Travel Tips - Wear hats and use sunscreen to avoid sunburn during travel

	Travel Advice

Healthy Travel

Many travelers forget to protect themselves from sunburn and the possibility of skin cancer resulting from overexposure to the Sun. Our article provides some insights on how to provide the protection you need.

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Travel Advice - Hats and sunscreen

When on vacation, make sure that you protect yourself from the sun. Nothing dampens a good time more than a painful case of sunburn. If sunburn doesn't get you during the trip, sun damaged skin may get you later in life.

The best protection for your head and face is to wear a broad brimmed hat. Most Americans can be spotted anywhere in the world by their ever-present baseball hats: we recommend a hat with a broader brim.

The ideal hat should have a continuous brim to protect not only the face but also the neck and ears.
We recommend a “floppy” hat that can be rolled up and put in a pocket when not needed.
- While not particularly attractive, loose fitting “floppy” hats, also, avoid the “hat head” problem that results in your hair taking the same shape as your hat.

Be sure to protect the rest of your exposed skin with a good quality sunscreen product of SPF 15 or higher [depending on of how easily you sunburn].

If you will be outdoors and active, plan to reapply sunscreen every two to three hours or when you notice that the sun feels hot on your exposed skin.
If you sweat or will be involved in water sports, reapply sunscreen every two hours at a minimum and after you have been in the water.

If you are driving in high sun areas, your arms and face may be exposed to sun through open windows.

Remember to apply lotion to the exposed skin, as sunburn buildup during a few days of driving can be significant.
- If you do not have lotion and your "window" arm is turning red, laying the hat we talked about over your arm will provide some protection

Finally, if you are going to be in tropical or sub-tropical areas (called the "High Sun Areas"), take extra sun block, as you will soon find that sunburn can occur much more quickly in these locations than the higher latitudes where many of us live.

The hat shown above is a great sun hat with a broad, protective rim and a cinch for keeping it on in windy weather. We searched a local mall and found this gem at Abercrombie and Fitch.