I remember those childhood days when our mother would herd us boys to the Alabama Gulf Coast near Gulf Shores we could hardly wait to get in the water or go out deep sea fishing with our father. Mom would immediately rub us down with sunscreen before we had a chance to get out into the sunlight. The experience was yukky as a kid, because it was wet and sticky and we had to stand around until it absorbed into our skin. We were lucky because she only made us put the sunscreen on once a day. Nowadays, you need to apply sunscreen multiple times daily to ensure protection of your skin. Our father was not as anal as our mother was, but he would make us put it on our faces, neck, ears and nose before we got on the charter boat and went deep sea fishing in Orange Beach. Nowadays, with all the skin cancer cases reported with people, we probably should have put it on more frequently. Luckily, none of us boys have come down with any skin conditions. I guess the sun screen really did work to some extent. We just don't want anyone else to suffer from sunburn and possilby ruin the deep sea fishing experience you will have in Orange Beach, Alabama.
We have come up with some simple tips on how to choose sunscreen that is best for you. We hope our common sense approach to protecting your skin will simplify the entire process. You will see us use the term SPF which simply means Sun Protection Factor. This is the number associated with the protection the product provides. The higher the number is supposed to mean more protection, but that is not necessarily true.
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You first need to choose a deep sea fishing charter like Distraction Charters or Intimidator Sportfishing because they offer an air conditioned cabin for you and your family so you can get out of the direct sunlight when you want too or when moving to another fishing spot.
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Don't believe that any sunscreen or sunblock lasts All Day.
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You don't normally need to use a sunscreen that has a SPF 30 rating or higher unless you have had skin cancer or have been advised by a physician or dermatologist. The cost of the additional protection of products higher than SPF 30 are not worth the investment. If you have had skin cancer, you probably don't need to be out in the sun anyway.
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Buy sunscreen that blocks UVB Rays (ultra-violet rays that cause sunburn) and UVA Rays. These two types of sunlight rays burn your skin and make your skin look older than it actually is.
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You need more sun protection during the middle of the day than you do at sunrise or sunset because the intensity of the suns rays are more intense then, than during the early or later times of the day. Most of the time, people get busy deep sea fishing and forget to put any sunblock or sunscreen on.
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If you have sensitive skin, you might want to use products that are Paraben Free. You might also want to use products that contain Zinc Oxide or Titanium Dioxide.
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If you plan on getting in the water, you might want to use a water proof sunscreen that contains some type of wax that makes it adhere to your body.
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Use sunscreen that your comfortable with. There are sprays, lotions and sticks available.
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Apply product liberally to all parts of your body that will be exposed to the sunlight. It takes about 2 tablespoons to cover your face, neck, ears and nose bridge. Don't be cheap and try and make it last. There are a lot of people that return home from vacation and have unused sunscreen.
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Make sure you cover all parts of your body. Some of the worst sunburns are the tops of peoples feet, the rear of their calves, the small or lower half of their back, ears, foreheads, neck, shoulders, chest and forearms.
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If you do get sunburned, please take care of it and do not leave it untreated. Use cool cloths on the affected areas. Take cool showers or baths to try and alleviate pain. When in doubt, read about sunburn treatment here and get proper medical advice.