SPF: What do you wear on a beach/outdoor vacation?

clevebride2006 · March 2012

I tan easily, and when we were in Maui a few years ago, I wore SPF45 on my body (spf70 on my face) and I tanned a lot.

We are heading to E. Caribbean in a few months, and I'm wondering if I should up my SPF #?

What do you wear when you're on a beach/outdoor vacation?

BirkBop · March 2012

We honeymooned in November in St. Lucia in the West Indies and I started out with an SPF 50 and after the first 2 days when I had gotten some color I lowered it to 30 and didn't get burned at all. Just had to remember to reapply at least every 2 hours or after I got out of the pool/ocean. I think your usual sounds good especially since you're not fair and tan easily.

BirkBop · March 2012

Btw, I'm from NKY and currently live in Lexington so hey there neighbor :-)

SA7206 · March 2012

How often do you reapply? I think your spf level is fine so long as you make sure to reapply throughout the day.

emw1023 · March 2012

I think your usual strategy sounds good. I usually wear SPF 30, but I usually try to have a base tan when I know I'm going on vacation.

Most sunscreens should have how often you should reapply on their labeling (I know Banana Boat does). It's usually every 80-90 minutes.

SailorGray · March 2012

Correct me if I am wrong, but I remember reading that once you hit a certain spf (50?), they are all the same. I burn first and then tan, but if I am in the sun too much, I get a weird rash. Because of this, I usually start high and stay high. On our honeymoon to Jamaica, I stupidly only took one bottle of spf 50 and several bottles of 15, 30, etc. We ended up having to buy two more bottles at the resort's giftshop and it was so much money. Even with the high spf, we both came home with nice tans.

SSM&JLM · March 2012

I stick with 45 on my face and 30 everywhere else. I also wear a big hat if I'm not in the water.

+v+ · March 2012

It depends on where I'm going. I need much stronger SPF in the Caribbean or Hawaii than I do in the Hamptons because the sun is so much stronger in the former locations.

But as others have pointed out, after a certain number the effect of higher numbers is negligible (and can be counterproductive for people who think that higher SPF lasts longer, because they don't reapply often enough). So somewhere around 50+ sounds reasonable.

Joanis018 · March 2012

I wear 15 and reapply almost every hour.

Go_Dawgs · March 2012

I am very envious!!! I wear spf 50 all over when I'm spending time in the sun, and I stay my usual pasty white. I'm really not sure, but would guess that using spf 45 on your body and 70 on your face is sufficient and you are just lucky to get tan from a limited amount of UV exposure. Good question, though, and one that I unfortunately have never needed to think about

AmyDrinkie · March 2012

SailorGray:
Correct me if I am wrong, but I remember reading that once you hit a certain spf (50?), they are all the same.

I remember reading that too a couple of years ago.

I usually buy SPF 30 or 45; don't really have a preference. I do try to reapply every hour to hour and a half though.

Tambcat · March 2012

50, at least. I don't really care about tanning, but I'm terrified of burning. I reapply often, too.

Earls_Bride · March 2012

I only wear SPF 50 or higher now no matter what sun I'm under, and reapply it every hour or so. I'm not interested in getting a tan anymore, way more interested in preventing a burn. Not taking any chances...

SPF: What do you wear on a beach/outdoor vacation?

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