Forty odd years ago, when I was a teen, I made what turned out to be one of the smartest decisions of my life. I was a competitive swimmer and like all good Aussie lads had a tan. However my genes meant that my natural tan is of the indoor variety - white. I got sick of the constant effort to maintain a tan while not burning (all you could get was SPF-4 and non-water resistant at that) so I stopped trying.
I reverted to my pale self, wore long sleeve shirts with the collar up and cricketer’s sun hats; sat in the shade at the pool, constantly applied sun screen while out and generally avoided the sun. I was constantly mocked about it but for god knows what reason stuck to my guns (it wasn’t a health message at all in those days - people sun baked).
Now several of my school friends have died of cancer, many have had chunks of themselves excised a yet I have skin that is in pretty much the same condition it was in when I stopped exposing it to the sun.
My story is somewhat similar to yours, Don’t Ask - I don’t tan badly for a white girl, but I could never lie in the sun long enough to get a tan - I’d get bored and go do something else. The only way I really tan now is by gardening, and I usually remember to slap on the sunscreen first.
There is no tan in my possible skin tones, I am white or burned so after all attempts during my teenage years to find the magic formula that would let me tan I gave up and resorted to long drapy fabrics and a constant supply of sunscreen.
In addition to higher SPF’s now being available you can also buy clothing that is up to SPF 50. I got through two weeks in Hawaii with only one little red spot where I was a bit sloppy applying sunscreen one day but I was able to wander around in a tank top most days with my SPF 50 overshirt handy for times when I didn’t feel like reapplying sunscreen every hour. This is probably the best time ever to be sun sensitive, there are so many ways to deal with it.
Quite correct sorry, was a hasty edit. You’re right on the sun protection, but the heat is still bloody oppressive from what I’ve heard. Dryness can also entail sand blowing through windows.
Hey, that’s rude. sisu didn’t say anything at all about sheep…
Another descendant of people from Europe’s misty offshore islands. In fucking Texas. Lots of “minor” skin cancer on one side of the family; lost an uncle on the other side of the family to some kind of skin cancer. I even had a mere basal cell removed from a place that doesn’t get sun.
I early on learned that the sun does not suit me. So, for many years it’s been hats & parasols & sunscreen & letting the damn Englishmen go out in the noonday sun.
Yeah my family we are English, Finnish, Irish descendants so you can imagine living under the harsh sun can cause many issues. My wife for example has scars about 6 inches long across her back from childhood sun exposure. Also to see the tears of a young girl [12] as she has to come to terms with losing her dad with only a few weeks notice is pretty crap.
Nicole Kidman has it right, porcelain skin is the way to go…
It does kill people and it is not to be taken lightly. Skin Cancer is a massive bitch…
I am a fellow person of pallor. When I was young I let people convince me that (for reasons which were never made clear) I needed to be darker so I received several nasty sunburns throughout my youth. These days I cover up with long sleeves, a hat, and SPF 15, and once a year my dermatologist finds several things worth cutting off.
About ten years ago I was walking to the pool at my girlfriend’s apartment complex reflecting large amounts of sunlight when a neighbor pointed out that I needed to work on my tan. I told her she should get her underbite fixed.
Dude(ette), you live in the twenty-first century! They make baby block that will withstand just short of nuclear holocaust. I should know as I’m pale enough to qualify as translucent.
Most of my family past middle age (myself included) have had basal cell lesions or melonomas removed over the years. I’ve had a bunch of them taken off, after a childhood spent working on a truck farm and playing on the lakes.
It’s not the end of the world. I live in Tennessee and wear the broad brimmed hats and long sleeves when I’m going to be out in the sun for awhile with not much of a problem. I also use sunblock (factor 30 or higher) religiously and keep applying it. That and go the the dermatologist twice a year. You get used to it if you like the outdoors. There are so many other things that you could deal with that are much, much more uncomfortable.
What an asshole response. The guy’s uncle is dead but I guess that’s no big deal because at least HE didn’t die, right? Just because he has an increased risk of this type of cancer and will have to be inspected every year for suspicious lumps and bumps, at least he’s not DEAD.
Agrees with the OP, white skin vs the sun will lose every time.
I used to be one of those beach bunnies with a golden tan. One day, while someone was rubbing suntan lotion over my back, he noticed that I had a mole that looked like it was bleeding. Long story short, scars happened.
I live in the desert. I’ve learned that its cooler to have long sleeves and pants because it protects my skin from the sun. During the heat of the summer, I wear t-shirts under cotton shirts to help wick the sweat.
I also shower twice a day.
Now…just to cause riots…I wear my Uggs all year round. Insulation works both ways, my feet stay warm in the winter and as cool as possible in the summer. They work like sheepskin car seats and are about as ugly after they get broken in.
Ha! Woops. No!
Outright bannings, they were. Scorched earth and blood! So fantastic that minstrels wrote songs about them, harsh and numerous were they.
