Hat instead of sunscreen?

Even at 75, you want to be careful. Skin like mine that has already been damaged by years of exposure to high-altitude sun is going to develop pre-cancerous or cancerous lesions that much faster. Do you really want to spend your retirement years having chunks dug out of your epidermis? I'd rather be backpacking!

Please don't underestimate the strength of that sun at 10,000 feet vs. sea level. At higher altitudes, you need all the protection you can get!

This thread inspired me to buy some new sun gear! I've got a new Adventure Hat and some sun gloves (for the first time) on the way. Can't wait to get hiking!

And Jack you inspired me.
I'm gonna get some sun gloves.
The hands are very susceptible if you use trekking poles.

Instead of gloves, I use the Sun Precautions hand guards. http://www.sunprecautions.com/product/3130K10+XS+WHT

While I bought mine, I'll bet that most folk who are even fair at sewing could make their own using the picture as a model.

My hands don't sweat inside them on hot days, and unlike gloves I don't have to take them off to use my camera.

amazing!

BTW, for anyone wanting to make their own sun-protection, I believe that Solumbra et al simply use a very fine weave fabric; there's nothing special "impregnated" into the fabric. Might take a little research, but definitely do-able

I have always hated sun screen when I was younger I could skateboard or surf all day in just shorts with no sunscreen for 12 to 14 hours a day I never would sunburn back then. We even had skin cancer contest with my skateboarding,surfing buddies and relatives to see who would get it first. My sister won the contest.

Now since I have aged I wear a hat by Outdoor Research called the Sun Bucket. It is a killer little hat give all day sun protection and does not have a kooky big wide brim like most sun hats and breathes and folds up in my pocket has detachable chin string. I now wear synthetic hiking pants that do not turn in to shorts. I hate the zipper seam rubbing against my thigh. Mountain Hardware make a thin synthetic long sleeve T shirt for sun protection.Now I don't have to wear the icky gooey sun screen that clogs my pores and makes me sweat.

http://www.outdoorresearch.com/site/sun_bucket.html

I totally understand. I hate sun screen as well. I have olive tone skin due to my ethnic background – I rarely burn but I tan dark. Never thought twice about it till I married a red haired man whose skin basically glows white. And had an alabaster white skinned baby with orange eyebrows/lashes.
My husband had his first skin cancer taken off a couple years ago. To say the least it was on the gross-o-meter on how they took it off.

Now I cover my head with a Buff that is sun rated and so does everyone else in the family, then I wear a visor over it. My husband wears massive hats that have neck covers and covers most of his body with sun rated fabrics. And yeah, I started wearing sun block in winter and at altitude in summer. Hate, hate and hate it. But I know..my genetics will only protect me so much. The baby is fully covered in summer. Last summer I carried an umbrella over him, just like my husband’s grandmother did for him.

I always bring sunscreen but use it only on nose as last resort. My main reason is that chemicals can be absorbed into bloodstream from skin, so I want to use as little as possible. I always wear long sleeve, long pants, long-billed sun hat with neck cover (don't bother me!), sunglasses and wear light cotton sun gloves. But I'm usually hiking Sierras where such wear is not uncomfortable at all.

Once you decide you might want to use sun screen, try several brands to find out which are the most tolerable. Neutrogena (70+ SPF) and Banana Boat (100) are a couple I'm familiar with. The Neutrogena goes on dry-feeling, with minimal ick factor; the Banana Boat is a bit thicker, as I recall, harder to spread, but may stay on longer, and is also not greasy feeling.

There is on the drawing boards a sun screen with SPF of 873. Put it on, and massive dark clouds completely blot out the sun, so, needless to say, agricultural interests are fighting its deployment.

For my hands;

I use a pair of Columbia "Utilizer" (used to be called Omni-Shade) sun gloves. They were originally used for fishing. I also use then when I do field photography. I use these when I expect it to be warm or hot. In cooler conditions I use a pair of full-fingered mountain bike gloves with the poles.

Randy

Check out the authoritative guide on sunscreens.

Heads up that Banana Boat 100 is the the EWG's Hall of Shame.

That is really interesting info

I've tried zinc and titanium oxides, but I don't like them because they come off my skin in sweat and get all over my clothes and stuff

The other sunscreens have moderate health concerns or worse, if not because of the active ingredient(s), due to the multitude of other ingredients

There really aren't any very good sunscreens except hat and long sleeves.

The more you cover up, the less goop you have to use.

Actually, I think it's the Banana Boat "Baby Max Protect" that's in the hall of shame, but it may be the same thing. Apparently, a lot of high SPF sunscreens do a good job of protecting us from UVB, but a poor job with UVA. Until a few years ago, all UVA-effective creams could only be obtained abroad–they hadn't been approved here yet.

EVG suggests "In the meantime [until more effective screening compounds are approved], high-SPF products may tempt people to stay in the sun too long, suppressing sunburns but upping the risks of other kinds of skin damage. EWG recommends that consumers avoid products labeled with anything higher than “SPF 50+” and reapply sunscreen often, regardless of SPF."

Of course, if one knows this, not sure what the problem would be with using a high SPF product one likes and re-applying it often.

The EVG site is a wealth of information. Thanks, Jack. But not so sure I agree with their anti-oxybenzone, anti-vitamin A, etc. stance. They seem to favor creams with mineral oxides (Titanium, zinc, etc.) I guess I'd like to see more proof that the other common ingredients are actually bad.

All sunscreens I've tried have some sort of fragrance, even the titanium oxide stuff.

This can be very annoying in bug season or with some critters.

I don't know how many times I've put on sun screen and instantly become flying bug magnet:-(

Aveno. Not like the rest but not cheap either.

Currently using

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunblock SPF 85

Sarah, I am not as fair-complected as your husband, but had my first skin cancer taken off last July. I ended up with a scar next to my nose, in the outline of a triangle (the surgeon excised a round deep hole, then cut a triangle of skin below it and moved it up to cover the hole; if I wore makeup (I don't) I suppose it would be barely noticeable, but the lines are still a bit purplish and will probably stay that way at least for a few years judging on other scars I've had.

I've worn either a hat or sunscreen for the most part for the past 20 years, but of course sunscreens in the past didn't have UVA protection. Needless to say, I'm now wearing both. For normal everyday non-hiking life, I still put on sunscreen every day now. I'd post my post-op picture but don't have an online photo site set up (too bad, it might be a good motivator for those who aren't inclined to wear sunscreens and hats).

I too object to the smell of sunscreen; I've found that the Neutrogena AgeShield Face sunblock (UPF 70) has far less scent than the Dry-Touch (also Aveeno is smellier than the AgeShield Face). For an unscented zinc oxide block, try BurnOut (UPF 32). You can also buy zinc oxide 20% for about $4 per tube, but it's a bit greasier and messier. Highest protection factor (though not manufactured for sunscreen) of all is a Desitin diaper cream with 40% zinc oxide (good for backs of hands, though I also use Coolibar sun gloves).

[edited to correct spelling]

Yeah James. I agree.

I noticed before I posted that they were referring to the baby version of the SPF 100, but in my laymans look into it, they seemed the same, if not very similar.

That must have been pretty scary for you and your husband, I have seen guys out surfing missing half their noses, chunks out of their cheeks and such. Luckily my sister is just at the point of getting the cancer spots burned off.

I am now in 74 % group now that why I have taken the precaution I even sit on the beach with rail riders shirt and put on long pants as soon as I get out of the water, Bury my feet in the cool sand. The only sun screen I can handle is the spray on stuff . I just really don't like lotions,sunscreen or even make up on women it clogs the pores of your skin and does not allow the skin to breath properly. It does absorb in to your skin.

People use to cover up in high sun areas before sun screen was invented for centuries to protect their skin and in modern days in countries like Afghanistan and other arab countries the nomads still use clothes instead of sunscreen to cover up. They may not have sun cancer problem because they are not constantly bombarded with television news shows about medical problem how if you do not do this you will die. Then 3 years later they report it okay to do it. The news is chicken little mode constantly. I don't watch it anymore or I would be living in bomb shelter of the 1950's.

I am allergic to almost all sunscreens, so I use only sunblock (titanium dioxide or zinc oxide ointment). While it's nasty (although some of the newer Ti dioxide sunblock isn't nearly as bad as zinc oxide ointment ), at least I don't break out in hives when I use it. That's why I cover up with clothing as much as I possibly can, whether at home, at the beach, or backpacking, including closing my collar button and turning up the collar to protect my neck, or wearing a lightweight zip-T base layer as my shirt. That way I need to use sunblock only on my lower face and chin and, if not wearing those weird but comfy hand covers, the backs of my hands. I of course try to get the gunk all off before getting into my sleeping bag at night, using a small piece of Handi-Wipe as a washrag and a little water.