No matter what SPF, no matter what brand, no matter how many times I apply, reapply, and swaddle myself, I still burn. Thankfully, though, I have been only semi-burning. I'm at medium rather than well done, for the most part, but I still look too silly to wear sandals or shorts for a few days.
My red markings scream "TOURIST!!!!" but I truly am a native.
Usually I go northeast to the beaches, but my friend suggests that we go southeast a little ways from her house, and we find ourselves at Nahant. I've only been to Nahant once before, mostly because it's not in my neighborhood and because some of my students will probably be there. I don't want to run into them any more than they want to see my old self in a bathing suit.
It's not until hours later and after my shower that the heat comes on all over my skin. My arms are lightly crisp, my face has weird patches of redness, my legs are slightly overdone, and my feet are reasonably crispy.
What am I supposed to do? Wear a hazmat suit to the beach? I am going to have to start wearing SPF1000 and I'll have to reapply constantly. I'll put sunscreen on so often that I'll go through an entire bottle of it at the beach in one sitting.
