Ah, summer time. It's the time of late night bonfires, s'mores, and beach getaways. It's the time of firecrackers and barbecues. It's also the time of the dreaded outdoor tan. I'm a Triple P: a perpetually pale person. As a perpetually pale person, the social construct of tanning has always plagued me. I don't tan. You can pretty much ask anyone I know. It just doesn't happen. As the truest meme on the internet says, my skin only has two settings: tomato or albino.
Just because you're pale doesn't mean you should become Frosty the Snowman always running from Mister Sun. There are a few ways to avoid looking like you spent time in the oven and risking melanoma every time you go outside. Here are three major tips I've learned over the years after suffering from sunburns in the summer time.
Tip 1: Always wear sunscreen.
Each year I start off the summer hoping my skin has miraculously changed. That for some reason I will suddenly have the super power of getting caramel colored skin during my time in the sun. It always happens the first warmish day of the year when it looks shady and cool outside. For some reason, I don't think I'll need to leave the house with the cautionary layer of sunscreen. Bam! First mistake.
Just wear sunscreen every day, even in the winter. If you're a guy, do as my granddad does and make it your aftershave. If you're a girl, buy some foundation with SPF in it. Make sunscreen a part of your daily routine and it won't even be a second thought.
Tip 2: Chill out in the shade.
It takes less than 20 minutes for me to burn. I learned this in the French Tutoring Session Incident of 2013. One of my peers convinced our French tutor to have our study session outside in late April. We sat right in the center of Quad with full exposure to the sun. I was in a black and white dress without solar protection. Yep, you guessed it. By the time our tutoring session was over I was black and white and red all over. Second mistake.
I know I should have said something. I should have requested we sit under a tree or under the awning near the library, but I didn't. If you go out without sunscreen, try and find a source of shade. It'll give you a small source of safety in your time of need.
Tip 3: Know when it's time to call it quits.
I learned this one during the Family Reunion Incident of 2014. My dad and I were talking with some family, in the shade I might add, when I could feel it happening. I'm sure you know the feeling. The hot tightening tingle that comes when your skin begins to burn. I turned to my dad and asked him if we had more sunscreen. It ended up being in the car and I was lazy, so I just ignored it. I ended up with a back burn so bad that I had to sleep on my stomach for a week. Mistake three.
Always know when it's time to go inside or at least put on more sunscreen. It's not your fault that your skin is weak, but you'll regret ignoring that fact when you look like a cooked lobster.
Bonus Tip: Buy a floppy hat.
The dreaded face burn can often be difficult to avoid. I even managed to get burnt on my face while on a ski trip in December. The only way to avoid that one is probably sunscreen, but during the summer there's a more fashionable way of approaching it. It's the lovely floppy hat.
It's your own personal portable awning, there isn't anything much better than that. They come in all colors and styles, plus they're super classy. (Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's, anyone?) So stock up on the floppy hats. They're worth it.
