General Cycling Discussion - My second century today(any sunblock recommendations?)

Today was an awesome day, about 75 degrees and sunny! So I went out and logged 104 miles, my second century, in 6:05. I got a lot of sun, so I'm in the market for a good sunblock for sports. Something that doesn't feel greasy or nasty after you put it on and start sweating in it, and something that won't sweat away either. :beer:

As they all have the same basic ingredients I use the cheapest "NoAd" brand available at Walmart with a 45 SPF and I also use a sprayon accelorator with various oils and antioxidents to nourish and protect the skin as well as provide a nice gloss. As much as I sweat none last real long so periodic reapplication is needed at least until a good tan is built up another reason to go with an inexpensive brand.

the only brand that does not sweat off and burn my eyes is the coppertone sports brand ( the cream, not the spray on)
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The only thing that has ever worked on my skin is Banana Boat Ultra. Make sure you get the ultra stuff - and don't expect to get a tan - a lot of people out here don't buy it because it's too strong for that.

I'm just trying to avoid skin cancer and unnecessary wrinkling when I get older. So I'm not really wanting something that'll allow me to tan a whole lot. Thanks for the suggestions guys!

Thats why you want the tea tree oil/aloa vera/antioxidents etc. in the accelorator.What you don't want to do is burn so you want to gradually build up a tan to protect the skin from burning.After you get a good tan you can cut back on the sunblocks with all the unnatural chemicals .

Originally posted by RWTD
Thats why you want the tea tree oil/aloa vera/antioxidents etc. in the accelorator.What you don't want to do is burn so you want to gradually build up a tan to protect the skin from burning.After you get a good tan you can cut back on the sunblocks with all the unnatural chemicals .

I'm sorry, I cannot completely agree. I live in the skin cancer capital of the known universe, and all the health authorities out here have been emphasising that a tan actually represents mild damage to your skin. OK, it's not enough to be harmful, and it will probably build up your resistance in the long run, but I don't believe it allows you to cut back on the sunscreens.

http://www.mercola.com/2002/jun/19/sun.htm Here is one source I was basing this on.IMO skin type factors into this as well as many northern climate types burn easily and don't tan well.My quess on the problem in Austr. is most are historically from northern climates but transported recently in an evolutionary sense to a climate they are not well suited for.Note one area research is showing is critical but the "health"professionals are not currently up to date on is the omega fatty acid ratio or proper diet.

Buy the cheep stuff, I use no add too, and use A LOT of it. Buy the sweat proof kind for your' face.

I second Banana Boat Ultra. Use a lot. Reapply at will.

Got a real good case of skin poisoning last summer when I failed to take my own advice. Like the song says, "Use sunscreen"

Originally posted by RWTD
IMO skin type factors into this as well as many northern climate types burn easily and don't tan well.My quess on the problem in Austr. is most are historically from northern climates but transported recently in an evolutionary sense to a climate they are not well suited for.

Not always. One of my friends has African ancestry (although he did spend a lot of time in England in between). In spite of his dark complexion, he still finds the need to apply sunscreen in our climate.

The No-Ad stuff is pretty good. I've been using Sea and Ski as of late.

Don't forget to carry Chap-Stick with sunblock in it. Your lips can get just as burned as the rest of your face, if not more so. Keep it in your pocket, and put some on every couple of hours, because you tend to lick it off. If I forget to do this, I get some cancerous looking white blotches on my lips. With a history of skin cancer, one has to be careful.

I may have mislead somewhat as what I was actually referring to was not an accelerator but Australian Gold Dark Tanning Exotic Oil Spray greaseless natural vitimins,nutrients,enzymes and premium oils(sunflower/olive/tea tree/Aloe vera) to condition and moisturize the skin so it tans better and protects it from drying effects.It is mostly more of the type of things added to sunscreens but without any SPF's.I think the theory is probably the lack of SPF's causes the tanning and the ingredients allow for a more healthful tanning .As I said I use it though with a 45 SPF sunscreen and truthfully I usually just put it on when I leave or as I get near the beach to give my muscles a greaseless oily gloss that seems to drive all the young girls wild lol. Another thing I notice is with a minimal amount of sunscreen I don't overtan while actually riding the bike but if I stop at say the beach no amount of sunscreen seems to keep me from getting too much sun so I have several spots with nice shade trees that I always stop at along the beach just to rest of course.So when I said a good tan I did not mean a real dark tan but more a fairly light healthful looking tan.

Why do people believe everthing on the internet. Who is Dr. Mercola? these are isolated trials, and even good isolated trials in medicine have been proven wrong with larger , clinically significant power in the number of participants. Were these double blinded, randomized placeboe contolled trials were the investigators do not affect the outcome of the study. Not that everything published in "respectable journals" are better, but at least the scientific community can analyze the experimental data and statistics and draw conclusions about the strength and weakness of the study. We don;t take things at face value like the media. By the way, there are people who believe cigarettes are not unsafe (It does prevent ulcerative colitis)... And don't knock the health professional. There are alot of good ongoing research with omega fatty acids in the cardiology literature and treatment of bipolar disorder. ChrisL is right, there is overwhelming data supporting sunblock usage but I don't see it withe the omega 6 acids, yet...not that it won't. Oh by the way, skin cancer is the fastest growing cancer in the the US. Over a million new cases over the last few years, to put things in perspective.... breast cancer 48,000

By the way, the article cited in british dermatology article was one of the shoddiest forms of research analysis, retrospective, mulitivariate analysis without case controls. It's not even worth sneezing at.

The article in the journal of photochemistry and photobiology did not state sunscreens did not work. Thier point was that people do not appy it properly and frequently enough.

the cancer res article mainly cited the effects of the omega fatty acids in cancer cells grown in petri dishes. We already know the fallicy of basing broad conclusions on such data...many microbes that seem sensitive to antibiotics on a petri dish are resistant when they use the body's own defenses to build reisistance to a drug, so this article cannot be extrapolated to breathing, complex humans.

By the way, the australian epidimiological trial studied 41 women. I can pull 41 smokers of f the streets and show cigarettes protec ted them from lung cancer with a little tweaking of statisitics.

give me research with some meat, and not some tanned, smiley face dr. mercola (dr of what i wonder... bull****?)

I don't believe everything anybody says my point was most people don't need to totally avoid exposure to the sun that sun in moderation is healthful and a moderate tan will prevent more dangerous burning which you will constantly be susceptable to if you attempt to avoid all tanning.And finally as sunscreens contain potentially toxic chemicals as you build up a tan you can use less(not eliminate) sunscreen as you are less susceptable to burning.I think Mercolas approach is sound in using other means to limit but not eliminate exposure to sun but it would not work well for cyclists with longer exposures to the sun so I didn't suggest others(and I don't myself wholesale adopt his approach as my posts indicated).I agree he may be twisting the data to his liking to some degree but I personally feel diet is far to overlooked by the "health"profession (and I'm not referring to reseachers but practioners)which is my main beef and is Mercolas speciality which is why I read some of his information.

Your right, the best defense is lack of exposure rather than slathering on sunscreen but that is difficult with us bikers and outdoor athletes. True, sunburns confer a higher risk of skin cancer due to the fact that the UVB rays can penetrate the epidermas and cause greater DNA damage whereas a tan protects you from the UVB but allows the UVA (a lower frequency radiation) to penetrate but they also cause skin cancer if only to a lesser extent. The analogy is smoking is 100times more dangerous than chewing tobacco but the latter alos causes cancer to a lesser extent.

As for medical practioners, most do advocate dietary and excercise approach but most of the patients who seek their help are not willing to try these approaches. Of course, I am from the second most obese state in america (Mississippis is number one) where most of the patients prefer to take a cholesterol pill than go on a strict wt loss regimine and nutritional approach. The "quick fix" mentality of our generation I guess. Your right in that most people undervalue the nutritional effects on our bodies. Most people take more care putting the right engine oil in their car rather than what they put in their bodies.

I agree most people need to become more active and eat more healthy I guess like you say its just a product of the times.All you can do is live your own life and encourage others .

Actaully the it's not shoddy research but youre right, heart disease is very complex and its due to other factors such as homocystine levels (Improved by adding folic acid which alot of cardiologists now prescribe), c reactive proteins and possibly infectious (ie. chlamydial diseases). The cholesterol drugs work, but not all of them have the good data (Only ZOcor and Pravachol have reductions in mortality) , Lipitor (which has great advertising) does not have data to support decrease in mortality (it did have data supporting decrease in coronary lesions by angiography but does that translate to decrease in mortality, no.). In that respect, you are right.

It was good talking with you RTW, now I must go to work. I wish i could say i was off to ride.

Another bit of free advice: In addition to frequently using Chap-stick with sunblock in it, don't forget to put sunblock on your ears, behind your ears, and on the back of your neck. I have had pre-cancers on my ears that had to be cut out because I failed to put sun block on these areas. My last session with a knife-wielding dermatologist was an hour and a half. Also, put sunblock on the back of your hands, especially if you're not wearing gloves. (My doctor calls me "a dermatologists dream.") Skin cancer is insideous -- it can send you to heaven early if you're not careful. :rolleyes:

Originally posted by trmcgeehan
Another bit of free advice: In addition to frequently using Chap-stick with sunblock in it, don't forget to put sunblock on your ears, behind your ears,

Yeah, I know. I'm notoriously bad with forgetting to protect my ears.