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When I was 16, it was June and we had just moved to Florida. I was so excited I could picture that golden tan I was going to get. I remember distinctly my father’s words as we headed off to the beach with our towels and radio in search of the perfect tan. “Be careful this Florida sun is stronger than you’re used to, you need to have something on with at least an SPF of 15 at all times, 30 is better but I’ll be realistic, and reapply it often.” We rolled our eyes as we left but took the bottle he held out to us. Guess what; it turns out he was right. The first time I was ever consciously aware of the heat from the Florida sun was years later. Fast forward to ten summers; I was on a plane heading home to Central Florida from New York, sitting in a window seat with my arm resting on the window ‘sill’. I was wondering how much longer to Orlando when the pilot came on telling us to look out the window to see Cape Canaveral, it was also at that moment I noticed that my arm, still on the sill, had gotten considerably warmer. The truth is that much of Florida’s climate is considered sub tropic so the sun is stronger here than the rest of most of America.

Here are some of the best tips to remember when headed to the beach this summer:

First of all follow a doctors advice – Use Sunscreen. They have everything from SPF 2 to SPF 60 but what does SPF mean and what does it do? SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor and is calculate in minutes – the number of minutes it takes unprotected skin to turn red compared to protected skin. You get 10 minutes for every number meaning an SPF of 2 gives you twenty minutes of protection in the sun before fair skin starts to turn red, if you have darker skin it varies. Read the rest of this entry »