Spots you're likely to forget
Dr. Elizabeth Hale, a senior vice-president for the Skin Cancer Foundation and a dermatologist in New York City, said that both men and women are likely to miss the tops of their ears and the tops of their feet.
Men are particularly likely to miss their scalps and the backs of their necks, while women are more likely to miss their chest and neck areas, she said.
Brewer said beachgoers ofthe miss the bottoms of their feet, which can be exposed if they're lying on their stomachs reading or napping.
Are spray on sunscreen safe?
This is a trickly one. Not even the US Food and Drug Administration is sure, and we still don't know how effective the are or whether inhaling them can be dangerous.
While some medical professionals suggest you not use them, "I tend to think it's better than nothing", Brewer said. He recommended using the creams and lotions when possible, but said the sprays can be useful if you're on the go, and won't make time for a full reapplication. Hale said spray-on sunscreen should be applied indoors in a well-ventilated area, and never sprayed directly on the face. Trying to apply it on the beach could lead to much of it flying away in the wind, leaving you with inadequate pprotection.
Though there's no quantifiable standard like the shot class of lotion, hale suggested spray users create "an even sheen on the skin."
Help from technology
Because you're probably taking your phone to the beach, you could rely on it, instead of your gaulty memory you that it's time to reapply. An droid and iOS are rife with free and inexpensive apps that can alert you when you need it.
You could also seek help from wearables. A jewel-like device called June, which can be worn as a bracelet of a brooch, monitors Sun exposure and syncs with an iOS app that can tell you how quickly you're using up your recommended Sun allowance for the day. Or you could try a low-tech wristband, like UVSunSense, that changes colours to signal you should reapply sunscreen or head in doors.
Improving your looks,too
Hale said that when she tries to persuade patients to take sunscreen more seriously, she sometimes targets their vanity more than their health. She tells them that using sunscreen every day - not just when they're at the beach or the park - can help prevent the brown spots and wrinkles that offten lead people to seek out dermatologists, and that Sun exposure is a primary driver of the skin's process. "I truly believe sunscreen is the number-one anti-ageing ingredient," she said.
Research in 2013 revealed people who used sunscreen every day had markedly smoother and more resilient skin. The study was dunded by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, and no sunscreen makers contributed.