We've both have established a good base tan from tanning beds but they say the real sun is different. So, just curious what spf are you bringing?
We bring 3 different ones (15, 30, and 50). Wife is really dark so she does not use that strong of one. Me on the other hand, am not as dark so I use the 30 or 50. Curtis
We both had tanned in the beds for a couple of months prior on both our trips and brought along Badger suntan lotion (highly rated all natural suntan lotion) SPF 15. The first trip was in December and the lotion worked great, really only had to apply it twice a day, if that. The second time we went was in the month of October and we both noticed that the sun felt much hotter. We also both got slightly burned. Not to the point where it hurt and we couldn't go out in the sun but just enough to notice the dry skin. So, depending on what time of year, like Sparkie7 said, I'd recommend a 30 or 50 and then I also read someone recommend to bring some aloe lotion to apply at night in order to keep your skin hydrated.
Ok, so I come from the UK so I'm not going to imagine that our skin's reaction to the sun is the same, but the skin care advisor at TTR did say not to use anything over factor 30. Apparently high factors have lots of fats and oils in them and they simply slide off in the heat. She advised using factor 30 regularly then Aloe gel every evening to moisturise. This did work for me, though lots of people were using much higher factors...... Not us if that helps, sorry!
3 different ones....10 15 and 30 10 for early and late 15 for 10am to 2pm 30 for the Boobs Cruise tanned for about month have a good base but the sun in Cancun is a fickle bitch she'll burn and burn you bad...
30 works better for us on sensitive areas like my forehead (big target) than 50. We both tan easily and use 15 a couple of times per day if we have some sort of a base tan. If we are winter-white, we will use 30 for the first couple of days and then switch to 15. I am not sure when we would be dark enough to switch to Guiness, but it looks like it work well for some!
I brought SPF 4. I also had a 5 month tanning regime to make sure that I had the best tan possible before my trip. Vanity's a bitch, and she might just kill me. Anyway, my other friends brought 30 and all burned. It is HIGHLY advisable to get a base tan before going on vacation anywhere with strong sun. Like the other have said, bring a few different and work your way down from the higher to the lower as you get a tan. Certain parts of your body will need different levels as your skin has different levels of exposure based on outfits and such. A good rule of thumb to go by is to reapply your sunscreen by doubling the SPF in minutes as a proper interval. SPF 30 reapply every 60 minutes, SPF 15 every 30 and so on. I certainly was not reapplying my SPF every 8 minutes, again though I've had a base tan for a long time. The other important thing to remember is appying the right lotions AFTER the sun. Aloe Vera is good for burns, and the skin in general. I however reccomend a good regular lotion to be applied at the end of each day, and after showering to help repair damaged skin. Just my .02
It also depends on how tan you want to be when returning home. I'm very (very) fair and I used SPF 30 while I was there and sat in the shade when I could. I reapplied when getting out of the pool and whenever I thought I was baking. End result...no burn, but no tan either. Folks at work asked, "Weren't you on vacation last week?"
My travel partner is Persian and I am very fair bordering on opaque. We usually bring anywhere from 10-70. For my fair skin I usually use 70 on my face neck and ears. 50 on chest back and upper extremities and 30 on my legs. It decreases as the week progresses but the lowest I ever use on my face is 50. My friend, who like I said is Persian and tans easily uses 15 and 10 and does fine. Although last year she used an expired tan accelerator an burned badly Like people stated above I would start higher and work my way down rather than fry my first day. Also tan before hand if possible.
Just saw this story about Banana Boat spray on sunscreen. Watch out for open flames even after you apply it regardless of SPF Man catches on Fire after applying sunscreen
