Remember: Summertime is sunscreen time

Every summer, you see the reminders to protect your skin against the damage too much sunlight can do, and it’s even more important to remember that if you live in a dry, sunshiny place that is about a mile closer to the Sun than most of the United States.

One of the warnings this year is about spray-on sunscreens, because it’s easy to get a quick spray and think you’re protected.

In fact, spray-on sunscreens may be more trouble than conveniences, because you have to spray enough to get your skin actually wet, which means you might was well have just smeared it on anyway.

Add to that the fact that you probably shouldn’t breathe in too much of the mist, and that the sprayon containers don’t hold as much sunscreen as regular bottles and a lot of it ends up in the air instead of on your skin.

You might want to just skip them. Meanwhile, the usual advice is still good: Choose an SPF between 15 and 50, and put some on before you get to the park or beach, then add another layer as soon as you arrive.

Remember that sunscreen not only comes off when you swim, but also when you sweat, so take a break every once in a while to refresh your sunscreen.

And while nobody expects you to wear a hat and shirt while you’re swimming, it won’t hurt to put them on when you’re not in the water. image: CDC