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I have a very sensitive skin. Unprotected in full summer sun (latitude 51 north), I'll burn within 15 minutes. In typical hiking attire, only my hands are in th
by kvdveer 5y ago
I have a very sensitive skin. Unprotected in full summer sun (latitude 51 north), I'll burn within 15 minutes. In typical hiking attire, only my hands are in the sun, and I keep them in my pockets a lot of the time. My cheeks and lips receive only indirect sunlight, the rest is covered by a hat, sunglasses and a beard. In this attire, I've had sunburn through t-shirts a few times. They are never too bad, though, as I'll overheat way before I burn.
In non-fully protected clothing, something else burns before my chest has the chance to. A major problem with sunscreen is that it degrades over time, and is severely affected by sweat and abrasion. I've read that you should be reapplying every 30 minutes. I typically don't reapply nearly that often, so some parts of my skin are not fully protected. Once those start to burn, I leave direct sunlight, so the skin under my t-shirt (which has consistent coverage) never really gets the chance to burn.
- Moru 5y agoI guess it depends on quality/thickness of T-Shirt. The cheap value-weight t-shirts you get at the supermarket is almost transparent if you hold it up to the sun. Heavy-weight t-shirts that are just a bit more expensive you can't see through at all and never got a sunburn through those.
- ineedasername 5y agoNot a hiker myself: What is typical hiking gear such that it (mostly?) prevents sunburn in someone with sensitive skin?
- lobocinza 5y agoI'm not a hiker but I do cycle and a few times I was exposed for hours to direct noon sunlight. The contrast is clear, exposed skin is red and irritated where the skin under the clothing is white and unaffected. Any kind of synthetic clothing has a greater amount of sunburn protection when compared to cotton but most of the specialized gear comes with additional UV50+ protection.
- germinalphrase 5y agoWide brimmed hat, pants and long sleeves.
- putnambr 5y ago'Tech' fibers such as capilene for shirts do a great job without making you absolutely miserable like cotton would in the heat. For multi-hour mid-day hikes in the middle of summer (>100F daily temperatures) I wear my 50 SPF 92% polyester/8% spandex long sleeve hoodie. It's white so it reflects heat, and the synthetic mix allows it to breathe and be flexible. As it gets soaked through with sweat, it does tend to retain more heat, so it takes careful planning to find shade and dry off.
- balb0a 5y agoMaybe as a possible help/hint. There are theories that you get sunburned more if you wear glasses. Something with a part of the region that does some kind of hormonal regulation.