'Avoid the sun' and 'Always wear a high factor SPF'....

[Ilovespringandchocolate]

...Except what happens when you go on holiday for some sun? And when it's summer in the U.K.?

I have worn mositurisers with SPF in for years now (I'm 30) every day so I'd pretty much say I have some form of Sun protection on everyday, however, when I go on holiday I love getting a tan! I wear SPF 25-30 most days and do still tan and tend to wear an SPF 15-25 on face.

I love tanning my face because I look a hell of a lot freshener, brighter and healthier when I have a sunkissed glow on my face, yet at the same time I hate the thought of aging and getting wrinkles.

So...what do I do? Do people that are really strict with the 'No sun and always wear SPF' rule ever sunbathe on holiday or get any sun on their face?

I guess I'm feeling a bit guilty really because I go on holiday next week and am looking forward to getting a sun kissed face and limbs and just looking a bit healthy....but am now thinking do I just sit under the shade with a massive hat and sunglasses a week and avoid the sun?!

Yeah, I try not to tan at all, and put bronzer on in the summer.

Yeah, I try not to tan at all, and put bronzer on in the summer.

I wear a very high factor. I do like the sun so don't avoid it. The downside is not getting a tan.

Sunglasses, hat, shade, covered up: I still love being on holiday and enjoy the warmth and sunshine,I just protect my very fair and sensitive skin from it.

I slather on high factor suncream and sunbathe in short bursts as I get too warm very quickly. Still come home looking as I did before I went though!

rather morbid..but i have recently watched some documentaries on Netflix about people who were abducted and imprisoned for a long time , like 18 yrs without going outside ..when they came out aged 35 or so ...their skin was like a child's..even talked about on the documentary

rather an extreme solution to good skin tho

Sorry but suntan will def age your skin at some point - that sun kissed glow that looks so good on young skin, will come back to bite you once you hit your 40s. Think crepe neck, eye and forehead wrinkles.Trust me you will so wish you hadn't bothered tanning.

I'm at peace with not ever having sun kissed 'healthy' looking skin as I'm so pale I always burn if I try get a tan. I wear spf50 all throughout the summer, usually the 8 hour one so I only think about it before being out all day. I don't hide all my skin but if it's very hot and I'm at the beach I will wear a light kaftan over my swimsuit.

I tell myself my face will reap the spf benefits when I'm older I'm 31.

Just don't forget to take vitamin D supplements if you wear sPFs all year round.

Yeah...but you do need sun for vit D and to help prevent osteoporosis. So sunbathing does have some upsides.

I know what you mean, I love the feel of the sun on my skin on holiday too and it's the only time on the year that I'll actually be out in it because I normally spend long hours in an office! But I wear a very high factor on my face and cover it with glasses and a hat, and just tan my body (with perhaps factor 15-20). I use bronzer to make my face match until my tan fades which is usually a couple of weeks. I don't mind so much if my body ages because I don't expect to be revealing a lot of it once I'm older, I'll be sophisticated and demure 😉

Overexposure to the sun does more than make you age faster; it also increases the risk of skin cancer. Although a healthy glow is considered an attractive feature, sun exposure damages the fiber in the skin’s elastin, which causes the skin to sag, stretch, and lose its ability to bounce back after being stretched. Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer and the numbers keep rising.

An estimated 90 percent of skin aging is caused by the sun.

People who use sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher daily show 24 percent less skin aging than those who do not use sunscreen daily.

Sun damage is cumulative. Only about 23 percent of lifetime exposure occurs by age 18.

Skin cancer is almost definitely in the post for me, due to childhood exposure. I'm covered in freckles and moles. I obsessively cover up now that I'm old enough to realise the damage that was done when I was younger - it's not about wrinkles for me.

That said, apart from the sun damage I actually do have fairly youthful skin because I've protected it for the last 29 years, so I suppose every cloud...

The last 20-odd years. 29 is oddly specific

I wear factor 50 all year round on my face. On holiday or summer in the UK I reapply throughout the day too BUT I have Melasma (pigmentation) on my face caused by hormonal contraception.
I'm olive skinned and never wear sun cream on my body in the UK (I'm aware I should!).

I wear sunscreen when it's over 20 degrees.

And if it's really hot I avoid the sun. Makes me feel sick anyway.

Don't wear it in winter etc.

I've worn sunblock everyday on my face & neck since I was 22, no wrinkles or lines at 40.

I use SPF 50.

One of my mums colleagues died of melanoma in the early 1970's & her specialist said they thought it was linked to sun exposure so my mum used to send me off to school in sunblock as a child too, never let me sunbathe as a teenager etc.

You need a lot higher on your face op. I know it feels good, but sun = ageing and higher risk of melanoma.

This is what gradual fake tan is for. Shade bathing in the main then slap the gradual tan on every evening and go home with a tan without the potential damage. No brainer

I wear factor 30 but still get really tanned (I think I sweat it off?! After 10 mins of tennis it looks like my face is dripping with milk)

I (sort of) accept my skin will be a wrinkly mess soon (am 46 already) as I am outside a lot (garden work) and suncream slides off me. I always wear a hat/cap though...

Slim have you tried Ultra Sun sports gel?

I moved to Oz in my 40s and look a lot younger than Aussie women the same age.Its often commented on by my aussie female friends. I wear factor 50 all the time now and still have a light golden tan so i suspect in a few years I will catch up with a vengeance! Although if i was back to only getting a couple of weeks sun a year I'd get a tan too!

So ladies, can you recommend a good SPF to wear under make-up that isn't too greasy? Or is that the holy grail? I have oily skin to start with.