If you spend the majority of your time in and around water, you will need to use products that are waterproof or water-resistant. Please know that these types of products must contain oils and waxes to make them adhere to your skin – and those same ingredients can intensify and magnify the sun’s rays. Use at least double the SPF number in waterproof or water-resistant products than in the water-based, oil-free GRAB A TAN line. The larger SPF will help to compensate for the magnifying quality of those oily and waxy ingredients.

When you stay out of the water when using waterproof products, it is like sitting in the sand with a life preserver on “just in case you might go in the water.” Your skin will heat up and you will perspire under that layer of oil and wax. Your perspiration, trapped under a layer or two of waterproofing cannot evaporate like it should. Consequently, the likelihood of developing a heat rash increases. Avoid rashing and burning with waterproof products by staying in the water and keeping the skin cool and perspiration to a minimum.

The sunscreen industry has led the public to think that the larger the sunscreen number, the better the protection. If an SPF #10 is good, that must mean that an SPF #50 will be better! In theory at least, an SPF # 10 is supposed to block the rays of the sun to allow you to spend 10 times the number of minutes in ultraviolet sunshine than you could with nothing on your skin. In other words, if you would normally burn in 30 minutes of sun, you should be able to handle 10 times 30 minutes for a total of 300 minutes of sun exposure to get the same degree of burn. If the number system really works, that translates to 5 hours of exposure. If that same formula applies to an SPF #50, one should be able to handle 50 times 30 minutes or 1500 minutes of exposure. That translates to 25 hours!!! There aren’t enough hours in the day to need that much protection. Some health professionals have gone on record as saying that anything over an SPF#15 is a waste. However, we still see people burning on an SPF #50. How can that be possible???

At Waikiki Aloe, we believe the SPF number is merely a “guide”, and that many other things need to be taken into consideration. The surrounding ingredients in the product, especially if they are oil-based, are just as important, if not more so, than the SPF number! If you perspire profusely, are taking medications that make you sun sensitive, or tan when the rays are at their greatest intensity are all important variables. Further, if you live in a cold climate and are on a tropical winter vacation, your skin is much more sensitive than it would be at summer’s end at home, after your skin has had a month or two of regular summer sunshine to “condition” itself. In addition, skin tones are not equal, and someone with pink tones cannot handle as much sun as someone with darker tones. All of these conditions add to the complexity of how one tans or burns.

In addition, it is important to realize that sunscreens are harsh chemicals. Those chemicals are eventually absorbed by the skin. The larger the SPF number, the more chemicals that are going to be absorbed by the skin. Why use massive chemicals, when simply eliminating the oily ingredients would allow the sunscreens to do their job; preventing you from burning.

Melanin is a dark pigment found in the deepest layer of the skin. Darker skinned persons have more melanin, and lighter skinned persons have less. Melanin production increases in response to sunlight, causing the skin to become darker. It is our body’s way of offering its own natural protection against ultraviolet rays. However, it doesn’t happen instantly, and many people of all skin tones end up overdosing on ultraviolet exposure. They end up burning their outer layer of skin before the melanin has time to “rise to the occasion." Our Tanning Schedule takes skin tones into account, recommends waterproof products for water activities, and water-based products for activities that are not water bound. The schedule suggests shorter sessions, gradually increasing to longer sessions, to allow you to tan at a pace that matches your skin color. If you follow the schedule, you will likely tan without burning, and your skin will thank you for it years from now!