Hi paul if you have pale skin i would recommend a factor 50 to start with then after a few days work down to a factor 30 then down to a 20

Hi Paul, I was in Protaras last Sept I first used factor 20 but the sun didnt burn me at all so I went down to a factor 15. I am a redhead and freckly but I was brown before going really and to be honest I wasn't much browner when I came back even tho it was in the 90's! however I do reapply very often. If you are really pale and burn really easily then yes about factor 50 would be right otherwise that seems really high to me (just my honest opinion) Helen

ooh here I go again....

Hi Paul I totally understand why you are asking.....

My first holiday to a hot country (turkey as it happens) many moons ago let me find out the hard way about getting it wrong !
As I live in the North of the UK I obviously know nothing about the sun and sunbathing, so on arrival thought I want myself one of these tan things...
Got something that seemed to be saying it was good for tans (carrot oil) and spread a nice orange coating around my pasty white body ! 2 hours later I was at the bar thinking I feel ill ! Went back to the room and spend the rest of the night having wet towels put on me to avoid dying !

Since then I have had much more idea and respect for the sun !

On the last holiday (last year 2007) to Cyprus I was using lip block and factor 15 on my nose as these are the first to go...not like me to be planning ahead.... worked ok and came back with a nose and lips for a change...

however one morning we decided to go for a walk early morning as we presumed our daughter (who had come in the middle of our holiday with her boyfriend as planned) would still be in bed... so I didn't bother with creams etc as we thought we would be back shortly for breakfast.
On to the beach and they were up and in the water (this is about 9am)... so off with my shirt and in I went... a few hours pass...and oh dear... I'm in room and Mrs Ask is at chemists buying "burn cream" not "sunburn cream" !!... so that was my sunbathing done for the holiday as I had to keep covered up !!

Steve

I always use a factor 30 and though i have very dark hair and eyes i have very pale skin and freckles ...
I always go back to work with out a tan mind you i have had my fare share of sun burn and sunstroke over the years and cover my head and stay in the shade at the heat of day and dare i say i do envey hubby who has dark skin tone blue eyes and goes a dark shade of brown

I burn easily, so start with 20, which I re apply frequently. I'm also under the umbrella from 11am until around 2.30pm. Take it easy at the start of the holiday, you don't want it spoilt through over indulgence - everything in moderation. Don't forget to apply if you're out sightseeing, or walking and more often at the beach where there's usually a breeze, and you don't feel so warm. I use a 12 for the last 3 or 4 days of the holiday and usually come back with a nice rich colour.

I've lived in Cyprus for over 4yrs now and if I'm going to the beach, I use F30 as the sun can be very deceiving if there is any chance of a breeze.

I'm fair haired but my mum has naturally olive skin so I do tan. Now of course, I have a tan pretty much all year round but I can still burn if I'm not careful at the beginning of the season when I unleash the bits that get covered up in winter...

After having a mole removed from my forearm a number of years ago in the UK and waiting 10 days for the biopsy to come back, I'm much more careful in the sun now. It's just not worth taking the risk of developing skin cancer for the sake of trying to get as brown as everyone else.

A close friend of mine died aged 34yrs leaving 3 children under 5yrs of skin cancer. She got her legs badly burnt on holiday in Crete when she was 22yrs old. The cancer went all through the muscles in her thighs and eventually right through her system.

Please - don't risk it, be sensible.

If you have fair skin and haven't been in the sun - you should be starting at F50 and ending up no lower than F30.

CwB

I'm fair skinned but my arms and face spend most of the year in contact with the "sun" light (here in UK that should probably read "cloud light") and are pretty much ok with very low or no factor cream - however the rest of my skin is covered up with work uniform so doesn't get the chance... would I be better putting a high factor (30-50) on and staying uncovered for longer or using a lower factor and only uncovering for a short time ?

I am fair skinned and I always use factor 40/50 when I go to Cyprus and always come home with a lovely tan.

Kath x

I never go below factor 30, try Doctor Fisher Mousse, brilliant and does not sting, from time to time it's on special in the supermarkets

the best cream/lotion we have come across is one we have been putting on the kids for years. you apply it once half an hour before you go in the sun and it lasts all day, and its completely waterproof. it actually binds into the skin. our kids have never burnt with it. You'll know the name its called P20 and is expensive at about £18 a bottle but it does work.

where do you get it from ?

Im very fair and don't tan, I normally come back whiter

Last year (end of sept, beg of Oct) I used F50 & 40, I could not stick lying in the sun without being under the shade for more than a few mins, I literally felt my skin burning. We didn't do a lot of lying around sunbathing last year, I got a lot of freckles (thats my tan lol) and H tanned from just walking around and driving to 'sites' in the car. We did go to the Ayia Napa waterpark and made sure we kept reapplying the lotion

We are going back 1st week of Oct too and got F40.

Just make sure you keep reapplying!! and be careful especially 11am-3pm when the sun is at its hottest. I normally used P20 or Parasol one a day lotions but they were no good for me in Cyprus, it was just too hot. Even if you tan you should never go below F15. Please be careful especially if you are fair.

AskCy wrote:

I'm fair skinned but my arms and face spend most of the year in contact with the "sun" light (here in UK that should probably read "cloud light") and are pretty much ok with very low or no factor cream - however the rest of my skin is covered up with work uniform so doesn't get the chance... would I be better putting a high factor (30-50) on and staying uncovered for longer or using a lower factor and only uncovering for a short time ?

AskCy I would definately stick to the higher factor especially if you are fair. You will tan still with a higher factor. I wouldn't risk damaging my skin.

You will tan still with a higher factor. I wouldn't risk damaging my skin

.

Quite right too. A high factor cream has never stopped me from catching the sun - it just means I can stay out a bit longer than I normally do without burning.

Kath x

P20 is readily available in Boots and Superdrug, among other places.

jaimec wrote:

AskCy wrote:

I'm fair skinned but my arms and face spend most of the year in contact with the "sun" light (here in UK that should probably read "cloud light") and are pretty much ok with very low or no factor cream - however the rest of my skin is covered up with work uniform so doesn't get the chance... would I be better putting a high factor (30-50) on and staying uncovered for longer or using a lower factor and only uncovering for a short time ?

AskCy I would definately stick to the higher factor especially if you are fair. You will tan still with a higher factor. I wouldn't risk damaging my skin. :cheers

AskCY I have just thought, do you tan at all? if you don't like me then there is no point going to a low factor to let the sun burn your skin. I don't have much melanin in my skin and don't tan so I don't chance burning at all.

I still like the sun though

Hello All, I go to Protaras most years but always in june. I always use F30 all over body but on my face I use the kids F50 as my nose and forehead burn if I use any lower. I also always make sure to re-apply every 2 hours, I always come back with a lovely tan except on my face which I don't mind because i would rather use bronzer makeup than have premature wrinkling. Happy Hols

p20 is also available at british airports, we normally go through about one bottle per child over two weeks. for an adult you are probably talking a bottle a week. as you apply it to your face it smarts your eyes a bit. its a five minute ritual every morning for us to paint each child in it but twenty mins later its dried in and they can play all day. we do still things sensibly i.e sun hats and shade where possible but there is no hint of burning after exposure.

AskCY I have just thought, do you tan at all?

yes I do tan but I'm not one of these lovely golden or olive skinned people.. I tend to go a reddish shade of brown.. the red fades once out of the sun for a few days...leaving me with a glow