Sunscreen - The Best

[frogfinner]

I agree with covering up but I still use sunscreen on the parts that can't easily be covered. Once you get used to using those physical blocks they work really well. The first day of using it I almost gave it up cause I was trying to apply it like the chemical ones. The key is reading the directions.

 

[MAKO Spearguns]

Oooh, I like the tube scarf!

Thanks!

Another issue with sunscreens is that they tend to wash off and reduce protection and if you apply it really thick on your face, it tends to gunk up the mask skirt and heaven help you if it migrates to the inside of the mask lens...with some products you end up with a smudge on the inside of the mask and an eye stinging soup in the bottom of the mask.

We have also recently added lycra pants to our selection of warm water gear. Similar in construction to a typical dive skin, however the two piece construction eliminates a zipper and also allows a diver to relieve themselves without pulling the top inside out and down- as is required with a one piece dive skin.

We also offer a full coverage package with a discount.

Dive Skin Rashguard 3 Piece Package | MAKO Spearguns

Dive Skin Rashguard Pants | MAKO Spearguns

 

[PeterNBiddle]

We wear full length (full arms for me, that plus full legs for my fair-skinned dive buddy) rash guards plus wide-brimmed hats and then use Badger on the few places that might get reflective sun and have pretty much eliminated burning. I don't even really have to think about it anymore.

 

[drbill]

I keep a full wetsuit on when I'm diving even if I'm in the tropics. However I do use sunscreen on my face. The one I use is Soleo (zinc oxide-based). I can usually dive all day without it losing effectiveness. It is reportedly reef friendly.

 

[Doc Harry]

The best sunscreen is opaque long-sleeve clothing and a hat, doesn't contaminate the water

 

[TMHeimer]

The best sunscreen is opaque long-sleeve clothing and a hat, doesn't contaminate the water

Works a lot of the time--not always. Hands, feet (you wearing socks on wet boat or gearing up on shore?)--. Wind blows hat (sombrero type, etc.) and face or part of is now exposed. Being picky, but exposure without good sunscreen for the very fair-skinned is a biggee if you've had pre-cancerous spots frozen off your face. I wore exactly what you said all the time until maybe my 30's, then slacked off. Bad move. Then came the serious sunscreen. Will add--I snorkeled for decades prior to OW cert. and that involves surface and shallow diving. Salt water magnifies the sun's effect. Some diving can be like that as well, if very shallow--but for sure on surface swims.

 

[jonhall]

Salt water magnifies the sun's effect. Some diving can be like that as well, if very shallow--but for sure on surface swims.

Found this to be an interesting statement. Is this as compared to fresh water or does fresh water have the same effect? Just to get people thinking, whether it's right or wrong, this is what I think:

1. Sunlight is reflected from the surface of any water, salt water more because it s more dense. So if you are on the ocean, don't stare into that reflected light, because it adds to the sunlight already hitting your face. More light is reflected off of choppier water than calm water.

2. Whatever percentage of light that is not reflected penetrates the surface. Some is scattered by bouncing around off of particles in the water. In this manner UV radiation may hit parts of your body not directly facing the sun, thus those body parts do get sun exposure.

3. Some of the light that penetrates the surface is absorbed by particles that are in the water. Since salt water consists of some different types of salt particles, it would absorb more light than fresh water, meaning less to scatter. The effect is that the water becomes warmer, but absorption by water particles won't lead to any extra exposure of sunlight on your skin.

So does water, salt or fresh, really magnify the sun's effects? Guess it depends on what we heard when we were growing up and what we think we have experienced!

 

[TMHeimer]

jonhall, You make very good points, and it may very well be something I heard a lot growing up. Maybe it is tied into the many days spent on the beach or the boat. I have no scientific data to back this up. I can say that anytime I've been in salt water (mostly before I started using sunscreen a lot), I notice(d) I'm a lot redder at the end of the day than when I was just out in the sun elsewhere. Perhaps this has something to do with the sun mixing with the salt that's on you after you are out of the water? There's something there somewhere I would think.

 

[jonhall]

Tom, I heard it a lot also. I guess the bottom line is we should be protecting our skin no matter what.

Golfers, even recreational golfers, have a high tendency to get skin cancer, but they're in the sun quite a bit. Whereas morning dives are generally better because the sun is at an angle and we don't get the direct rays as when the sun is overhead, it's also best to golf in the morning or evening to avoid the more direct radiation. Of course, I golf when it's cheapest which starts around 12 noon! There is a lot of reflected sunlight on a golf course also from water and sand - I know because I'm in those areas quite often!

So can you tell I'm a retired science teacher and needed to say something?

Appreciate this thread as I am bad about reapplying sunscreen/covering up when diving and spending even more time around the water afterwards. Would like to see a biodegradable, no harmful chemical, safe for the ecosystem sunscreen spray, if there isn't one already, since I'm pretty bad about reapplying lotions (after the first app.)

 

[scubadada]

Possibly the most environmentally responsible method is to cover up. Long sleeve rash guard, a hat, shades, lycra hood (in the water) and a "tube scarf" on the boat provide excellent protection without the mess of sunscreen.





Tube Scarf | MAKO Spearguns

Spearfishing Rash Guard with Removable Hood | MAKO Spearguns

Many of the crew on the fishing charters wear tube scarves