Don’t do to your skin what I did (twice!)

Photo courtesy of Canva

Once upon a time in Maui, this fair-skinned lady went snorkeling with her fair-skinned fellow. We applied sunblock and had a great time. We saw colorful fish! And sea turtles! And on the boat ride out and back we saw a teen whale practicing his breaching game! It was magnificent. 

But then… we got back to our rental and realized we were both VERY VERY burned. Like, the worst sunburn of my life. Like, it hurt to sleep because the sheet touched my poor inflamed skin and felt like it was on fire. 

Though we’d applied sunblock several times over the multi-hour adventure, we were in and out of the water so much it must have washed off. And the rays reflecting off the water were that much more intense. 

Fortunately, the AirBnB owners left us a giant bottle of aloe vera gel which we generously slathered on each other morning and night. The cooling properties were a godsend and helped us sleep a little. 

But I knew this was a bad, bad burn — one that might have consequences later. I felt so stupid. I’ve already had several suspicious moles removed from my wrist and ankle. This burn definitely didn’t help matters.  

So I learned my lesson and never let it happen again. 

Hahaha yeah right. That should be what happened. But it’s not. 

I have been much more careful to avoid burning since then. I almost always wear a hat when I’m outside for any length of time. I put sunblock on when I can’t hide in the shade. But then one day, I decided to float down the Namekagon River in Wisconsin with my husband and several relatives. Again, we applied the sunblock before our adventure. And again, the sunblock wore off long before we got to shore. Hello bad, bad burn. Again. 

The Maui burn was across my upper body, and the most recent one was on my legs. I wore a coverup shirt this time, which prevented burning on my upper body, but my legs were exposed. 

Finally, I’ve gotten smarter. I just ordered a long-sleeve rash guard with SPF 50 and long rash-guard pants, also SPF 50. And anytime I’m in the water, you’d better believe I’m gonna be covered head to toe. 

Learn from me, friends. Don’t let this happen to you.