Is anyone actually sunbathing in this weather?

[Itssohot26]

When I was young it was my mission to get a tan on holiday or even in the back garden whenever the sun came out. I could lie out for hours with factor 4. Everyone seemed to do it!

I just sat in the garden for 5 minutes and it was unbearable so I have come back in to watch the tennis with the fan blasting.

I’m only twenty minutes drive from a beach but haven’t sat on the sand for years.

Do people still sunbathe or like to tan these days? Are you lying in your back garden in the heatwave?

That’s so weird to hear! We’ve all been dying south of the border 🥵🤣

Yes but I'm after health benefits, not a tan tho I do go golden as a by product. Naturally very fair skinned, I used to burn in a matter of minutes if I went sans sunscreen as a kid. But I don't use sunscreen these days as I'm after specific health benefits from UV, besides which I no longer turn pink, let alone burn. I can happily stay in the sun all day and I'm fine despite deeply tanned and sunscreened friends burning if they're with me. Still I don't think it's beneficial, hence I only stay in the sun all day if I'm hiking.

Day to day my first stint in the sun is 30 minutes, which I do first thing in the morning right after waking up (if the sun is up by then). Doing this protects against Dementia. I use the time as an opportunity for breakfast and watering the plants.

I eat lunch in the sun to get another half an hour between 10am to 2pm, as that is when the high sun UVB rays required for Vitamin D synthesis proliferate. Caveat: I do have cholesterol in my diet, which is required for the skin cells to work their Vitamin D synthesis magic. If I was PUFA only or on statins, I wouldn't bother with lunchtime sun - or I'd use sunscreen if I just wanted to be in it.

No. I used to as a young woman, but this led to two incidents of skin cancer. One sub cutaneous melanoma on my leg, and a basal cell carcinoma on my face.

I still enjoy hot weather but have learned the hard way that sunbathing is dangerous.

Yes, 15 mins in the afternoon soon for vitamin D and infrared light, or longer in the milder, evening sun.

No I’ve never seen the appeal of it. So boring. Also I would never have the time these days - if I’m out sunning myself who is dealing with the kids and the house. It’s a struggle to get everything done normally on a weekend when you work full time. If I’m on holiday I might lie on a sun bed with a book and have dips in the pool but I’d always sit in the shade.

My sister & I have been at RHS Badminton today and the sun was brutal, luckily we inherited our fathers skin which is Mediterranean olive rather than our mothers pale Yorkshire!
We still deployed big floppy hats and factor 30. Though when younger did take advantage of our ability to tan without burning, neither of us would sit out in it these days just for a tan!

Never been a sit by the pool type of person but would naturally be out and about in my youth, catching the sun. I was white as a sheet and didn't change colour until I hit my 20's though, then freckles just spread horribly over my face! Sun screen wasn't really a thing back then, more oils to make you tan faster.

But I do remember my dad telling me when I was in my 30's, as he wouldn't join me in the garden when I went to visit that I would dislike the heat as I got older. Yeah, he was right. I can't stand it now, especially since hitting menopause.

Where are you? I’m in the west and it was 22 today scorching! The only ‘cool’ day we had was yesterday. All last week was beautiful pretty much and it’s forecast for high 20’s again this week coming…. No rain in sight!

I've been outside working in the garden all day. I'm in east Scotland though and today we had 17 degrees if we were lucky. I always put factor 30 at least on my face and usually wear a hat but didn't bother today as I was covered up anyway. We had a couple of days last week at 25/26 and it was way too hot to sit out in the sun or do gardening. I find that heat exhausting so I prefer shade but always outside in the garden. I absolutely love the sun and am pretty obsessional about checking the forecast both summer and winter as blue skies make me feel much happier. I certainly couldn't cope with temps in the 30's unless I was beside a pool or the sea and under an umbrella. I do feel sympathy for all those coping with the very high temps down south.

I spent 40 minutes sat outside reading a book and now I have sunburn shins and nipples, I won’t be going outside again for a while until it cools down.

I am loving being a colour other than milk white for once though

It used to be everyone was anti-sunbathing, if you want a tan then fake it, and don't go out without a hat and factor 200.
But there's been a change, and people are now looking at the health benefits and saying you should get some sun-see Liz Earle (?) etc. So it depends on age, younger people are apparently more pro sun, but older people not so much. Does depend though-some of my friends who have experiebced skin cancer in the family, espeically the grandparents from before the anti-sun time are still very anti-sunbathing, as is very understandable.

My neighbours sunbathe. I think they're nuts, but they also go on holiday somewhere sunny every year and come back very tanned.

I've never been able to tolerate much sun and I burn easily. At the moment I'm covering up and slapping on the Factor 50.

Not sunbathing, I am sitting in the shade in the garden, but I am walking in it for about an hour and a half to two hours a day. So I am getting a tan on my walks IYSWIM.

Yes, a bit of a swing the other way and misinformation with it. There's a dangerous trend thanks to tiktok called tan maxxing...🤦‍♀️
Also the exaggerated "science" of protecting brain health.

https://www.marieclaire.com/beauty/skincare/tan-maxxing-tiktok-trend-explained/

I've been down to the beach quite a lot in this really hot weather, I am in a beach hut so not out in the sun (I sit well back inside) but the amount of people on the beach in chairs or lying on a towel with no shade has really shocked me.

It's not just the youngsters, I would say a lot of them are mainly people in their 50s upwards.

There's no way people can't be aware of how bad it is for you to lay out for hours when there are skin cancer stories everywhere and warnings all over social media too but obviously, they know better.

One lady who we speak to has had skin cancer, she must be well over 75 but shrugs and says she doesn't worry about getting it again and won't do anything about it if she does.

Mad!

I live near the coast and regularly see people sunbathing, often older people but also lots of groups of young people, and yes you do see the sunburn, it makes me grimace.

Lots of pink people on our local beaches. We go down at 8 for a dip with the dog, and again at 6, and clearly many folk have been frying all day.
mind you I used to ge like that in my teens inthe 1980s!

I have been working outside wearing shorts and a tee shirt. I am getting a nice tan. I did not use sun cream as I have never used it and at 79 I am a bit old to change my ideas.

I’m not sure as we just got back from Spain but looking at past weeks weather, Glasgow peaked at 24 but average high was 22. That is still “taps aff” here to be fair!

Not in the heatwave!
It's been much too fierce, although I did buy myself a rigid little childrens' pool - rigid so I can grasp the edges to haul myself out again! Can't do that with the softer ones, I get stuck & have to be dragged out by the kids! I sat in that for a few hours the other day when it was so hot, splooshing myself, it was delicious!
Otherwise, might have 30-60 mins reading if it's not too hot, & then come back indoors. I ALWAYS have a sun hat on, as someone else said, heat / sun stroke donkey's years ago on a walk, & never forgotten how cold & dreadful I felt..

I do, but with factor 50 on. I just like sitting in the sun with a book! Especially if there’s rosé involved

Nope. I’m happy to sit on a sun lounger by a pool with a good book, but I always drag it into the shade.

We have a pool and we sunbathe or sit out as often as we can! Get home from work, get your costume and factor 50 on!! Our toddler also plays out all day (nap and lunch 11-2ish inside though)

Same, plus as a PP mentioned, ive seen the damage it does to people's skin. The friends I have who sunbathed a lot do have faces of leather and look decades older than me

Yup, baking away I love it!!!