Beware of the Friendly Hawaiian Sun ! It will tan and burn you greater than the sun in Minnesota at the same time. (Waimea: dermatologist, buy)
Big IslandThe Island of Hawaii
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The sun is much stronger in CO than HI, but I still got a bit of a tan while I was there. Could have been that I was outside most of the week though and during a normal week I'm at work.
Hiking around Volcano caught me off guard and I got burned, but after that I was putting sunscreen on with a spatula
I actually didn't have to wear my sunglasses the entire week there, but I can't step foot outside here without them on
I'm a pale haole who burns under a full moon, so when I go to Hawaii, I alway slather on lots of SPF 45 sunscreen. I've never been sunburned there. My darker-skinned Hawaiian wife and her sons, however, got cocky on a trip to Hawaii a few years ago and said that they didn't burn, just tan. They didn't use sunscreen, and they burned so badly that they blistered.
If you get burned, brew up some Lipton's tea, really strong. Cool it to body temperature and bathe the sunburn with it. It will take some of the pain out and help to convert the burn to tan quicker.
Honest. It works really well. It is rumored to be the tannin in the tea that does the trick.
I'm sure it doesn't have to be Lipton's brand, but it needs to be black tea. I say Lipton's because that is all I've ever used and I know it works. I just use the tea bag, itself, to dab the tea onto the burn.
Another vote for good sunscreen, though, if you are not accustomed to the sun.
When we were in Hawaii the first time we were at the Kodak Hula Show (anyone remember that?) and my wife had on a spaghetti strapped sun dress. I told her she should put on sunscreen, but she said "blacks don't burn". She found out to her surprise that blacks do burn!
My first big time mistake with the Hawaiian sun was wearing a speedo and laying in a very remote place wear no one was around and positioned myself on a gentle slope of smooth black lava pebbles, the gentle waves were so wonderful, splashing gently on my legs around 11:00 AM . The quietness and rolling waves lulled me to sleep. Three hours later I woke up and walked back to my truck. That night I KNEW I was burned and barely slept at all. Now, if I think I am going to be around the ocean for more than 40 minutes, I wear a T shirt and some kind of tight swim pants. But I did learn my lesson.... Take the sun in 20 minuite bursts per day until you get acclaimated to it.
I'm fair skinned Minnesotan and have been vacationing the islands for decades. Never been burned, nor my daughter. We don't use sunscreen either. What we do is acclimate. We do stay at least two weeks so there isn't the rush to hit the water. We shop and eat and wear hats the first two days, taking in the sunset on the beach. By the third day we are pretty well acclimated. I stay on the beach and in the water pretty much all day, having packed a lunch. I have seen others turn bright red and burn.
I'm fair skinned Minnesotan and have been vacationing the islands for decades. Never been burned, nor my daughter. We don't use sunscreen either. What we do is acclimate. We do stay at least two weeks so there isn't the rush to hit the water. We shop and eat and wear hats the first two days, taking in the sunset on the beach. By the third day we are pretty well acclimated. I stay on the beach and in the water pretty much all day, having packed a lunch. I have seen others turn bright red and burn.
You might wish to do a little homework on the latest research. It's actually quite possible to suffer skin damage without any visible reddening.
I am fairer than fair, and learned at an early age how quickly I could burn. So I developed a strategy something like yours. Then my mother, whose complexion I inherited, who was also careful about sun exposure, had several bouts of skin cancer. In the aftermath I did some reeducation and reassessment.
Now I buy the biggest bottles I can find of SPF 45+ sunscreen with high UVA protection, whenever I see it on sale, and I keep them in my bathroom, by the front door, and in my car to remind me to "grease up" whenever I'm going to get much exposure. And so far... long past the age when my mother started being afflicted... my dermatologist is still smiling.
Good luck!
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