Sun Strength

[conor123]

Well i thought id start the yearly Sun Strength thread as one hasn't seemed to of appeared yet.

Certainly noticing some strength in the sun again now, i remember last year getting sunburnt numerous times

in April and developing a very dark suntan by mid June, ive caught the sun as late as Mid September aswell in the past.

http://www.temis.nl/uvradiation/nrt/uvindex.php?lon=-2.6&lat=52.8

This site is always useful for tracking your locations UV, it seems be going up by around 0.6/0.7 a week at the moment.

[Derp Patrol]

At long last! The sun is as strong as it is on the 28th September now, and I can't wait to get a good tan, i've been growing pale all winter!

[summer blizzard]

I do tend to tan quite well in summer and have got a tan in April several times before, so looking forward to this years spring/summer, and i do see signs of the weather in late April being on the hot side.

[quantock girl]

Bring on the tanning season!

Been burnt in April in years gone by. Now my skin must be too tough as it takes longer!

Having to do swimathon next week so resorting to bottle stuff just so I don't look too bad in the picture. Vanity or what!!

[johnholmes]

Well i thought id start the yearly Sun Strength thread as one hasn't seemed to of appeared yet.

Certainly noticing some strength in the sun again now, i remember last year getting sunburnt numerous times

in April and developing a very dark suntan by mid June, ive caught the sun as late as Mid September aswell in the past.

http://www.temis.nl/...n=-2.6&lat=52.8

This site is always useful for tracking your locations UV, it seems be going up by around 0.6/0.7 a week at the moment.

I can only reiterate what I say each year to those who enjoy getting a tan

BE CAREFUL

I know to my cost what suntanning can cause-read my signature and the blog about getting burnt.

[Terminal Moraine]

I can only reiterate what I say each year to those who enjoy getting a tan

BE CAREFUL

I know to my cost what suntanning can cause-read my signature and the blog about getting burnt.

I'll second that, John. Having worked outdoors all my life I was sunburned a few times when younger, thankfully, so far, with no serious effects. For many years now I've used factor 60 sunblock between April and September, the skin still goes brown, but more slowly and with no burning.

Wearing a hat's a good idea too, especially if, like me, you shave off all your hair( or if you have none to shave off )

[stewfox]

I can only reiterate what I say each year to those who enjoy getting a tan

BE CAREFUL

I know to my cost what suntanning can cause-read my signature and the blog about getting burnt.

I fell asleep on a sun bed in Florida August 1980 (shoulders went white and pappy and the pharmacist at the time send it was the worst sun burn he had every seen without hospitalisation). The scars are still there on the shoulders.

I NEVER learnt my lesson and always was chasing the sun factor 4 in Egypt etc (fair skinned) and in the Maldives 3 years ago I we around the Island in the water mid day sun for 3hrs no sun cream and paid the price very badly burnt head (I was already folic ally challenged).

I finally do take much more care now although I fear much of the damage has been done.

I have caught the sun in the UK April and September (and in between).

Of course I got very bad sun burn in Pyrenees February many years ago , ski-ing no sun cream, face swelled up as well.

I should be on one of those chat shows I was using Nivea one day thinking it was sun cream and got badly burnt.

[Thundery wintry showers]

Having mild albinism, I am capable of burning in the sun already by late March- one of the great things about the February & early March sun is the ability to go out in the sun for long periods without getting any sunburn.

Hence my summer half-year relationship with the sun is a rather contrary one- I generally feel happier the more sunshine there is, but I can't afford to go out in it for very long without being well covered up in Factor 40-60 and with a hat on (mainly to cover the neck).

The desire for a tan appears to be a purely social "street cred" thing, I don't generally find people any more attractive when they get a strong tan- if anything it can sometimes look unnatural and it also increases the rate of ageing of the skin, as well as the more serious dangers that John refers to. Some individuals may think differently about the appearance of a tan, which is fair enough in itself, but I don't understand how "getting a tan" has accumulated so much mass appeal especially when it can be very risky.

[Scorcher]

I've read in several places that the sun is actually stronger in spring than it is during the same period in autumn. I believe this is something to do with the earth's orbit but don't quote me on that! If you look at the UV index in a given year in the past you will see that the average is noticeably higher in mid March than it is in late September.

[Eugene]

The strength of the sun doesn't bother me in the slightest until early May onwards, too dangerous to be out in the sun for long periods from May to August.

and i do see signs of the weather in late April being on the hot side.

Really do tell me what these signs are please for hot weather in late April...... you really do need a special setup for hot weather in late April much better than mid June to mid September.

[Guest North Sea Snow Convection]

I'm not interested in sun tans anymore - vanity or not! There was a time when a bronze colour held a fascination - but long term health is much more important. The only colouring I'm interested in now is tinting my hair!

Give me a brisk refreshing easterly breeze to go with the summer sunshine and then the availability of something with longer sleeves in my bag to cover up shoulders, upper back and arms from the strength of the sun

[Optimus Prime]

You can get sunburn in February. The sun does appear fairly intense today so I'd guess without proper protection and over a few days it's possible to get burnt. The problem with the sun in this country (yes I know it's the same sun) is it burns rather then burns and tans.

[johnholmes]

that is a rather odd view OP-burns but not burn and tan??

If you burn you damage your skin-full stop-and if you are a person susceptible to skin cancer that is a sure way of achieving that!

[SP1986]

If you are going to go to try and tan it's best to have a diet (olives, pepper) that will help with this, fair skin is fair skin for a reason, it's not supposed to tan. Furthermore usually the aim is to get golden brown but the fact is the fair skin just isn't design to tan golden brown.

There's a sure fire way to tell if your skin will tan or burn, if your skin has a pink hue to it when untanned, that you won't tan and quite frankly I wouldn't bother trying, if it however has a yellow hue when untanned you will tan fairly easily. Another way of telling is if you look at the veins in your wrist, if they appear blue then you're fair skinned and you'll burn fairly easily. If they're green you'll tan easily and burn minimally. However it does not make a difference what your skin tone is you should always take precautions.

I rarely burn, but I still wear suncream and try to be in the sun minimally, I just don't see the point in a tan to be honest.

[Optimus Prime]

that is a rather odd view OP-burns but not burn and tan??

yes in places like Spain you can tan but also burn. In this country you burn more then you tan, Dan.

[Thundery wintry showers]

An interesting Wikipedia on sun tanning (and quite heavily sourced, so should be reliable):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_tanning

This quote in particular supports my suspicions on the social/cultural aspects of the issue:

According to several studies, both men and women view a tanned body as more healthy than a pale body, even though tanning sometimes leads to an unhealthy body by way of blistered or burnt skin, wrinkles, and skin cancer. This represents a conflict between one’s health and the social values of being perceived as healthy or physically attractive. Some people prefer to appear healthy and conform to society’s expectations, rather than curtail risk by avoiding sun damage. The image one conveys through having bronzed skin is largely responsible for the ever-growing trend of tanning today.

A bit like Stephen suggested, though, most of the fair-skinned people I've come across who try to tan go a blend of brown/pink rather than bronze, like in a couple of the pictures shown on Wiki, and so to my mind end up looking less attractive (though I may be biased by often finding fair complexions more physically attractive- another area where I differ from the cultural norm it would seem!). There appears to be some evidence that tanning in moderation might be beneficial but also some counterevidence so "the jury is still out" on that one, but certainly the excessive amounts that are "cool" today are a dangerous thing to be doing with one's own skin.

[conor123]

Luckily suncream has a nice smell anyway so it's not like its a chore being protected, even today in the sun it felt quite strong when the wind wasn't blowing.

[Kentish Kiwi]

You can get sunburn in February. The sun does appear fairly intense today so I'd guess without proper protection and over a few days it's possible to get burnt. The problem with the sun in this country (yes I know it's the same sun) is it burns rather then burns and tans.

yes in places like Spain you can tan but also burn. In this country you burn more then you tan, Dan.

OP I find these statements rather obscure and some reasoning or sources to back it up would maybe help to throw some (sun)light over it. I'm not entirely sure where you've got this idea from, but I'm pretty sure its incorrect. The fact is you get both burnt and tanned primarily by the same type of UV ray, that being UVB, with UVA contributing more towards the aging of the skin, the tanning process itself being a defence by your skin to protect it against the sun. Obviously the rate at which this happens differs depending on the strength of the sun i.e. the UV rating, but saying that you 'burn more than you tan in the UK compared to other countries' sounds like a misconception. In fact I'm pretty sure that you burn AND tan more in somewhere like Spain, compared to the UK, due simply to the stronger UV.

Coming from New Zealand (where the UV can reach 15 in the summer, which is up there with the highest in the world, compared to 7 to possibly 8 in the UK) I've always manage to catch a good tan through the summer months here, yet I've never been sun burnt even without using suncream, while for instance I did get sunburnt in Barbados this February while applying SPF 30-50 frequently. I guess what I'm trying to say is that its simply illogical that something would mean you burn at a faster rate compared to how quickly you tan in the UK, its more that you tan and burn at an appropriate rate in relation to the UV levels, your skin type and current depth of tan (as a natural defense against the UV) no matter where you are in the world, as everywhere recieves the same kind of UVA and UVB rays, just at different intensities.

Surely its rather unlikely that a person with an average skin tone (whatever that is) could get burnt in February with the UV hardly getting above 1, unless it was someone with very very fair skin, especially considering the limited time the sun is in the sky, and more especially the 11-2pm period, during that month?

On the topic of UV levels, although skin cancer is a very real danger to everyone in the UK, it is amazing how weak the UV actually is here, or maybe just an indicator of how strong it is in NZ. Granted in mid-summer it is quite potent ranging from 6-8, which possibly would burn fair skin easily if unprotected and possibly even medium toned, but I've only recently been comparing the UV levels throughout the year over here with back home in New Zealand. Due to closer proximity to the equator and a gaping big hole in the ozone, the UV can get up to 15 there in the north in mid-summer, although its usually more around 13 in Auckland for example - the burn time under those conditions being less than 10 minutes.

At the moment in Auckland (getting well into Autumn and considering how far away it is from December 21st) its still up at 8 (very high) on the scale, though I'm not sure of what it drops to during the Winter, I would guess something around 3-4 as you can catch a tan on any sunny winters day. It just shows how strong the sun really is there, with 13-15 worse than anything the Mediterranean gets and the UK/MetO scale only going up to 11+ - no wonder its got the highest rates of skin cancer in the world...

KK

[quantock girl]

Thankfully, the invention of the 'spray' suncream applicator has made it easier for everyone. I can chase the children squirting it all over them. The rubbing in of some thick gloopy stuff along with sand was unpleasant for both me and them!

I might toast myself on the beach but not them. Really important for them their skin is different, but I never had suncream put on when I was a child.

Does anyone know when suncream was invented?

P.S. I used to apply 50 factor when in Australia and still got a tan!

[Nick L]

Never understood the obsession with suntans, yeah they look good but they are just glorified sunburns!

I have been burned in March before, have to be very careful in the summer and especially abroad, going to Florida in July so will have to reapply sun cream every 5 mins...

[Nick F]

There appears to be some evidence that tanning in moderation might be beneficial but also some counterevidence so "the jury is still out" on that one, but certainly the excessive amounts that are "cool" today are a dangerous thing to be doing with one's own skin.

Being in the sun is beneficial, in that UV light from the sun is absorbed by the skin and turned into Vitamin D - which is needed for healthy bones, and may prevent some cancers. It is alot easier to get vitamin D from exposure to sun than from one's diet. Studies have shown that those that don't get much sunlight are more likely to develop problems with their bones as Vitamin D is needed for absorbtion of calcium in the intestine.

Of course, its always best to wear sun screen when out in the sun, but sunlight on skin is not such a bad thing -so long as you take precautions to stop burning.

Don't really understand the comments by OP re: just burning in Uk while burning and tanning in Spain, never heard that before, is this based on just your own experience?! Different skin types will obviously react differently to the sun, fair skinned people will burn easily but may not develop much of a tan, while olived skinned people show no visible signs of burning and turn brown straight away. But it's not country specific to whether you just burn or burn + tan - more skin type for this theory, though you will burn more quickly and perhaps more severely if you are fair skinned the closer you are to the equator where the sun is stronger.

[paul tall]

I go like a lobster generally being fair skinned, but my forearms NEVER burn which is a bit odd.

[stewfox]

I go like a lobster generally being fair skinned, but my forearms NEVER burn which is a bit odd.

Seems like a question for House ?. Not Lupus

First day out at lunch time without a coat on

You can feel that sun

[Thundery wintry showers]

Being in the sun is beneficial, in that UV light from the sun is absorbed by the skin and turned into Vitamin D - which is needed for healthy bones, and may prevent some cancers. It is alot easier to get vitamin D from exposure to sun than from one's diet. Studies have shown that those that don't get much sunlight are more likely to develop problems with their bones as Vitamin D is needed for absorbtion of calcium in the intestine.

Of course, its always best to wear sun screen when out in the sun, but sunlight on skin is not such a bad thing -so long as you take precautions to stop burning.

My comments were aimed at tanning rather than merely getting some exposure to the sun- I hope I didn't come across the wrong way there! I did indicate that I often "sun myself" during February/early March when we get a sunny spell because it's the time of year when I can get a lot of exposure to the sun without burning. I don't do this in order to get a tan though- it's more a case of making the most of the sunshine (as we often don't get much of it) and feeling the Vitamin D-related benefits.

In summer unfortunately I burn so easily that I have to apply suncream quite frequently if I am to be out in the sun for long periods- and even then I occasionally burn as a result of missing out certain areas. Although it may look odd to some, one useful remedy is to wear a cap which covers the whole back of the neck- I find I can afford to be out in the sun for longer periods with one of those on without getting heavy sunburn.

[Eugene]

Was out walking in the countryside this morning and even with the sun out it never felt uncomfortable actually felt quite chilly in that breeze before the milder dewpoints pushed south this afternoon, its amazing how quickly you acclimatise to mild weather as even with temps of 12C this afternoon if you are sat still it feels chilly

Actually this may sound weird but the sun feels stronger when in built up town areas maybe something to do with concrete absorbing the suns heat but in wide open fields in the countryside its feels alot cooler.