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During the summer months in Southern California, the sun can be intense enough to burn your skin between the hours of 10:00AM and 5:00PM. The reflection of the sun off of the ocean and light colored sand can exaggerate this effect even more. The effects of the sun's ultra violet rays can cause painful blistering of the skin, cause skin cancer in the long run, and due permanent damage to retina of the eye. The following is a list of tips that will help you prevent yourself from getting burned at the beach:
- Cover all exposed parts of your body (arms, legs, feet, chest, back, face, ears, nose, and even scalp) with sunscreen that has an SPF rating of at least 15.
- It is important to apply the sunscreen ½ hour before you go into the sun. It is equally important to reapply sunscreen after you have gone in the water or toweled off.
- Wear some kind of hat that provides coverage to the sensitive areas of your face, especially the ears nose and lips.
- Whenever possible, wear a shirt or some kind of clothing to minimize your sun exposure.
- Umbrellas or other sunshades are great devices for staying out of direct sunlight, and will also help keep you cool.
- Wear sunglasses that have UV protection to cut down the glare of the sun.
- Don't bake yourself. "Laying out" with minimum skin coverage in the sun will certainly give your skin color, but it can also cause severe burning, premature wrinkling and aging of the skin, damage to the eyes, and worst of all, deadly skin cancer (melanoma).
The Malibu Makos Surf Club realizes the damaging effects that sun rays have on children. We encourage sunscreen application all day long at our beach events. For the kid’s camp, we set aside time for sunscreen application and many of our instructors will carry sun block to place on the children’s faces all day long.
The Malibu Makos Surf Club highly recommends Quiksilver and Mysterioso rash guards for children and adults because they have a SPF of 25 that cannot wipe off like sun block often does. You can purchase at you local surf shop and view the Mysterioso products online at http://www.mysterioso.com. These rash guards have been proven to prevent sun burn.
As for sun protection cream (sun-block), the Malibu Makos Surf Club recommends Bron-Zinc, Headhunter, and Shiseido. These brands all produce thick brownish-skin colored applicants that are the best sun protection you can find. They stay on effectively in the water and protect the face from the sun and elements extremely well.
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