Why is U.K. sun so strong wearing factor 30 today yet still burnt

[LovelyYellowLabrador]

Applied plenty and reapplied too
plus wasn’t swimming or anything

We used Aldi factor 50 in Spain for 2 weeks recently with no issues at all. We even bought more out there at a local Aldi.

Good value and a good suncream.

My DD(15) has very fair skin, she burns very easily even with spf 30. We've changed to spf 50 but I do have to remind her it's not a one off application, she needs to reapply

I have fair skin but dark eyes and hair. I admit that I'm fairly cavalier with suncream. I use anything from 50 down to 20. The only time I have burnt this year was an hour in the sun without cream (thought I'd be 5 minutes. Got a t shirt tan) and my bikini bits, where it rubs off. I only ever get a very very light tan, where the sun has actually hit, no matter how much time I spent in the sun, whereas I have friends who look at it and go a gorgeous, all over colour.

It's a mystery to me why some people find the sun so strong here and need so much protection

I’m sure you didn’t mean it to be but that sounds really dismissive. Either you are getting burnt or you aren’t. It’s not a mystery.

Different skin types, different weather (maybe windy and you don't notice the sun as much), one persons liberal application is another persons not enough, using different spf.. so many variables
I burn within 5-10 mins with no SPF so I'm really cautious

I don't mean to, it's just that all my life I've considered that I burn really easily. I do without sunscreen, but never with it. I'm very thorough with the first application, but rarely reapply.

It's science The Ozone layer is thinner, it lets more harmful rays through, so we all are exposed and burn more often. I don't seem to burn the further south I go, in say Canary Islands I get hot and sweaty and then get a pale brown colour. In UK I go bright red, freckle and go back to white.

Aldi stuff is fine, we’ve always used it and never burnt. I don’t know why anyone bothers with anything less than factor 50, it’s all we’ve ever used and no one has ever had sunburn.

It was Hawaii tropic it wasn’t five star uva
so I’ve binned it
I think it was a couple of years old
could have been a few years old even

I’ve used Aldi suncream abroad before and it burnt
never get burnt abroad only here in uk

I think the ozone layer being thinner must be the cause as it’s the only logical explanation

Huh? The only explanation when you already said your lotion was years old and not enough star rating? The explanation was that the cream you were using didn't work! Get new suncream every year.

I didn't actually know this. How would you judge how quickly you normally burn?

I have always re-used sun cream year to year as this is what we did as children and it never occurred to me until the last couple of years that you're meant to replace it. I did find one year that I burned in the areas that I missed but didn't burn in the areas I had creamed (with the 2-3 year old cream) so IME it is better than nothing and might still be fine. But probably best to buy new each year anyway.

I think It's a bit early in the morning for my brain to be working properly, I am struggling to understand this. Are you saying that if you are someone who burns in 10 minutes, you apply sunscreen at say 9am, then are mostly out in the sun for the rest of the day, even if you are reapplying, the sunscreen stops giving you protection at 2pm? Even if you last reapplied at 1.30pm? Even if you keep reapplying after 2pm?

I was aware of multiplying the factor by how long you'd usually take to burn but assumed that time was how long you had if you didn't reapply at the end of the 5 hours. I burn easily, and usually try to stay covered and in the shade but there are occasions when I have to be mostly in the sun all day. On those days I wear once a day factor 30, apply at around 8 or 9am, reapply regularly, am outside most of the day until after dark and don't burn. I do wear a hat and usually cover my arms and shoulders but my face and upper chest are still exposed. Sorry if I just haven't understood!