What are tips to avoid sunburn if you burn very easily?

Sunblock, hat, wear something light to cover your arms and legs.

By the way. I’m not into tanning or anything. I just want to hit the water. Build a castle with the kids. And play some volleyball. Tend to the grill etc…

I burn easily, and I gotta tell you the best solution is sunscreen. Maybe some shade at least every 20 to 30 minutes so your skin can cool down and not burn. But its actually perfectly ok for even an extremely pale person like us to have a little burn here and there, because it strengthens your skin, allowing you to stay out longer for the next time; it gives you Vitamin D; and the sunlight roots your body clock further back to the natural sunrise/sunset, changing of the season circadian rhythms. Sunlight is good for an insomniac like me: it establishes seratonin and melatonin levels in your body, during the right times of day. When you’re in the sun, your body knows it needs energy, and when its night time, your body knows it needs sleep. So if you so happen to suffer from imbalanced melatonin/seratonin levels in your body, that cause you to be awake when you should be sleeping, its mostly because of staying out of the sun. Being pale has that downside, when we protect our skin too much and arent in touch with our circadian rhythms, but if you strengthen your skin to be able to handle the sun then thats a healthy thing for you to do.

You can buy some types of sunlotion which work all day, you put it on once before you go out and it lasts for like 6 hours. trouble comes when you go in the sea as you will need to reapply after going swimming. if you are the type to want to go swimming very frequently in the summer I reccommend getting a fast acting suncream instead as both types wash off pretty quickly but the full day suncream can take up to 15 minutes to take effect.
days out walking around – use the single use sun cream
days on the beach contantly in and out of the water – fast acting sun cream.
Also I never go on holiday without a kaftan type thing, something that covers your shoulders and top of your back that you dont mind wearing in the sea. It is essentail if you have forgotten sun lotion and have burnt too as it protects your skin from further damage.
I also reccommend getting a parasol for the beach so you can get into the shade regularly.

SPF 70. I have some kind of sport one that’s sweat/water proof so that would be perfect.

im pale as a ghost and it work for me. Ive heard nothing past 50 is any different, but unno.

I burn like that too (as you can tell from my avatar). The one thing that works for me is to slather on the aloe at the end of the day. If necessary, do a couple of coats, letting them dry in between. My skin is usually pretty well recovered by the next day.

You can also try to stay more shade bound during peak hours (10 a.m.- 3 p.m.) or cover up more during that time. Maybe take a nap or something.

One other thing that happened to me once was that I did develop a subtle tan once as a consequence of a job that I worked. We were given 15 minute breaks in the morning and afternoon and 30 minutes for lunch. Generally, we would go outside, and I believe the regular sun exposure at short intervals allowed me to tan.

The only other thing I would suggest (aside from conventional measures) would be to look into diet options that enhance or detract from your skin’s resilience, such as a raw food diet. I’m not an expert in this area, but certain foods (like sugar) are known or at least believed to compromise your immune system for a few hours after ingesting them. I don’t know all the science and conjecture, but there’s probably information to be found on that path.

When I meant bad I mean the kind where your skin itches like crazy and it eventually peels.

I’m pretty sure that is taking a step up on skin cancer ladder.

So I’m trying to avoid that. I don’t mind if I get a little burned as long as I don’t get that bad.

Yeah it seems I’ll just have to keep away or go to the beach on cloudy days…

You can get badly burned on a hot cloudy day. Those pesky UV rays….Hat, long-sleeved shirt and pants, sunblock. ANY burn will haunt you in twenty years.

Wear a t-shirt when you swim and then dry off and cover up.

I’m photo-sensitive because of medication I’m on and the only thing that truly works for me is wearing coverings on my head, arms and legs.

Other things- take shade with you, avoid being out during the prime burn time (10 am to 2 pm), apply sunscreen before you go out side and overlap application thereafter, cover up and you won’t burn.

First of all, I think you’re a vampire. Want some garlic?

I’ve heard of sensitive skin, but nothing that bad. My daughter would go out in the sun with a simple grade 18 sunscreen when she was 1 and she was fine. Of course you’re not supposed to stay that long.

Yes, you seem to be doing everything right, unless perhaps your sunscreen is not good enough or something. Gradually increasing the exposure is in fact the best trick.

Two things to remember though:

1) The sun is not what it’s cracked up to be. I know I like to be tanned in the summer, and I never use cream, but generally sun exposure will age your skin a lot faster, give you wrinkles and may even cause skin cancer in the long run. The only benefit from the sun is the vitamin D process, which needs any light to happen, and you could probably do just sitting in a room with the lights turned on. No need for UVAs and UVBs to scorch you.

2) Your skin works a bit like a battery, in that it collects heat while you’re in the sun and keeps burning even after you’ve left. A bit like a stove. Just turning it off doesn’t make the food cold all of a sudden. What this means is that, in order to get your skin gradually used to the sun exposure, you’ll have to stay no longer than 5 minutes the first day, and 15 the second one. If you don’t burn, you can go for 30 the third time. But if you start with an hour on day one, you’ll spend the next week peeling your pink aching shoulders off. And it can be very painful, even when you try to sleep at night.

Obviously staying out of the sun works. Use a strong sun block and stay inside in the middle of the day.

a ton of suntan lotion, spray on ones are good if you have that problem.