? for Those Who's Skin Tans
I do not tan, I burn. I'm very fair skinned. Liv got her Dad's skin that tans.
We went to the beach last week and all in all, Liv spend about 9 hours at the beach. She and I were the only ones who didn't burn, so I did something right with the sunscreen. I used Neutrogena Pure & Free SPF 60 and reapplied every two hours, always making sure to wait 20 minutes before getting wet or going back in the sun (we were under a canopy).
Never the less, this baby came home with a tan. It's so strange to me that my kid tans and I know zilch about tans.
Question: She didn't burn or turn red at all, but clearly got some sun since she has tan lines. Sun damage is sun damage, right? Tan is bad just like burn is bad? Did I not keep her out of the sun enough? Or is her skin tanning just unnavoidable and doesn't indicate that I failed at sun protection?
Re: ? for Those Who's Skin Tans
Tanning is pretty much unavoidable for me. I can slather on SPF 70892832+ every 30 minutes and I'll *still* get a tan.
I'd say you did something right! Tanning =/= not burning. I *will* burn if I don't put any sunscreen on and have prolonged sun exposure.
I gotta get the girls to the sitters so I'll try to make this short!
A tan is you visibly seeing Melanin in the skin. Think of the melanin cells as umbrellas. They open up or grow when the underlying DNA is at risk. It's your body spreading those arms out going 'Whoa! We gotta keep all this radiation OFF our DNA!"
I've spent all day in the sun while doing a similiar remarkable job with sunblock and still ended up with tan lines. NO sunblock can block every spectrum of light (you've heard about UVA/UVB etc). Unless you use the white out titanium dioxide on every square inch of your body, something is going to get through.
Make sense?
Sunblock or no, 9 hours is might just be too long for an infant to be out in the direct sunlight
But a few tan lines doesn't make you a bad parent and doesn't mean you've put your baby at risk. Defending against burns is vital, you've done that! So is protecting against the sun every day. Those are the rays that add up over time for all of us, not just kids. I try to put sunblock on Abby's face almost daily especially if she's going to school and play outside etc. I'm not nearly as good at it as I used to be. I should be 
I don't think tanning is the same thing as burning. I tan really easily, sunscreen or not. I also burn really easily too, if I don't reapply sunscreen often enough, which will turn into tan after the pain & peeling is done...for me, the only way to keep from tanning is to cover up.
I think you did the right thing - keep her in the shade when possible and when not, apply sunscreen often!
The kids and I will slather on sunblock all day long and still tan. DH jokes that Jakob and I change race in the summer because we get so dark.
We rarely burn, in fact I don't think Jakob has ever in his life had a sunburn. ::knock on wood:: But I'm not going to worry about tanning. We'd have to stay indoors all year long and that would be worse than the risk of sun damage. You can't protect from everything, you have to find a balance.
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Oh I may not have been clear - it was 9 hours over 4 days, not all at once! As much of that 9 hours was possible, she spent under the canopy, but you know how hard it is to keep the squirmy ones still. Obviously, she doesn't normally spend this much time outside in the sun, either.
I just don't know anythign about tan skin! So thanks for y'alls input. I wasn't sure if this was something I needed to be working harder to prevent, or if it was unavoidable. DH is NO help since he apparently just doesn't care if he gets skin cancer
I, on the other hand, think about it constantly since it's on both sides of my family.
The things you can't plan for, huh? I was a fair skinnned, blond haired child, and I was so shocked when my daughter had dark hair and dark(er) skin!
You did everything you could possibly do!
Tanning and burning are caused by two different rays - both are damaging to the skin cells, but if you are using the right (read: broad-spectrum chemical and physical sunscreen/block) and reapplying every hour or two and avoiding being in direct sunlight during the peak hours (12-3ish), they you've done all you can do aside from never leave your house. ;-)
I SLATHER Annabelle with sunscreen all. the. time. constantly and she still tans. So do I. I have been known to tan through sunscreen AND clothing, even though I have no idea how that's even possible...lol