What's up with all these special numbers and letters on sunblock? What is SPF? It'd be great if you could help me figure out what this all means, and more importantly, what kind of sunblock I should be using. - Genie, 16
Needless to say, staying under the sun is very harmful for your skin. So try to stay away from the sun as much as possible, especially from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. when the harmful rays are at their strongest. The numbers on the sunblock called SPF or sun protection formula let you know how long you can stay in the sun without burning while wearing the product. If after, say, 15 minutes, you can stay under the sun before your start to turn pink, applying a sunscreen SPF 15 for example will supposedly allow you to stay in the sun 15 times longer (three and three-quarters hours). A product with SPF 2 blocks only about 50% of the UVB rays, SPF 10 filters about 85% of the UVB rays, SPF 15 stops about 95% and SPF 30 through 50 stops about 97% (The new FDA in the US regulations states that no sunscreens will be allowed to have ratings over SPF 30). The percentages explain that after prolonged sun exposure you'll still get color despite the sunscreen on your skin. So for you to be very well protected from the sun's harmful rays, you'll need to reapply the sunscreen after about an hour. So make sure you slather the sunblock on really well, then set the timer so you know when to reapply.
Is there any way of increasing my bust discreetly when I'm wearing a bathing suit? Quite obviously, it just wouldn't do to stuff myself with tissues... any suggestions? - June, 23
There are available bathing suits in the market that do have built in pads, but they cost usually more than the regular ones. Those are your safest bet. You don't want a wet tissue falling out of your bikini while you do the Bo Derek scene now, do you?
Is it afright to wear makeup to the beach? All those hours of sweating and swimming might just wash all of my hard work away. So is it advisable to put anything beyond makeup on when you plan on hitting the sand? - Grace, 19
If you do plan on hitting the sand, and you want to wear makeup, then you should try using tinted sunblocks. They do have a bit of a coverage and you can reapply it after 30-40 minutes to make sure you protect your face well from the UVR.