For all my life I would burn easily and not tan well at all. That is, until one summer around 2003 when we vacationed in Key West. My husband and I chartered a boat for a day of deep-sea fishing. I brought everything I thought we would need in a big satchel, except I forgot the sunscreen! Oh well, I figured if I burned, I burned, and just decided to have fun. I wore a bathing suit with shorts on over it, and just a ball cap on my head, so I had LOTS of exposed skin.

We were on the water most of the day, and when we got back, I was surprised that just the tops of my shoulders were only slightly pink, and even that was gone by the next day. No burn!

Ever since then, I rarely burn (only if I’m out for like 4 hours early in the summer before I have a base tan) and I tan easily and darkly. Every weekend I mow 5 acres of grass, which takes around 3 – 4 hours. I never burn anymore and I don’t use sunscreen.

I wouldn’t advocate this for others to try, but something sure changed for me that summer.

I’ve always suspected there was something in the sunscreens themselves that was causing (or allowing for) the melanomas. After all, the rise in melanomas coincides with the rise in the use of sunscreens. You don’t see people like construction workers–who are out in the sun all day long–get skin cancers. It’s the lily-white folks who spend 12 hours a day in the sun for 2 weeks straight during their once-a-year vacation who get it.

We ventured to a good pharmacy and asked if they had any sun screen without the ‘nasties’ in it, and I was taken to the area where I had a choice of about eight. Using a muscle test with all the kids I found a cream that said they could use it. The shock of the price would have choked a horse it was so expensive, A$30 = £16.50 per tube.

It was successful in that the kids did not get the rashes and they tanned beautifully during the time of their trips to their swimming lessons.

You may be correct about cause, but it may also be easy to have ruled out other possible causes that hadn’t come to mind. For example, I’ve noted people give accounts of liver spots fading, when they give up on marg and veg oils and eat more natural fats.

I now follow his advice and have been since I was in my 40’s. I do have sun damage on my hands so now I also wear gloves when working outside in bright sunshine. And I will be telling my grandchildren to cover up.

I have often wondered about how such traditions developed. Perhaps it was just preventing sunburn. When my dad was growing up on a farm it was not uncommon to be working outside in the fields all day long.

When wanting to avoid the sun I’ve found it more helpful at covering up with clothing and a hat. It’s been awhile since I’ve used sun lotions myself. For what ever reason I’ve tended to find sunscreens make me feel run down.

There were a couple times this winter though where I found myself in the sun longer than expected and not covered up as hoped. During those times I found myself the next day with a slight burn. I found it remarkable that what helped deaden the pain best was applying simple structured water. Pretty much instantly the pain would go away and the redness would be gone quickly too.

Quote:

The study was done in mice [1], and you can read a report about it on the BBC website here. The bottom line is that this study found that factor 50 sunscreen reduced the time it took for light exposure to induce melanoma, but the melanoma developed all the same.

Surely this should read:

The study was done in mice [1], and you can read a report about it on the BBC website here. The bottom line is that this study found that factor 50 sunscreen INCREASED the time it took for light exposure to induce melanoma, but the melanoma developed all the same.

Otherwise, the statement does not make sense!