I guess I should be pleased. After almost 2 weeks of being in equatorial, retinal burning sun from noon till 5:00, I have no tan. Not a freckle. I'm as white as the day I was born.
I don't trust sunscreen. It seems to prevent sunburn but my skin still ends up looking pebbly and mottled, like ground beef. Also, after a day of sweating, ocean salt, and sun screen, I feel completely disgusting.
Here are some products I've used to cover myself instead of using sunscreen.
- Coolibar tights (supposedly SPF 50) Cost: about $50
Unfortunately, they are too short and stop at my shins. I cut the toes off a pair of ski sock liners to get full coverage down below my ankles.
- windsurfing booties to cover feet. Cost: about $50
- Windsurfing shirt (also SPF 50) has a pocket sewn in for waterproof bag with money and copy of passport)
- sailing gloves (Michael Jackson style with fingers cut off): about $30
- wide brimmed hat that won't sag over my face when wet. Hat is about the size of small garbage can top. Cost: about $30. (I couldn't find a good replacement before leaving, so I'm using a 2- year old hat that smells like an old gym sneaker.)
- #50 sunscreen for my nose and face (my only use of sunscreen, as everything else is covered) About $10
total cost for sunproofing: about $160
