Sunscreen.

What's the best? Spray? Wipe? Most unlikly to kill you from long term exposure? Thank All.

Dailey wrote:What's the best? Spray? Wipe? Most unlikly to kill you from long term exposure? Thank All.

Huh?

I prefer the spray so that I don't have to get my hands greasy.

Check this.

breakingnews.ewg.org/2011su…

Sunscreens are a scam. There's no evidence they reduce skin cancer, and may even exacerbate the risks due to the fact that they block certain UV rays, but not others. You're better off wearing protective clothing and headgear, and upping your antioxidant vitamin intake (i.e., vitamins A, C, and E, etc.) so that your body has greater resistance to the suns rays.

Just my $0.02...

Zinc oxide baby. Cheap and you can see if you have some on. Sometimes I use a Neutrogena baby protection stick on my face(looks like a deodorant stick). My hands don't get greasy when I use it.
Also a hat, long sleeve shirt, and gloves.

Hansel wrote:Sunscreens are a scam. There's no evidence they reduce skin cancer, and may even exacerbate the risks due to the fact that they block certain UV rays, but not others. You're better off wearing protective clothing and headgear, and upping your antioxidant vitamin intake (i.e., vitamins A, C, and E, etc.) so that your body has greater resistance to the suns rays. Just my $0.02...

I don't really care about whether it reduces cancer, I care that it prevents me from getting sunburns. I think the fact that I always get sunburns without sunscreen but never get them with it is pretty solid evidence that it's effective for that purpose. As for protective clothing, I'd prefer not to have to dress like a Bedouin every time I go outside for more than 20 minutes.

I like the spray type. Less messy.

rmsunscreen.com/index.aspx

Hansel wrote:Sunscreens are a scam. There's no evidence they reduce skin cancer, and may even exacerbate the risks due to the fact that they block certain UV rays, but not others. You're better off wearing protective clothing and headgear, and upping your antioxidant vitamin intake (i.e., vitamins A, C, and E, etc.) so that your body has greater resistance to the suns rays. Just my $0.02...

Be sure to make the following modification to your climbing helmet to block the sun.

bwalt822 wrote: Be sure to make the following modification to your climbing helmet to block the sun.

Very clever!

Consumer reports rated sunscreens and Target's "up and up" brand was rated highest for the spray type (which I use) It is also the cheapest.

I'm a traditional lotion guy. I just never had a problem with it, so haven't changed. But, I try to cover up more than use sun block.

Personally, I like coppertone sport and Banana boat powder coat(this is the best for non-greasy hands). I also use a zinc based one on my face and tattoos.

It puts the lotion on it's skin

Check out the Environmental Working Group page on sunscreens (travis linked it above, I'll throw it below again).... REALLY informative. I got sent there 5yrs ago or so from my derm because I had a pre-pre-pre-pre-might-someday-become-cancerous thing frozen off my face. The site explains sunscreens and it rates sunscreens both on UV blocking ingredients AND on the other ingredients in the cream itself... i.e., organic shea butter vs 10W-30 penzoil. Lots of info on their site.

From personal experience, the good ones nowadays leave you with a bit of a mime look... just a tad whitish... at least if you're looking for total spectrum block and organic cream. I've wound up using the Badger brand and find it to work great for a day of climbing, surfing, up in the snow, whatever. Need a good washcloth and elbow grease to get it off at the end of the day, but that sense of thickness has never caused me to break out from it.

http://breakingnews.ewg.org/2011sunscreen/ewg-s-methodology-for-assessing-sunscreens/

I prefer cancer over slimy greasy chemicals all over my body.

Andrew Shoemaker wrote:I prefer cancer over slimy greasy chemicals all over my body.

Brilliant comment.

Were you in Eldo today? Just a short while ago, I saw a guy driving out of the park in a jeep with the back part of the body cut off (basically just the frame was left) and he had his rope draped more or less over his gas tank (not in a bag -- I'm not making this up). Was that you? He looked a lot like your avatar.

Hansel wrote:Sunscreens are a scam. There's no evidence they reduce skin cancer, and may even exacerbate the risks due to the fact that they block certain UV rays, but not others. You're better off wearing protective clothing and headgear, and upping your antioxidant vitamin intake (i.e., vitamins A, C, and E, etc.) so that your body has greater resistance to the suns rays.

Wearing lots of clothes will certainly do the trick, but "upping your antioxidant vitamin intake" will do nothing for sunburn and there's no evidence that I'm aware of that it'll have much of an effect on reducing the carcinogenic properties of UV rays. And there are plenty of sunscreens out there that block both UVA and UVB. You just have to read the label...

Hansel wrote:Sunscreens are a scam.

Let's see, put on sunscreen - no sunburn. Don't put on sunscreen - bright red, burnt skin. What are we all missing oh wise one?

iceman777 wrote:It puts the lotion on it's skin

"It rubs the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again."

Hansel wrote:Sunscreens are a scam. There's no evidence they reduce skin cancer, and may even exacerbate the risks due to the fact that they block certain UV rays, but not others. You're better off wearing protective clothing and headgear, and upping your antioxidant vitamin intake (i.e., vitamins A, C, and E, etc.) so that your body has greater resistance to the suns rays. Just my $0.02...

And the clinical evidence that vitamins A,C, and E - in the absence of topical sunscreens - protect against skin cancer is...?

Sorry but you sound like just another vapid anti-science, pro-nature hippie.

Oh wait, I get it - Vit E is found in nuts and seeds, Vitamin C in citrus fruits. Nuts and fruits don't get melanoma.

As for sunscreen efficacy, the American Academy of Dermatology considers sunscreens to protect against skin cancer:

"Sun exposure is the most preventable risk factor for all skin cancers, including melanoma. You can have fun in the sun and decrease your risk of skin cancer. Here's how to Be Sun Smart®:

* Generously apply a broad-spectrum, water-resistant sunscreen"

You know better than that group?

I hate sunscreen, but being as white as I am not using it will kill me. Not just long term, but also short term. Last weekend when I went climbing I applied sunscreen 3 times over a 6 hour day and I still had a slight burn. Maybe I could find a "better" sunscreen, but at $5+/bottle I can't afford to keep trying new ones. I wear long-sleeve whenever I can, but since I'm a warm person I usually can't take the heat, either.

My worst sunburn ever was when I spent the whole day boarding in Tahoe on a beautiful bluebird day. I forgot about sunscreen, and the second day of my weekend was spent in the hospital instead of on the slopes because my face was burnt to the point where I needed antibiotics for a skin infection. After about two weeks my whole face kinda peeled of like a leather mask...that wasn't fun.

Interesting thread on the 'taco along these lines:

supertopo.com/climbers-foru…

I like the No-Ad stuff. Seems to work ok for me and doesn't break the bank. I keep a tub of the 50 or 60 block stuff in my car and apply everytime I go out in the sun. I know too many folks who've had "stuff" removed...