Guest guest Posted April 22, 2002 Report Share Posted April 22, 2002 Is it necessary for a child that tans to use sunscreen? I hate to sound ignorant. But, it's because my daughter and I have different skin types. I am multiracial with light brown skin and my daughter is mostly white with white skin. She does tan and doesn't burn. I use to put sunscreen on her but found it nearly a waste of time. She only burned as a baby on her knees-(stroller) and on her cheeks. But, she hasn't burned since. If a child tans, aren't they protected from the sun because of melanin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2002 Report Share Posted April 23, 2002 In a message dated 4/23/2002 5:32:01 AM Pacific Daylight Time, patricelfarmer writes: > Is it necessary for a child that tans to use sunscreen? Yes!! There are people that think that a tan looks healthy, but it isn't it is actually damaged skin. I read somewhere that even races with darker skin should still use a sunblock. Sara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2002 Report Share Posted April 23, 2002 Speaking as a person with olive toned skin. I mostly tan, rarely burn. It is necessary to use sunscreen/sunblock. It also is advised for every person no matter what type of skin tone. Whether dark, mediuem brown or white to protect themselves from the UV rays. The brown color that our skin takes on after sun exposure is slightly damaging. That is my understand from talking to holistic physician and skin care experts that use herbs and vegan products. Hope this answers your question, Peace, Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2002 Report Share Posted April 23, 2002 in regards to not using sunscreen for a child who tans easily:I think sunscreen is beneficial for everyone. These rays not only burn us increasing skin cancer chances but they also prematurely age our skin,dry out our skin.So I don't think its as pertinent for your child as some but making an effort to get it on their skin most of the time is probably a decent idea. Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more http://games./ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2002 Report Share Posted April 23, 2002 On Mon, 22 Apr 2002 patricelfarmer wrote: > Is it necessary for a child that tans to use sunscreen? I hate to sound > ignorant. But, it's because my daughter and I have different skin types. > I am multiracial with light brown skin and my daughter is mostly white > with white skin. She does tan and doesn't burn. I use to put sunscreen > on her but found it nearly a waste of time. She only burned as a baby on > her knees-(stroller) and on her cheeks. But, she hasn't burned since. If > a child tans, aren't they protected from the sun because of melanin? Good question. Yes, every kid needs sunscreen, even if they tan. The way tanning works is that the sun damages the skin initially and the skin responds by producing additional melanin that (partially) blocks any further damage. So tanning helps, but skin has to be damaged in the first place for tanning to happen. In fact, this is true for anyone whose skin darkens after sun exposure, not just white people. My niece and nephew are bi-racial (their mother is Caucasian, their father is African-American) and they are fairly dark-skinned, but they get noticeable darker if out in the sun without sunscreen, so their parents religious coat them in sunscreen to avoid sun damage. ---- Patricia Bullington-McGuire <patricia The brilliant Cerebron, attacking the problem analytically, discovered three distinct kinds of dragon: the mythical, the chimerical, and the purely hypothetical. They were all, one might say, nonexistent, but each nonexisted in an entirely different way ... -- Stanislaw Lem, " Cyberiad " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 23, 2002 Report Share Posted April 23, 2002 yes, it is necessary. I am Indian by heritage (from India, not Native American) and I tan easily and a lot. I have always been that way. I thought I could never burn, because as my " white " friends would turn pink and burn, I would just get a nice darker shade of brown. But a few years ago, in the Caribbean, I burned bigtime. It was the first time, and it wasn't as bad as what happens to fair skinned people, but it was a burn, peeling, pain, and all. So now I'm a little more careful to use sunscreen if I'm really super exposed, though not everyday use like fairskin people are supposed to. However, since my dh is scottish/french/english American mutt, and thus my dd is only " half " Indian, I slather sunscreen on her just to be safe. hope that helps, Leena patricelfarmer [patricelfarmer] Monday, April 22, 2002 9:09 AM Sunscreen Is it necessary for a child that tans to use sunscreen? I hate to sound ignorant. But, it's because my daughter and I have different skin types. I am multiracial with light brown skin and my daughter is mostly white with white skin. She does tan and doesn't burn. I use to put sunscreen on her but found it nearly a waste of time. She only burned as a baby on her knees-(stroller) and on her cheeks. But, she hasn't burned since. If a child tans, aren't they protected from the sun because of melanin? For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to http://www.vrg.org/family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted April 24, 2002 Report Share Posted April 24, 2002 A darker complexion or the ability to tan easily is no protection from skin cancer. (I just read that Bob Marley died of skin cancer.) We all need protection from the sun's UVA and UVB rays, no matter what our skin type or color. Maria ---------------------------- patricelfarmer wrote: Is it necessary for a child that tans to use sunscreen? I hate to sound ignorant. But, it's because my daughter and I have different skin types. I am multiracial with light brown skin and my daughter is mostly white with white skin. She does tan and doesn't burn. I use to put sunscreen on her but found it nearly a waste of time. She only burned as a baby on her knees-(stroller) and on her cheeks. But, she hasn't burned since. If a child tans, aren't they protected from the sun because of melanin? For more information about vegetarianism, please visit the VRG website at http://www.vrg.org and for materials especially useful for families go to http://www.vrg.org/family. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2002 Report Share Posted May 8, 2002 Well, if melanin doesn't protect a person from sun damage, why are darker-skinned races, in areas closer to the Equator, less likely to get skin cancer? Melanin does protect a person. But I think there are limits for all, and the more " dilute " the skin, the less protection offered. I'm European white, so i worry more about myself than about my son, who is part indigenous Mexican - but we both wear sunscreen. But even with all that sunscreen, we've both developed quite a tan, to my dismay. I found one at Drugstore.com that is full-spectrum, PABA-free, and vegan. By Alba Botanicals. There's a non-chemical version which is SPF 18 and one with some chemicals that's around 25 or 30. (The first was on order as of two days ago.) I've been using Aubrey Organics Green Tea sunblock for children but it has PABA so I'm just using up the bottle. ~Doh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 8, 2002 Report Share Posted May 8, 2002 , Doh! <dohdriver> wrote: > > But even with all that sunscreen, we've both developed quite a tan, to my > dismay. sunscreen does not stop tanning - only sunblock does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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