7 Tips to Avoid Getting Sunburned at the Beach

Avoid Sunburn At BeachThe sun can feel absolutely blissful especially after a stretch of cloudy, rainy weather or after a long winter. People love getting out in the sun and they especially love spending time at the beach after dreary days.

Relaxing on the beach with a good book, listening to the waves softly lap on the shore, and letting the sun’s rays warm your skin can feel incredible. It’s good for your well-being and for your soul.

The smartest way to enjoy time in the sun is to avoid getting a sunburn. A sunburn is not just uncomfortable, but every bad sunburn a person gets also puts them more at risk for harmful things like skin damage and skin cancer in the future.

No one really knows the answer to how many sunburns it takes to develop serious skin problems, so to be on the safe side, a plan to prevent sunburn is your smartest option.

7 Good Ways to Prevent Sunburn at the Beach

By taking a few precautions and by bringing along a few smart sun necessities, everyone can completely enjoy a day at the beach and lower the chances for sunburn. Preparing ahead of time can save you the uncomfortable pain and itch of a sunburn later. A few helpful things to bring along to the beach or do at the beach include:

#1 – A Good Sunscreen

A good water resistant sunblock with a 15 or 30 SPF rating should be enough for most people to help protect the skin from harmful UVB rays. If you re-apply sunscreen periodically, that can increase the protection you get.

Related: Sunscreen vs Sunblock Comparison

#2 – Well Chosen Clothing

Clothing that is lightweight but densely woven is ideal to protect from the suns rays. Today you’ll also find many varieties of swim shirts and rash guards that offer 50+ UPF protection. Clothing like this can be a smart choice for your entire family, especially if you’ll be in the water for a long time. If snorkeling, a good snorkel vest will not only help you stay afloat, it will protect your back from the sun.

#3 – Bring an Umbrella

While it can seem cumbersome to bring it along, a beach umbrella can offer a much-needed reprieve from the harshest sun’s rays and give everyone a shady place to relax.

#4 – Bring a Cover Up

It’s smart to bring some type of beach cover up made from cotton or other natural fibers for when you’re done swimming, but you still want to be outdoors on the beach enjoying the water, the warm rays, and the company you’re spending the day with. A cover up that covers your shoulders is a great option since your shoulders and back are often affected the most by sunburn.

Baby Sun Hat Beach#5 – A Stylish Beach Hat

This works wonders for protecting your head, face and neck from the harmful effects of the sun’s rays. A hat should ideally have a wide brim for maximum coverage. Hats are often stylish as well so you’ll enjoy wearing it! Sun hats for babies are an absolute must.

#6 – Find a Shady Spot

You can either create your own shade with an umbrella, or if you’re fortunate enough to find a nice shade tree, you’ll have some protection from the sun. Shade is not foolproof, however, since UVB rays can still reach your skin even if it happens indirectly.

This diffused sunlight is sun that is scattered by clouds or reflected from white concrete or dry sandy surfaces. You might ask “can you get sunburned in the shade?” The answer is that while it might take longer, you can still get some sunburn if you spend enough time in your shady spot

Once you’re done enjoying your day at the beach, if you do notice areas on your skin that have been sunburned, you can use cooling, soothing gel products with skin comforting Aloe Vera to help your skin heal. Prevention is best, but if you or your loved ones do get a sunburn, there are some good products out there today to help cool and soothe skin.

#7 – Avoid Sun Exposure During the Most Intense Times

Avoiding the sun when it’s the hottest and most intense is a good plan if you hope to avoid getting a sunburn. The hottest times of the day when the sun’s rays are the strongest are between about 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

If you’re at a local beach, on a sunshine filled vacation in the Caribbean, spending a fun day at a pool, or visiting some other tropical locale, it’s good to remember that the closer you are to the equator, the stronger and more intense the sun will be.

Children are especially susceptible to the negative sun-related affects that can happen later in life, which can be caused by too much sun and sunburns that happened when they were young. There have been studies that have shown that just one severe sunburn in a little one’s earliest years can almost double their chances of developing Melanoma later in life.

Many moms go into a protective “mama bear” mode when they hear a statistic like this and they want to do everything possible to protect their little ones.

Sun Protection is a Good Idea for Everyone

Taking preventative steps to avoid getting a sunburn is a smart thing to do no matter what age you are or stage of life you’re in. No one wants to be 40 years old and look 60 because of skin damage from excessive amounts of time spent in the sun. When something like sunburn is fairly easy to prevent, it pays to take some proactive steps towards prevention.

Sunny Beach

Everyone will enjoy their day at the beach or pool day that much more when they know they probably won’t have to deal with he pain and intense itching from sunburn afterwards. A bit of planning by bringing along a good sunscreen, an umbrella, cover-ups for everyone and wide-brim hats can keep everybody safer from those UVB and UVA rays.

Get out there and enjoy those sunny days by knowing that you’re also being smart about protecting everyone’s skin. Sunny days spent at the beach become days that everyone will look back on and they’ll cherish the memories of well-spent time.

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