I was thinking about how I could write this feature without sounding like a right preachy so and so. Unsure I can do that so here’s how I’ll begin: When I was a teenager I used to use sunbeds. When I was 25 years old I was diagnosed with melanoma on my right calf, this would be down to the aforementioned sunbeds and getting badly burnt on holiday (on more than one occasion) in the vain hope I would obtain a deep shiny tan. This makes me a 100% certified pilok.
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The tanning actually started as a cure for my eczema, which it was – ok so not a cure exactly but certainly a temporary remedy. The side effect of being a pretty golden brown all over was what kept me going back for more. The ‘glow” was like an addiction, I thought I looked healthier, slimmer and way better in (and out of) clothes in comparison to my usual casper-esque hue.
As I become older (and infinitely wiser) I appreciate this is not necessarily true. I like some colour during the summer months as much as the next person but I’ve learnt that pale really is interesting. And when I do require some bronzing I simply fake it.
Any kind of real tan is a sign of sun damage, not health – it’s your skin’s way of trying to protect itself from evil UVA and UVB rays. I thank my lucky stars that I have never exposed by face to any kind of sun (real or via a giant lamp) at all, due to my very light blonde barnet a mahogany mug looks plain wrong – so hopefully I won’t suffer from sun induced premature ageing where it matters most.
My Mum has never ever tanned her face, she has the skin of someone 20 years younger, I’m not exaggerating in the slightest either. In a bid to look as youthful as she does at 60 I wear sun protection on my face all year round, in summer I reapply often, always wear very large sunglasses and some kind of wide brimmed hat.
I’ll be honest I’m not a huge fan of sun lotion, it’s not exactly a pleasant experience loading your limbs with greasy goop when you are all a bit hot and bothered, especially when you are super sensitive. The brand I rate is um….Hawaiian Tropic. I know – hardly glamorous. But it works, doesn’t itch and the new satin protection “ultra radiance” leaves a flattering delicate shimmer and is refreshingly light in texture.
Do you believe pale is interesting? What sun lotion do you rate? Did you partake in any sun worshipping in your youth that you now regret?
*I have named the images above “pilok with pineapple”
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Sun Wise
- Seek Shade between 11am and 3pm when the sun is super strong
- Reapply sun lotion generously every few hours, and straight after any time you spend in the pool
- Check your moles frequently, if you suspect anything untoward go see your GP pronto!
- Hats are cool, they are also sensible and protect your scalp, both Miranda and I have a cute trilby from Topshop
- Don’t forget to apply protection to the soles of your feet, your ears and the back of your neck
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Mmm, sun bed abuse definitely comes under the category of ‘things I wish I could tell my 18 year old self were stupid’! When I was at Uni, a friend of mine and I spent the week before our graduation ball having a daily 6 minute session on the sun beds. By the time the day of the ball rolled round we were so brown it looked like we’d jetted back to Nottingham that day from Dubai. It was embarrassing how many people asked us if we’d been on holiday!
Nowadays, I do still practise a spot of sun worshipping when we’re blessed with nice weather or on holiday but I ALWAYS apply sun cream even in this country. I am lucky to have skin that’s not crazy pale so I don’t burn too often but my Mum (who is a lovely red head) has had skin cancer twice which means I am very careful. I think you have to know your skin type. My make up always has an SPF in it as well. One thing I did start doing on my last holiday was wearing a hat because now I am 31 I really don’t want to wrinkle like a prune. But I still get ID’d on a very regular basis so it can’t be all bad surely?! Xx
Ha Ha Ha Jennifer I keep getting ID’d in the Co-op, I think that might be due to my chubby post-pregnancy face rather than lack of wrinkles though!!!
Glad you are careful, although darker skinned lovelies do tend to think they are immune to skin damage as they don’t burn, James’s Mum has recently had a malignant mole removed and she is dark olive, don’t sit in that sun for too long young lady x
Eeek! I promise to be careful! Have a good weekend. Xx
I’m with you in the pale and interesting club Charlotte. I never tan, I could lie in the sun forever and not go any darker than I am right now. I just burn. I’ve had a few times in the last few years when I have burned my arms, back and legs. But touch wood I have never burned my face (my facialist told me I have the skin of a ten year old, so the factor 50 works). Having a tan is lovely, but I’ve always faked it. Yes it’s annoyingly faffy and the smell of biscuits follows you everywhere, but I would rather that than have skin like leather.
Sun protection wise, I hate the smell and greasy feel of most traditional creams. I love Hawaiian Tropic, but read a report a few weeks back that said it was rubbish, so have stopped using it. I’m now using a Garnier invisible oil spray (factor 30) and the cream version on my face. I also always wear a big pair of sunnies.
I have weird skin that is quite pale yellow but can go quite brown, it doesn’t suit me particularly though. Oh no! have not heard that about Hawaiian Tropic! What did the report say was rubbish about it? The brand is recommended by the skin cancer research foundation according to my bottle….
Mine is blue based, so I am lucky in that mine looks alabaster, but I burn far too easily. It was a report from Which that basically said it wasn’t very effective. There were a few other brands in there. But that one stood out the most.
Thanks Alex, will see if I can find any info on-line, it will be such a shame if it isn’t supposed to be that effective 🙁
Charlotte, did you know that Aveeno do an oat sunscreen that’s 70+ factor? it’s amazing – you can use it under makeup like moisturiser…
Erm no?! Thanks for the tip Gemma! do they sell it anywhere like Boots/Superdrug etc?!
I bought it in the states and just assumed you’d be able to get it here, but it turns out no. Although you can get from amazon and ebay international sellers by the looks of it and I’d say it’s worth it even for a bit more postage cost…
Ooh I get a bit of a bee in my bonnet on this subject because I think we SO need to start being more careful/raise awareness about this in the UK. I always notice in the summer when I walk past a park at lunchtime, there are always a few women/men in suits sitting there sunning themselves and going red, usually without any sunscreen! It’s just risky + not good for your skin and I don’t think people are aware enough (I’m not blaming the people sitting out sunning themselves because I think the potential risks just aren’t publicised enough).
In Australia they are really good at raising awareness and have their “Slip, Slop, Slap” campaign which I think is genius. But, also, children are taught from a young age of the dangers which is so important.
I’m naturally quite tanned and dislike sitting in direct sunlight for extended periods of time – shade is key! I’m religious about sunscreen on my face because, like your Mum, my Mum was too – I’ve seen too many videos of the damage it can do.
Small related story: My Mum is from a tiny group of islands in the South Pacific called Kiribati – right on the equator so it literally gets sun all day all year round. There isn’t a word in the local language for ‘sunbathing’. A British guy who came to live there in the 70s was given a nickname which basically meant “rotting fish out in the sun” because he used to sunbathe and the locals thought it was so hilarious and weird as the only things they would stick under the sun like that was fish to dry. 😉
Hi Kate, it still amazes me the amount of people that go and bake themselves at the first sign of sunshine, so many burnt shoulders and noses!
I think it’s Lloyds the Chemist that like Australia – don’t even sell lotion under SPF 15, that’a a really good policy to adopt. x
That nickname is hilarious!!
I’m totally down with the whole suncream thing (I use the garnier invisible spray liquid one which is ace if you hate the greasy texture of creams)
Don’t forget though that you should get around 10 minutes of non-sun creamed exposure a day to make sure you’re getting your vitamin D (only ten minutes mind!!)
I think Pilok is massively under used 🙂
LOVE that post! and love your fair skin, would love to read on your beauty routine and make up for you fair skin (if it hasn’t been done already!)
Hi Cecile, if you have a look at the make-up section in the menu drop down of “Mirror Mirror” there is all sorts of recommendations in there x
I am definitely a pilok (minus the pineapple). I’m not awful with sun exposure, but I’m not exactly good either. Whilst I would never go near a sunbed, I definitely lay about in the sun too much when I’m on holiday. I quite like a tan. No more! Hand firmly slapped, I am going to be much more sensible this summer. Thanks for the timely reminder Charlotte! x
Just think of your line free face when you’re a granny Sian! There are lots of good fake tans on the market nowadays x
I have never really been a sun worshipper as I get prickly heat literally the minute the sun pokes out from behind the clouds for that 10 minute interval that is ‘summer’ I also never could wear sun creams as literally ALL of them brought me out in a rash and aggravated said heat rash so I pretty much always end up under a brolly/indoors…… until last summer when I discovered literally the best sun cream in the world, ever, FACT. It is called Ultrasun – it is factor 30 and you only have to put it on once a day – which I was sceptical about but it is true, it really does work all day even on holidays in countries with real summers. I tried it last year and I could go out in the sun, all day with no rash and no sunburn, I even got a really good tan. You just put it on in the morning, it dries like you don’t have any one – no stickiness at all. It’s quite expensive but lasts ages as you are not reapplying. I honestly cannot recommend Ultrasun enough. Its a big claim to make but Ultrasun has changed my life.
Hi Georgina, I tried a similar type of product from John Lewis (can’ remember the name) that had a shimmer to it. I actually got burnt a bit but wonder if I just didn’t put enough on/sweated it off (!) as I never used it again. Glad you have found something that works for you x
There us nothing more unattractive that a big burnt red back. I can’t believe people still allow this to happen? And it bloody hurts… this pale polly knows that only too well. These days I’m a factor 30 girl and actually on my recent trip abroad I actually found myself spritzing on a bit of the babies blue factor 50! I’ve just become so aware of not wanting to burn and age my skin and I actually spent a lot if my holiday in the shade. It turns out that I actually got a really lovely tan. Just one shade darker than pale and that’s all I need 🙂 go factor 50! X
Also if folks burn doesn’t their tan “peel” off quicker than doing it sensibly anyway?
I think on many pale girls a tan just makes you look that bit older too, I don’t know why. x
Also guilty of doing the whole sunbed at uni thing and now am obsessed with checking my moles 🙁 My Nan had aggressive melanoma and my Dad had precancerous ones removed at my age, so don’t really know why I was so stupid?!
Now I use Ultrasun and LOVE the one with the shimmer in it. Also stops me from getting prickly heat. Ultrasun also do a damn good face one too…
I recently went away with some friends and they literally spent every minute baking and without any real SPF. I religiously slathered on my screen but it prompted others every night to keep saying ‘don’t really catch the sun do you?’ Everyone that was bronzed or even bright red got compliments coming out of their ears about how their top went so well with their tan and so on…so I still find it seems to be somehow socially unacceptable to be pale!
Rhiannon that kind of thing really gets on my nerves, it’s a bit rude isn’t it – almost like “You don’t look as good because you haven’t fried yourself silly”
I often get that when I return from abroad – “Oh so was the weather crap then?”
Your top will look much better on your un-lined face than it will with someone’s sunburnt shoulders 🙂 x
I too am very sick of the wow you are pale. Uhh yeah congratulations (right up there with aren’t you tall). I’m massively allergic to a lot of sun cream so use piz buin sensitive. smells great. I don’t use anything less than 30 either. I do tan incredibly well but burn even easier. Just last week I was in the garden for an hour and burnt very badly across the back of my neck. Not only did I have sun burned induced grump but I looked like a plonker too!
Agree with some of the other comments – more awareness must be raised!
I almost feel that some people treat a bit of sun in this country like it’s a novelty, and that they must be immune to the dangers that it has.
I’m really lucky to have an olive skin and tan easily (although that can be a curse as people automatically assume I’m a sun worshipper!!), but that doesn’t stop me from being on the obsessive side with a high factor sun cream.
My dad had skin cancer a few years ago – and it really hit home. He hadn’t really sunbathed or done anything to excess over the years, and always used high factors, yet he still got it.
I’m now extra careful to make sure I put my factor 30 on – not only does it protect me but I’m sure I get a more even tan when I’m in the sun!
Love the pineapple top! I am very pale and freckley and I do think people in this country are pale-ist, when I was a teenager I’d never get my legs out as I felt they were too white and it made me feel really unattractive in a sea of bronzed limbs!! But as I’ve got older I’ve realised that a tan is not all that and protecting yourself is way forward. Does anyone have any fake tan recommendations for my pasty pins?? I’ve never dared to use it, I once had a spray tan and my husband told me I looked like Jordan/Robert Downey junior in tropic thunder so I washed it all off:)
Gemma your husbands comments made me laugh! I will definitely be recommending some fake tans soon, James always thinks they smell of biscuits…
Dear Pilok with Pineapple,
I think you look great without a tan, super stylish. x