Not really in the shade

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by SeeLevel

A comment based on the large presumption sunscreen isn't the culprit.

What are you talking about

There was no sunscreen involved. My drink koozies haven't mastered putting sunscreen on yet.

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by Gareth Hughes

Much to my delight, many of my female friends back in the early eighties used to sail naked or at least topless.

Now they are in their fifties and sixties the sun damage is really obvious.

I have sun damage too, but was never really attractive naked.

Think that is not sun damage but gravity taking over their bodies.

[PuttingDoctor]

As a kid in Canada I was a burn / tan summer kinda specimen. add 25 year as a golf pro / sailor and you know what you get. 26 surgeries to date and an active watch on anything that pops up.

I advocate sunscreen as well as wearing protective clothing. You won't catch me on deck without my long pants and long sleeve shirts both from Ex-Officio and my Tilly hat.

Now here's the deal. Pass on the dermatologist especially in the warmer climates. They are far to busy and take weeks to schedule. I much prefer a plastic surgeon as both he and the Dermo send the sample to the same lab. BUT the plastics guy does far superior knitting. And generally he's much faster to get to see.


YMMV

[roygee]

looks, to me, deterioration of foam from oils in your hands.

[sailorboy1]

I'll check my hands for nice straight edges ................................ nope.

[zeehag]

hypoallergenic sunscreen, flying models. tropical version a

[Hydra]

In summer, I leave S Brittany, where I live the rest of the year, and go north to Britain or Ireland, where the cloud layer and the rain block a larger fraction of UV rays...

Alain

[fastinated]

The US has the highest skin cancer rate in the world. We also use the most sunscreen. Sunscreen is nothing but a chemical. It absorbs through the skin and can be the reason we have the highest rate. None for me. Clothing and not getting a sunburn. African's don't get skin cancer at noticable rates... Why?

[rbyham]

I am way past the point of freezing precancers, I sit here now nursing a recent skin graft on the bridge of my nose which makes Mohs surgery and reconstruct number 5 on my face, I have made the decision to begin sailing in a balaclava... all the pro fisherman in my area where these full covers on the water because of the reflected UV. Doubt it will stop my problems as the damage is probably already done but I have an excellent skin surgeon, a great dermatologist and will add the balaclava.

[rbyham]

I should have added that I will wear the balaclava except on days like today where we sailed in the remnants of TS Bonnie... loved the grey/black skies! :-)

[StuM]

Originally Posted by fastinated

The US has the highest skin cancer rate in the world. We also use the most sunscreen. Sunscreen is nothing but a chemical. It absorbs through the skin and can be the reason we have the highest rate. None for me. Clothing and not getting a sunburn. African's don't get skin cancer at noticable rates... Why?

Yet another ill informed opinion based on "internet facts" ?

https://www.aimatmelanoma.org/about-...s-and-figures/

The world's highest incidence of melanoma is in Australia and New Zealand (more than twice as high as in North America). This may be due to how close these countries are to the equator, their greatly reduced ozone layer, and their population of mostly fair-skinned people.

[Steadman Uhlich]

A white TShirt offers very little UV Ray protection. About UPF 5. It even loses protection ability if the fabric is wet, and is estimated to be down to UPF 3!

In comparison, a tight weave SYNTHETIC fabric such as nylon or polyester can be a much better protection with a UPF 50 rating! This is the rating recommended by the Cancer Society and dermatologists. YOU WANT UPF 50! There are UPF standards and labels on outdoor clothing designed for sun protection.

So, avoid using the "old worn cotton TShirt" and instead wear a long sleeved nylon shirt. There are "fishing shirts" made of nylon with UPF 50 factor. That is what I wear in the very hot and intense Texas sun.

Also, if you are snorkeling, or just swimming in the tropics, the highest rated sun protection fabric is SYNTHETIC FABRIC, and the lab testing showed that LYCRA garments are the best for blocking UV rays, or for sun protection. You can order "swim skins" or long sleeved or long pants skin tight Lycra based garments via Amazon, at low prices for generic garments. Stuff similar to "Under Armor" type activewear or exercise clothing.

P.S. I knew a woman who was NOT a sun worshipper and she never used a tanning bed. She died from skin cancer and she was just 56 years old. It showed as a small spot on her inner thigh. Tragic.

[SeeLevel]

Originally Posted by fastinated

The US has the highest skin cancer rate in the world. We also use the most sunscreen. Sunscreen is nothing but a chemical. It absorbs through the skin and can be the reason we have the highest rate. None for me. Clothing and not getting a sunburn. African's don't get skin cancer at noticable rates... Why?

+1 what he said.

[model 10]

[QUOTE=fastinated;2132645]The US has the highest skin cancer rate in the world. We also use the most sunscreen. Sunscreen is nothing but a chemical.

I depends on what kind of sunscreen you use. Using just Zinc Oxide is one thing using some sort of tan fantastic nano blocker is another.

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by Steady Hand

[B]

P.S. I knew a woman who was NOT a sun worshipper and she never used a tanning bed. She died from skin cancer and she was just 56 years old. It showed as a small spot on her inner thigh. Tragic.

I knew a woman who also fitted that criteria, only she was 38 when she died, first indication was a small spot behind her left knee.
We were married for 13 years, RIP Fi.