist told me that I had developed a noncancerous growth
in my left eye called a pinguecula. He told me it’s usually caused by
prolonged exposure to the sun’s UV rays, and that I probably wouldn’t
have gotten it, if I had worn sunglasses every time I worked in my yard.
So please learn from my mistake.
Good point, Ray, I meant to add that to my post. You must make sure your sunglasses are UV protected as well. Not only can you develop Pinguecula, prolonged exposure to UV rays (may much, much worse by non-protected sunglasses as your pupils get dilated by the dark lenses, thus allowing even more UV rays into your eye) can cause cataracts. Speedster, have you tried the Bullfrog Water Armour Sport? This is different than their other products. This is the one specifically I was talking about. I’ll also check with my daughters. They all cannot wear regular sunscreens on their faces. They have a reaction to them. And, my youngest is a snowboarder and soccer player in Denver, and is very specific about the sunscreens she uses on her face.
Man, I’ve been reading quite a bit this morning about sun protection and there is a lot of info out there and several websites that rate protects for safety. I think the baby sunscreens are the way to go for daily use although I’m still concerned about oily feeling to them. I’m going to get some to try out. For me though it will be difficult to find a relatively safe alternative that is sweat proof. I can’t imagine the baby products holding up to heavy duty work.
Seems like Badger brand of sunscreens gets overall high marks for safety and performance.
Hoosier, I can’t remember what type of bullfrog sunscreen it was that I tried. It was many years ago. I’ll look into the water armor for heavy use. Thanks.
My daughter’s skin is sensitive to sun. So, we did research extensively and decided on Blue Lizard, the Australian sunscreen products. Only Blue Lizzard for Sensitive skin, not the regular Blue Lizzard, somewhat different ingredients. Blue Lizzard for sensitive skin rates pretty high on safety. We buy it mostly on line but when we see it on sale in the store, we buy it there, too.
Per my daugher’s dermatologist, good sunscreen needs to contain either titanium dioxide or zinc dioxide or both. Blue Lizzard is still somewhat sticky. Due to Titanium ingredient, it makes you look ghostly white for a minute or two but it’s very effective. We also buy her a sun shirt, that swimmers/people wear when they stay out on a beach. LL Bean has good ones.
My husband is of an Irish descent. He is as white as one can be. He does not tan, he burns so Blue Lizzard for him, too.
I used to get Neutrogena too but the greasiness level has been inconsistent through the years… Almost like they’ve changed the formula a few times. Could never tell if I was just crazy or what.
I still use it though when I’m out in the sun longer and my Nivea SPF 15 won’t be enough.
I get the spray on stuff. Alcohol based so not greasy feeling. Sprays on and dries. I usually spray it on and rub it in and around. Dry. Works all day.
