A while ago, I had a list of things that significantly and indisputably imcreased the risk of cancer:
The list went:
- Smoking (and I don’t smoke)
- Sun Tanning
Now I’m all for taking risks, especially if when the risks are fun – you’ll be the first to see me lining up to do dangerous but fun things, and the last person to be worrying about about things.
However, I still try to take calculated risks – it has to actually be worth taking the risk.
Whilst my hair is not always that visible, essentially it’s red – the knock on effect of this that because of genetics etc, I have very fair skin. What this means, is that I sunburn very badly, and very easily.
In 2011, a few hours of sunbathing and walking in the sun in the Lake District – not known for it’s Mediterranean climate resulted in some unpleasant looking sunburn, that was intensely painful, and swelled to the point that I found walking difficult for a few days.
Sunburn like that isn’t fun. It’s not cool, it’s not enjoyable, it doesn’t look good and it’s not worth it.
In fact, is a tan even worth it? For me, I don’t think so – given the outbreak of orange coloured fake tan, or sunbed tanned people – I don’t think it’s a look that I actually aspire to, so I’m not even interested in getting a tan.
Essentially the trick is to not hate suncream. Suncream is very easy to hate, and justifiably so – it’s white – requires a mirror – is irritating not nice to touch and is generally a pain in the backside.
I’m a big fan of Nivea’s spray on, colourless range of suncreams – which isn’t half as vile as the traditional stuff, and is easy to apply. When I went to Morocco, I also made an effort to wear light, but long sleeved shirts, which despite the heat, would be preferable to horrible sunburn, and acquired a sun hat, which would also somewhat shade my next/ears/scalp a bit.
Sunburn sucks, and essentially, I don’t see why one should willingly submit to it. From now on, my guard is up!