To wonder about sunburnt children before suncream was popularised?

[Leah5678]

Apparently wasn't popularised until the 70s. With children playing outside practically every day back in the days before television was invented how did they not burn? Did they just get used to it?
Apologies if this is an extremely stupid question just something I've been wondering about with the last few days of decent weather

Your family might have been more up on sun screens than others.

As with my post further up prior to 1997 the cost of high factor sunscreens was wild, £9.39 for a factor 15. That's nearly £18 in 2024. And folk go on about cost of living.
Not everyone would have had that amount of money to splash out on sunscreen.

Born early 70s - my mum would put sun cream on us at the beach, this would have been whatever the standard supermarket offering was at the time, probably factor 8 or similar. I only remember getting burned once, but we never holidayed outside the UK

I remember one occasion in the 80s my brother burnt so badly after a day at the beach. His legs looked like bacon and he was screaming as my mother covered him in calamine lotion

Really? You can’t understand how other people’s life experiences weren’t exactly the same as yours?

A quick google tells me that sunscreen containing UVA protection wasn’t sold until 1988, and factor 50 wasn’t sold until 2012. SPF in the 70’ sold was factor 2 to 15. Which is probably why so many of us remember using F15. That probably was as close to “sun block” as technology allowed.

There isn’t any product even today that can claim to be “total sun block”

so either your mum was a time traveller or your memories aren’t accurate.

It may have been available, but my mother was, still is, a massive sun worshipper whose entire purpose in life in the summer was to get as brown as possible. She used this oily Amber Solaire stuff that promoted browning. Astonishingly, in her 80s she's had no trouble with her skin.

this history of sunscreen is interesting. Sunblock was around in a basic form in the 1970s, but no UVA and UVB protection and high SPFs until the 1980s.

Burning was just expected I suppose. Maybe children were encouraged to stay out of the sun in the hottest parts of the day.

In the 1950s, my dad and his many sisters used to go to the beach after school in the summer as it was a short walk from their home. Dad got a nasty sunburn on his back on one occasion. 50 odd years later they found a melanoma on his back- the consultant said it could well have been caused by that one incident of sunburn in childhood. The melanoma was removed but sadly they didn’t get it all and he died from it at 65. Having witnessed what melanoma does to the brain, I recommend everyone stay out of the sun as much as possible, sun cream or not.

Sorry what I meant was I don’t understand people saying there was only low factor available, they did discontinue total sunblock and replaced it with factor 50 because some people thought they were totally safe as it was a block, but you could buy a high factor, I don’t think we pulled it out as often as we do now, but we were a little more oblivious to long term effects of sun damage

Being a family of red heads our mother used to put more clothes on us when at the beach than at home! Sunhat and towelling robes compulsory and that was in the 60s !

I was a child in the 80s and not once do I remember having sun cream applied to me as a child. mum said she just never thought to do it back then as it wasn't really a done thing in the UK even well into the 90s. Sun cream was for only if you went abroad apparently. No idea why they thought the sun was different abroad! I do remember getting sunburnt as a child and would actually enjoy peeling my burnt skin off. So glad everyone is now much more aware of sun damage. although a little bit of sun on the skin has its benefits providing vitamin D.

Total sun block was removed from sale exactly for that reason, it did not totally block, but was definitely on sale in the 70’s and early 80’s labelled as such, obviously I was small so I am going by my mums anecdotes, I don’t think my family were atypical of the time and I don’t know how she afforded sunblock as it was very expensive and we were extremely low income, I just think she was very wary of how pale most of her children were and how quickly we would burn

My mum worked and I was sent to an outdoor pool every day. Suncream existed. I remember asking for some one day and she said no, nivea was just the same. I would burn badly every summer and she thought it was hilarious. I would have huge blisters and all my skin would be peeling off. It was like a snowstorm every time I took my tshirt off. I remember having to stand in public while she jabbed at me with calamine and a bit of cotton wool and people would stare. I don't think she could have afforded the spf tbh.

To this day they don't like me using suncream on my DC. My dad is obsessed with vitamin d deficiency and starts on about it whenever I mention suncream. I would only usually put sun cream on them for school on sports day when they would be outside all day but he doesn't even agree with that. They are indoors at break and lunch the rest of the year.

I have nobody who could look at my back for me, and that worries me.

Did you see my comment on 200ml of Boots Soltan F15 in 1997 costing the equivalent of £18 in today's money?

I think that explains a lot. Sunscreen was very expensive.

Another problem with sunscreen at the time was that it only really blocked UVA. UVB wasn't considered as harmful then. So if you put high factor sunscreen on and then stayed out all day in the sun you would have got a massive dose of UVB. In a way, it was not necessarily a bad thing therefore that people relied more on staying in the shade and clothing not to burn.

I just wish someone would invent a factor 50 sun ream that has a self tanning ingredient so you could tan and protect your skin at the same time!

@KimberleyClark there you go , one of many similar products

https://www.johnlewis.com/lancome-soleil-bronzer-cream/p919556?size=SPF50&s_ppc=2dx_mixed_fashion_BAU&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwr7ayBhAPEiwA6EIGxOa2WL6W3AN9aLNCydq_clxTW_auqo16NHA_TF8S45qV35NtBRROmhoCPY8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

I wish pale would be seen again as attractive.

i like being pale. I don’t like this narrative that tanned is “lovely” and “healthy”

one of my kids has the most beautiful pale Celtic skin. She doesn’t see it and spends hours and ££££ on fake tan products.

fortunately my dire warnings got through and she does keep out the sun/wear F50.

Born late 70's. We always used sun cream - usually of around factor 4 though. Indon't remeber burning until i was older. Both of my parents loved a tan!!

Born in 1953 in a seaside town, spent all my summer weekend/holidays at the beech burnt so badly my back blistered on more than one occasion. Touchwood I've had no nasties as a result of my exposure. Thankfully by the time my own children were out and about we were living in the Far East and had a load of Aussie friends who educated us on the harmful effects of the sun.

As a child in the 60’s I got badly burnt a few times, and I mean blisters and very sore skin, and I actually have a skin that tans well. There was no suncream, we would wear hats, but other than that you just took your chances. Why so many of my generation have some form of other of skin cancer. Ignorance was bliss, and we were encouraged to tan until we were very, very dark. That was the fashion, whereas now days people are encouraged to have a healthy glow rather than very dark. The first time I used sun cream in Spain aged 19 it was little more than olive oil and lemon. Talk about how to cook yourself!

It already exists! Just have a Google ☺️

The ozone layer is thinner, so UV more harmful now.

Some skin cancers are closely correlated with childhood exposure so takes years for the damage to come to fruition

I grew up in the late 70's/80s - sun cream was something that you would only use abroad not in the UK really. Getting sun burnt was seen as the first step of getting a sun tan. I can remember being pleased with getting sun burnt as it meant I was going to get a sun tan.

People really only got concerned if you got burnt to a crisp - blisters and peeling but then pretty much everyone I knew did this at some point to some part of their body.

I was born in 1978, we had sunscreen but we
re lax about typing up. I remember many bad burns and peeling skin.

Geography definitely plays a part as the UV index is much higher in countries like Australia which is closer to the equator and closer to the sun during summer. The UV index can also be high when the temperature is lower so there has always been an aspect of "it doesn't get hot enough" to worry.
The UV levels are increasing though, or the ozone layer is thinning, and will continue to do so. Thankfully, there is a lot more awareness now. It can often take decades to develop so an awareness often comes too late.

I don't understand why sunbeds are not illegal. Every single exposure causes skin damage, there is no 'safe' level. That's not to say everyone who uses one will develop skin cancer but their skin cells will be damaged.

Genetics plays a part as well with the more melanin in the skin resulting in a lesser risk of skin cancer.

Interesting article in the Times today.
Perhaps they get there story ideas from here eh?

Melanoma cases are rising. Here’s my advice for avoiding skin cancer

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1ded3dd0-9830-4b39-8e86-d3946d82e222?shareToken=dd6b4b184ea0889e05108109607b5afe