# Sun Tan Lotion Without Sunblock-What Does It Do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2012, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-tan-lotion-without-sunblock-what-does-it-do/631006 "2012-08-09T22:07:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![applebetty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4af34b/32.png) [@applebetty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/applebetty)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-tan-lotion-without-sunblock-what-does-it-do/631006/21 "2012-08-11T18:03:28Z")
There used to be “dark tanning oil” made of tropical oils like coconut. I always thought they concentrated the sun’s rays to give a darker tan. But, yes, we would slather on a thick layer of oil and lay in the sun to get browned. Some people just used baby oil because it was cheaper but then you smelled like a baby’s butt. ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-tan-lotion-without-sunblock-what-does-it-do/631006/22 "2012-08-11T18:54:23Z")
> [@madrabbitwoman](#): > > Several of my older relatives used to cover themselves with olive oil (bought from the pharmacy) while sunbathing. I might have to ask them why. I can’t believe nobody pointed out [Kramers “Tanning Butter”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_F4DTGx6AMo). (skip to 2:14) As for olive oil…A couple of ten years ago I worked as a manager for a VERY Italian family of restauranteurs. The matriarch and spry 97 year old Nanna Rosa, was showing me some dough techniques…when we oiled the dough before resting it she took her oiled hands and rubbed it on bot her face and hand. She saw me looking astounded and exclaimed, how do you think I keep this beautiful skin, and she did, for a 97 yr old, have beautiful skin. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 10:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-tan-lotion-without-sunblock-what-does-it-do/631006/23 "2012-08-13T10:13:35Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Wouldn’t that be 2x or 3x your natural resistance to tan/burn? While 45 or higher may be in vogue now at one time 15 was considered extreme, 8 was still high so 2 or 3 was moderate. Yes, as recently as the early 90s I remember most brands of suncream came in three strengths: factor 4, factor 8 and factor 15. Factor 15 was the max-strength stuff: the bottle basically recommended it for babies, albinos, Scots and other total wusses, and suggested you step down to the lower strengths after a day or two. The non-SPF “sun-tan lotions” I always assumed were just oil-based moisturiser to help stop your skin drying out and peeling. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-tan-lotion-without-sunblock-what-does-it-do/631006/24 "2012-08-13T11:21:50Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Yeah, as a kid in the 80s, I remember SPF numbers like 2, 4, 8, 15. I’m not sure they even went higher than that at the time. Maybe 30. Now there’s 100+? Huh. Obviously, that shows how often I use sunblock. I’m convinced I read something a couple of years ago about how companies weren’t going to be allowed to put anything above SPF-45 on their labeling because it didn’t really mean much to go higher and it was misleading to consumers, but I’m having a hard time finding anything to back me up. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-tan-lotion-without-sunblock-what-does-it-do/631006/25 "2012-08-13T11:35:46Z")
> [@madrabbitwoman](#): > > Several of my older relatives used to cover themselves with olive oil (bought from the pharmacy) while sunbathing. I might have to ask them why. Sunblock lotions work by reflecting sunlight. Since olive oil (and all vegetable oils for that matter) leave a shiny reflective surface when applied on the skin, they probably work similarly to a sunblock lotion. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sun-tan-lotion-without-sunblock-what-does-it-do/631006.md?page=1)