Medical Questions » Skin Cancer Questions » Question No. 900
| Question: | I want to get a good tan, but not get skin cancer. What are the best sunscreens to use? |
| Answer: | The answer to this depends on what you want your skin to do. All reputable sunscreens are numbered from 1 to 30+. The higher the number, the greater the protection. If you want to avoid burning and tanning, use a 30+ sunscreen. If you want a light tan, use a 10 to 12. If you ate already tanned, and merely wish to keep it perfect, use a 6 or 8 rated preparation.
Sun tans may look attractive, but remember that it can take 10 or 20 years for skin cancer to develop. Have a look at the skin on some of the older beach-side residents. Most of us do not want leathery skin covered in red, scaling, lumpy cancers when we are in our middle or later years. It is therefore better to limit tanning as much as possible, particularly if you are fair-skinned and red-haired. Your beach bumming now may cause you to spend many hours under a doctor' s scalpel later.
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