Do your toddlers get color from the sun?

[Anonymous]

I dutifully apply sunblock and then reapply but my 16 month old is starting to show signs of a tan. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong? She has dark hair and eyes if it matters.


TIA!

[Anonymous]

yes, mine gets a lot ofcolor

[Anonymous]

By the end of summer mine have a tan line but not as much of one as I would expect. Our good friends child goes from looking like he grew up in the Antarctic to looking super dark-skinned even though she dutifully slathers him with sunscreen. It really depends on skin-type.

[Anonymous]

I, too, think it depends on skin type. I religiously slathered 45 on my see-through pale son last year and by the end of the summer, he was still a tan little dude. He never burned, which made me feel a little better, but this year we went higher on the SPF and I switched brands of sunscreen. We'll see if it helps.

[Anonymous]

My little guy tans through sunscreen, and I make sure he's covered from head to toe, and often. He has an olive complexion and tans very easily, so I'm trying to avoid a burn. Even now, I can see tan lines on his legs and arms.

[Anonymous]

both of my kids do - when I mentioned it to DD's pediatrician once, he said that kids need to get some color from the sun.

[Anonymous]

Perhaps it's the sunscreen you are using? We use the blue lizard brand, which is the excellent mix of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. Those ingredigents make it an actual sun BLOCK versus a sunscreen. Knock on wood, my "see thru pale" DD is so far still super pale, after lots of days in the sun and pool recently. I am one of those pale to burn types, never a nice color in between, and I'm sure she is the same way.

[Anonymous]

We also religiously use Blue Lizard sunblock and are noticing a hint of a tan. As long as she doesn't get burned, I am fine with it.

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP. I've been using California Baby and UV Naturals, both of which are physical blocks. I'll check out Blue Lizard.

[Anonymous]

We use Kiehls and there was no tan last summer, nor one thus far this year.

[Sabray]

Sunscreen does NOT keep one from tanning. That comes from your personal pigmentation. Sunscreen is meant to block and protect your child's skin from the UV rays of the sun that cause skin cancer...And protection from getting sunburn which can lead to other medical problems.

[Anonymous]

what is wrong with a little color as long as they are not burning? i thought that you needed to worry about burns, not a little tan. i slather my DC with neutrogena SPF 60, don't get me wrong (love it by the way) and he's still casper the friendly ghost but i thought if he got a little tan it wouldn't be anything to worry about.

[Anonymous]

Sabray wrote:Sunscreen does NOT keep one from tanning. That comes from your personal pigmentation. Sunscreen is meant to block and protect your child's skin from the UV rays of the sun that cause skin cancer...And protection from getting sunburn which can lead to other medical problems.

I think this is incorrect. If you are using a broad spectrum sunscreen, it should block both the UVA (tanning) rays, and the UVB (burning) rays. Certainly your pigmentation has something to do with it, but the same UV rays that cause tanning are the ones that cause premature aging and have also been linked to cancer. see www.skincancer.org

So, in a perfect world, our kids should not be getting tan lines. That is a sign that the sun's damaging rays are getting through. That said, my dark complected children always end up with tans by the end of the summer. I do my best to slather then with sunscreen... but some of it gets through.

[Anonymous]

NO..I a not incorrect. As I said it depends on your personal skin pigmentation. Some people, no matter how much or what kind of sunscreen you use TAN...I have three kids, two tan one doesn't...They ALL use the same sunscreen.

Melanin, a natural pigment found in the body. It's responsible for our coloring. More melanin allows better protection against the damage caused by the sun. Some people genetically have more, some less, but all will produce more if exposed to the sun, except for albinos.

[Anonymous]

Does it block out the vitamins you get the sun too? The sun isn't completely evil.